Do you get rid of unwanted gifts? - Henry McKean Asks
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The Hard Shoulder with Ciarán Cuddehy. With the MG Hybrid and Electric range. On Newstalk. The most unwanted gifts this Christmas were novelty items, kitchen utensils and underwear. Very surprised by it. Charity shops put out a New Year plea for unwanted gifts. They don't want you to re-gift them or throw them in the bin. They want you to give them to charity. Henry McKean is here to...

Tell us more. Happy New Year, Henry. Happy New Year to you, Adrian. And yeah, underwear. I'm actually wearing the underwear that my wife gave me for Christmas. It's probably an overshare. But lots of people are handing over clean underwear, I should say. And the charity shops are looking for clean stuff. So, you know, T-shirts with slogans on them, fancy dress has actually knocked soap off the top spot of the most unwanted Christmas gifts. And this is according to Oxfam. And Barnardo's, the children's charity,

They're calling on all of us to donate any unwanted presents to any of their shops across the country. And they say all the donations will make an impact in the lives of the families Barnardo's work with. Also on this, sales shopping. Anecdotally, we're noticing it's down this year. Maybe it's because people are broke. Maybe they're just not interested. And maybe because of Black Friday and online shopping.

Have you picked up any bargains in the sales yourself? No, I haven't got the money. I'm absolutely smashed. You're smashed? Yes. So you haven't been out there shopping? I work four days a week, 32 hours a week. I get up at half four in the morning to go to work, right? While these people that are on social welfare payments are getting rises all the time, where their tax, everything is rising, you know? So we're actually paying for them to sit at home, you know, and it's not fair, you know? Did you get any unwanted Christmas gifts?

No, I didn't get any gifts at all. No one gave you a gift? No. Oh, I'm sorry. No, it's okay. You know, they hadn't got the money either. You know, and they're all working as well.

So everyone is still struggling in this cost of living crisis? Oh, of course they are. Yeah, of course they are. I wasn't looking for bargains. No, I'm not a salesperson. I have a friend like that. He's not a salesperson. His attitude is, buy the jumper that you want, not the one in yellow that's in the sale, and you'll have it longer. And I think I do intend going to the sales, but from experience, the occasional time I've been to the...

the best comes at the end of the sales because they know they're going to get the crowds at the beginning. So the clever few, I think, wait. I worked with a man once who was an engineer, not short of money, and he always bought his winter jackets at the end of the sale in Malahide. He would wait until the very end. And he always reckoned he got a bargain. And he was wealthy. He didn't even need to be up the sales. No, no, no. But a lot of people who go to sales are. They're not short of money.

Who's short money today anyway? There's loads of it. You're not bothering with the sales this year. How come? Mainly because it's probably too crowded and too rushed and I just take my time. I prefer to take my time when I'm shopping. What did you buy in the sales? I bought a table and chairs in Bargain Town. You went to Bargain Town. What did you pay for the table and chairs? It was initially £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3,600, £3, 600, £3,600, £3,600, £3, 600, £3, 600, £3, 600, £3, 600, £3, 600, £3, 600, £3, 600, £3, 600, £3, 600, £3,

So you save €40 for the kitchen, the dining room? Kitchen. Kitchen table, yeah. And you're happy? Very happy, yeah. And do you like a bargain? I do, I love a bargain, yeah.

It's all online really now, isn't it? Most people buy their goods online, so don't bother going to the shops. Now, Henry, I actually think that it is Black Friday being so close to Christmas that it's killed the New Year sales. I think so too. I know I read that piece in the Irish Times by Conor Pope and the city centre on Stephen's Day on the 27th, very quiet. Very, and laughable compared to what it used to be. Absolutely. And even now around Graffin Street, it's still quite quiet. The people out there are just revelers really getting a...

