While more Australians are giving cash to young children as Christmas presents, for the older set a similar gift is becoming popular. A survey released Friday by the Australian National Retailers Association found that 20 per cent of Aussies plan to give gift vouchers for the Yuletide.

Another 35 per cent said that they want a gift voucher instead of a boxed present for this Christmas. After gift vouchers, toys, electronic items and clothes were other top Yuletide presents among the 1,000 Australian respondents, disclosed ANA Chief Executive Margy Osmond.

The gift voucher is a popular choice both of givers and recipients because of the flexibility it allows the recipient to purchase items and eliminates unwanted gifts that may end up in cabinets or drawers unused for years.

With Christmas Day just about 48 hours away, many Australians are expected to do their last-minute Christmas shopping for presents and the family Christmas meal, which would boost the weak 2011 sales of the retail industry.

Christmas shopping is expected to reach $7.7 billion or one third of the national retail sales for 2011.

Summer clothes such as board shorts, swimsuits and trunks would not be high on the list of clothes that Aussies would give a Christmas gifts because of the chilly summer weather. The unusually cold Christmas in Australia has caused clothing retailer Billabong to cut its sales forecast which led to a 34 per cent dip in its stock.

Instead of board shorts and T-shirts, sales of board games and DVDs are expected to go up on account of the cold climate, Osmond added.

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