OVER a quarter of youngsters with working parents plan to offer their gifts or pocket money to help cover the costs of Christmas, research by Action for Children has found.

The children’s charity survey of eight to 17-year-old children found that 26 per cent who receive pocket money or money for their birthday or Christmas said that they plan to offer it to their parents to help them buy things during the festive season.

The poll also found that 26 per cent of parents were worried about being able to afford items for a traditional Christmas, including a tree and food, with one in five reporting that they were worried about being able to afford presents.