Are Kiwis sensible or just Scrooges?

Bah! Humbug! New Zealanders are a tight lot compared with the rest of the world when it comes to Christmas spending, it seems.

In a study of generosity in 13 nations, Kiwis came near the bottom of the pile, with the average worker spending $581 and the average retiree giving $291 worth of presents.

This compares with the average working Brit splurging $1448 on family and friends and the average retiree in France spending $1044.

Workers in the US spent an average of $1368 and Australians gave presents worth an average of $908.

It meant New Zealand's workers ranked a lowly 10th and retirees were even lower at 11th in the survey.

More than 9200 people were interviewed for the AXA Retirement Scope survey, which will be released in full next month.

Shoppers braving the Christmas rush in Christchurch's Riccarton Mall were aghast to learn what their British and American counterparts were spending.

"I've got 14 people to buy for and my budget is up to $25 dollars each," said shop assistant Kate Raleigh. "But none of them are kids so I can probably stick to the budget. It's still $350 but I can't really fathom spending any more than that."

Accountant Barbara Higgson called UK and US shoppers "mad".

She is only buying "seriously" for her husband and is going halves with her sister to buy other presents.

"My sister has three kids and I know her budget is pretty stretched. I know the cost of living is higher in the UK but to spend over $1000, well that's just madness," she said.

"They must be earning an awful lot over there - or just getting into a whole lot of debt."

Christmas spending (in $NZ)

* Britons: $1448

* Americans: $1368

* New Zealanders: $581