Photo: © 2009 AAP/DEAN LEWINS

Australians spent a massive $23.6 billon last year on presents like socks, jocks and chocolates.

But many also reached straight for charity catalogues to buy items like, say, a sanitary toilet in Aunty May's name for a family in Uganda.

"The items represent things that are needed," says Steve Bradbury, the pioneer behind the TEAR Christmas Gift Catalogue.

"When you see these gifts and their application, that's when you see that it's making a difference. 

"One young boy received the gift of a goat through the gift catalogue.

"He then started a breeding program, and by the time he was in secondary school, he had enough of a herd to start selling milk and fund his secondary education."