Friday night, freezing cold pint on a freezing cold evening. But yeah, I mean, just chatting to people there in Kilbarrick Shopping Centre, they, you know, a lot of them felt that they're broke, cost of living. Lots of them were actually in Mannequin's Pub. You know, they're in there just for a pint. I popped in there too and I was offered a free cup of tea and the barman gave me a mini boost bar. Oh.

because he didn't have any chocolate behind the counter and he refused to take any money. So I just wanted to say thanks for that. Very good. Now, are people bringing unwanted gifts to charity shops? They are. I mean, they are and they do, but they want people to, you know, we've all got our houses or homes or flats wherever we live. There's unwanted gifts there. We all have them. We all receive them. Bring them to your charity shop and it will help them. Here is the manager of Barnardo's in Kilbarrick Shopping Centre in Barnardo's.

I'm Pauline. I'm the manager of Barnardo's in Kilbarrick. At the moment, people are coming in. Unwanted Christmas gifts are slowly coming in. What are people dropping off? I've also noticed you've got lots of new products. You've got some Converse shoes there for kids, brand new. I think you want €6 for them. You also have some pyjamas with hamburgers and chips on them, also nearly new. A real mixture of stuff. What are people bringing in?

People are bringing in, they're bringing in everything. Like they could be bringing in actually gift sets of creams or perfumes, some jewellery, bringing in clothes, new clothes that they have more, new shoes, second-hand clothes. Does it bring new business? I mean, if there's new products, does it help? It does. It's great. It's actually great. Like you can actually see, like, you know, the more that actually comes in, the profit in the shop actually goes up.

So it does help. So it does, yeah. It makes a big, big difference. So all those unwanted gifts, you're saying don't leave them in the house gathering dust? Don't leave them, yeah. Don't leave them lying. Don't leave them lying there. Put them to good use. Like, Barnardo's do great work for disadvantaged children and...

the money that's raised from it goes a long way. It's interesting that the charities like Barnardo's, it's one of the first times I ever remember them actually appealing to people to give the unwanted gifts to them. Yeah, no, and it's fantastic. And that list, again, the top unwanted list is novelty items, kitchen utensils, underwear, home furnishings, toiletries, slippers, sleepwear, bags, clothing accessories, food. And we've all received unwanted gifts. And I know I received one. It was actually...

which we explain a little bit later on, I received quite a lot of them and some really, really silly stuff. Only Fools and Horses, what do you call it? A DVD. Stuff, you know, like I just... And don't get me wrong, I do like Only Fools and Horses, but... Who does DVDs in 2025? Yeah, well, I think we would have to...

find the DVD player in the attic. I admit, we don't use them anymore. But yeah, I did get to meet various people, including a lady who was window shopping and no lien. And she actually met you some years back. So you've popped in here to Bernardo's. What are you looking for? Just basically looking for a bargain. Looking for a bargain. Looking for a bargain. You know, after Christmas, people don't have that much money.

Does it surprise you in the city centre, in the capital, the sales haven't been as popular as recent years? Is it because of Black Friday or, as you said, people just don't have much money in their pocket? Generally, I don't think people have much money after Christmas, especially if you have big families. So all the money is gone until the end of the month anyway? That's it, really, yeah. And are you working yourself? I'm not now, no. So you're looking for a bargain. You need to find a bargain. Yeah.

And so many people are bringing in unwanted Christmas gifts, so you're getting brand new items for a fraction of the cost and you're supporting charity. Yeah, well, you're supporting charity, I do agree with that now. But, like, you do get value for money sometimes in these shops, but as I say, some of them may be overpriced sometimes, you know. Depends where you go and what charity shops you go to. So are you window shopping now or you are looking for something?

No, I was just looking for something, basically. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular. It's just that I'm past and I just thought I'd drop in. Nolan, I understand at one point you were Ireland's biggest telly addict and you had your TV taken away by Adrian Kennedy. Did he come and take it himself from you? He did, yeah. At the time, him and Jeremy, the two of them, yeah, came and took it away, yeah. And did you manage to live without it? No.

Not really, no. But the kids were worse. They were absolutely worse. Like, I was looking for things to do and bring them here and there. But they were asking, when is the TV coming back? We want the TV back. Well, here's a book. It's about Coronation Street's snow on the cobbles. Yeah. Do you want to buy that one? I'm not sure the price. Eh.

