The study was commissioned by the UK toy subscription box service, Whirli and carried out by Sapio Research who surveyed 2053 UK adults with children aged between 0 and seven.

The study details that on average, children received 21 toys this Christmas, with five per cent receiving more than 50. Whirli suggest that 80 per cent of parents think their children are given too many toys at Christmas, and other special occasions, while 88 per cent are consciously trying to reduce waste.

Commenting on the research, Nigel Phan, founder and CEO of Whirli, said: “The scale of gifts already neglected in the UK following the Christmas period indicates a huge disparity between Christmas gifting and what households with kids can actually handle or make use of.

“With a third of parents spending more than £150 per child, and almost nine in ten parents trying to consciously reduce waste, it’s no surprise that our research reveals many frustrations parents have with the current toy shopping experience.”

The same survey also revealed that over half of parents will buy pre-loved toys, and that 31 per cent of the mar actively rotating toys within their homes.

“However, with almost four in five still feeling that toys are cluttering their homes, there is a clear demand for something more sustainable for the world and manageable for parents, which explains in part the success we have seen at Whirli with our pilot customers.”

Whirli fully launched to the UK in March with its first fully flexible subscription box. It has been set up to with the aim of reducing the number of toys that head to landfill every year.