Who is the hardest person to buy a Christmas gift for?

More than 40 per cent of Kiwis find Christmas gift shopping stressful. Picture / Dean Purcell

Nailing the perfect Christmas gift is hardest when shopping for partners and parents, according to a Trade Me survey

Trade Me's Millie Silverster said 22 per cent found their partner was the most difficult to shop for, while 21 per cent said it was their parents.

"Nailing the perfect gift for those closest to you is a pain point for Kiwis who stress about getting it right," she said.

"Kids on the other hand seem to be the easiest to find stocking fillers for, and only 6 per cent of respondents said they were the toughest to shop for. Kids are pretty transparent with their​ ​gift​ ​requests​ ​so​ ​that's​ ​not​ ​too​ ​surprising."​

The research from Trade Me found that half of the 550 people surveyed claimed to get their shopping done in October or earlier.

"More than 40 per cent of Kiwis told us they find Christmas gift shopping stressful," Silverster said.

"We all know it's an expensive time of year too. Given [nearly] 40 per cent of us plan on spending between $25 and $50 on each present that adds up quick."

While 12 per cent get their shopping done in the week before the holidays, 1 per cent leave the it to the eleventh hour and get their gifts on Christmas Eve.

The top 10 searches on Trade Me for Christmas gifts were outdoor furniture, barbecues, trampolines, L.O.L Surprise Dolls, mountain bikes, Hatchimals, Feisty Pets, Lego, swimming pools and gazebos.

"On the other hand our respondents said it's best to steer clear of soap, weird food and books on weight loss or dieting.

"These are the types of unwanted gifts we expect to see pop up on Trade Me on Boxing Day and I'm sure we will see some amazing listings again this year."

Meanwhile, Paymark - which process 75 per cent of electronic transactions in New Zealand - said early Christmas spending surged this year on the back of Black Friday sales.

Spending through Paymark totalled $5.19 billion in November, up 6.2 per cent on the same month the year before.

Who is the ​hardest​ ​to​ ​buy​ ​for:
•22%​ ​say​ ​their​ ​partner
•21%​ ​​​parents
•14%​ ​​extended​ ​family
•6%​ ​​kids
•6%​ ​in​ ​laws
•5%​ ​siblings
•4%​ ​grandchildren
•2%​ ​grandparents