Would you be interested in Corrie? Oh, I do, yeah. Yeah, I do be interested in Coronation Street, yeah. Yeah, I might have a look through that, yeah. Yeah, I'd be interested. By the way, Henry, that was many, many years ago, long before iPads or the internet was even a thing, when telly was the only form of entertainment you could have. So, Adrian, you were out there in Kilbarrick stealing, robbing TVs. We took her television. It was a competition we ran for... Disgraceful, carry on. ...to find the biggest telly addict and...

That lady there, we came out and we physically took her telly. By the end of the week, she was nearly crying. And you did give it back? We did eventually. Oh, wow. I mean, what an original idea. The poor lady, and there she is, and now looking for a bargain, and she's got her TV back, which is great. Finally, Henry, you mentioned about getting a few unwanted gifts. Yeah.

It was some shocking stuff. Did you bring any with you to Barnardo's? I've already taken them, not to Barnardo's. My local charity shop is actually Vincent's. I took them to Vincent's up the road. And James Blunt's CD. And I just want to have all the respect in the world for James Blunt and people who like James Blunt. And he's very, very funny on Twitter. And that hit Your Beautiful, which I won't sing. It wouldn't be fair on the listeners. But, you know, that was a very unwanted gift I received. And it wasn't even an original 20th anniversary edition. It was just...

I think he, without naming the person, bought it in a charity shop, which is good because it's doing the full circle now because it's back in a charity shop. And I am grateful. I'm very grateful if anyone wants to give me a gift. But, you know, some of them are just not suitable. And it might end up in a charity shop. Anyway, here is the manager from Barnardo's.

Hi, Henry. I'm delighted to meet you. My name's Bernadette and I'm a retail manager with Barnardo's. So, Bernadette Harrington, for you, what are people bringing in? And we all get unwanted Christmas gifts. For example, I received a Blu-ray DVD. I had to look up what a Blu-ray was. It turns out it's a special type of DVD player. So, the DVD ended up in Vincent's. It's already up in one of the Vincent's shops. The

These unwanted gifts can really help, can't they? Absolutely, and this time of year in particular, I guess people are receiving things that they think twice, oh, really, is that for me? Like you and your Blu-ray. And, you know, sometimes you tell somebody you really love a book and you end up getting three copies of the same book.

So we'd be delighted to get any of those. We get anything and everything, really. Clothing, that knitted jumper that your auntie makes and that really wish you never had. So we'd love to get those. And the shop is buzzing with people coming in, looking for a bargain, dropping stuff off. And I notice you've got some brand new items in here too. So those unwanted gifts can raise quite a lot of money for charity and find a new home.

Absolutely. Everything that anybody donates to us here, all the profits go directly to the work of Barnardo's with 26,000 children and families across Ireland. So if you decide it's not for you, there's always going to be somebody that would love it and you're helping the work of the charity as well. Here in the shop you've got some brand new products. You have some bow

Bose floor stands for speakers. You've also got some mobile phone covers, all obviously a fraction of what they'd cost new. And you do get some new stuff in. Yeah, absolutely. As we said, say at Christmas, lots of people getting things that really aren't for them. But throughout the year, we'd get brand new product as well. And then one of the things that Barnardo's do is...

They approach different companies to donate brand new products. So you'll get well-known names that you'd recognize in our shops that are brand new at a fraction of the price. Henry, I have a pair of pajamas that I was given for Christmas. Yes. Christmas pajamas. I was going to bring them in for you today. Would you have taken them? I would. Why wouldn't I? I would have taken them straight to the charity shop.

I'm not into Christmas pyjamas. Very good. And we're asking all of you to do the same if you have any goods that are presents that you don't want. Henry, as always, thanks very much indeed. Henry McKean on charity shops crying out for unwanted Christmas gifts. The Hard Shoulder with Ciarán Cotterhy. With the MG Hybrid and Electric range. Weekdays from 4 on Newstalk.

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Learn more at Ingreza.com. That's I-N-G-R-E-Z-Z-A dot com. Ingreza.