Little white lies at Christmas - what we say and what we mean

If someone says "thank you, it's lovely" when opening their Christmas gift from you they probably don't like it, a study has found. Researchers discovered that three quarters of the population reel out cliched phrases which mean the opposite of what they actually feel when unwrapping a present. According to the study, those who exclaim "What a lovely surprise" are actually trying to find words to express how they really feel about the gift they have received. And those who say "Thanks so much - I nearly bought this for myself" are thinking 'I would NEVER have bought this for myself'.