The British Video Association (BVA) has enlisted the help of The Gadget Show's Jon Bentley in order to spread the message about Christmas gadget gaffs. According to a survey that it commissioned from election pollsters YouGov, up to £1billion of unwanted technological tat will be given as presents this year, so the organisation is sending out a warning to deter Aunts and Grandmas from making any festive errors.

Out of the 2000 Brits polled, one in three have received an electronic gadget that they never - or hardly ever - use, with a majority of those stating that they just don't have the time to grapple with them. Other common complaints also include not wanting to clean the new gadget, or not knowing how to use them.

The survey also revealed the type of products that are most likely to end up unused after Christmas: Digital photo frames come high up on the list, along with foot spas, blenders, electronic sudoku games and digital organisers. However, Pocket-lint would like to disagree with the fact that bread makers is also on the list. What we wouldn't give for a decent bread maker.

Amusingly, other gizmos that lay dormant include desktop vacuum cleaners, candy floss machines and, we love this one, shrink wrap machines. Let's get this out of the way right now; if anybody gives you a shrink wrap machine for Christmas, disown them. Immediately.

On the flip side, the gadgets that are recommended are those that offer more than mere novelty value: "Many of the gadget gaffs cited by our study are gifts that have a lot of novelty appeal, but perhaps a limited shelf life", says BVA spokesperson, Simon Heller. "A candy-floss maker is great for beating those Boxing Day blues, but a games console or 3D Blu-ray player are future-proof. They’re gifts you’ll go back to all year round".

Jon Bentley agrees: "While the perfect gadget gift is a personal thing, there are some general rules of thumb to getting it right. A product that’s worthwhile and likely to be satisfying rather than a gimmick that seems clever at the time is a good bet, such as games consoles that let you play Blu-rays and DVDs as well as games, or internet-enabled mobile phones. Also, gadgets that improve recipients' experience of something they already enjoy, such as an electronic book reader".

And that should help the 34 per cent of gift givers that plump for consumer electronics.

We'd still be happy with that bread maker, though.

What do you plan to give, or want, for Christmas? Let us know in the comments below...