People are giving their Donald Trump supporting relatives revenge Christmas gifts

Devastated Democrats in the United States are donating to progressive non-profits on behalf of their Republican family members

Donald Trump supporters campaign in California, in the run up to the US election in November 2016 (AFP)

Democrats upset by the US election result are giving their Republican family members “revenge gifts” this Christmas, instead of presents they might actually like.

Inside carefully wrapped boxes, some unlucky Trump voters will find notes thanking them for making donations to progressive charities like Planned Parenthood, which are expected to come under attack from the new administration.

John Tereska, an avid Hillary Clinton supporter who works for a fashion retailer in New York, said he felt strategic contributions were the best way to make a point to relatives who hold polar opposite political views to him — besides, he said, he was too angry to buy them normal gifts.

“With my oldest brother, who I know voted for Trump, I’m going right for the jugular," Mr Tereska told Business Insider. "I’m donating to the Democratic National Committee on his behalf."

“It’s revenge giving,” he added.

Ken Urban, a playwright who teaches part time at Princeton University and voted Democrat, has made donations to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on behalf of his parents as their Christmas gifts.

“My father was the Republican mayor of my small home town in New Jersey and spent his career in the navy reserve," he said. "My mother told me she would never vote for Hillary Clinton because they have a friend who works for the CIA who said she was ‘difficult’. And there are aunts and uncles and cousins in my family who voted for Trump."

He said he regrets agreeing before the election to attend a big family Christmas gathering with his boyfriend, for the first time in 20 years. Donating to the SPLC, he said, had made the ordeal seem slightly more bearable.

“I thought I could make a point and in the process be generous to a human rights cause that is only going to become more important now,” said Mr Urban.

Revenge givers said they had taken inspiration from the surge in donations made to abortion provider Planned Parenthood, following Mr Trump's shock victory, in the name of pro-life vice president-elect Mike Pence.

The pro-choice organisation reported a surge in support in November, as a Facebook page called "Donate $5 to Planned Parenthood in Honor of Mike Pence“ sought to “flood” the evangelical Christian’s office with thank you cards from the organisation.

Randi Greenwald, a retired lawyer from Portland, Maine, told Business Insider she heard about the Pence idea and decided to put a more personal spin on the tactic.

Her son’s brother-in-law is Canadian, but is a big fan of Mr Trump, the news site reported. He has persistently taunted his Democrat family about the real estate tycoon’s win, Ms Greenwald said.

“It meant more to me to make a revenge donation in this person’s name to a small cause locally,” she said.

Ms Greenwald gave the money to her state branch of the Immigration Legal Advocacy Project, ILAP Maine, which assists people with their immigration cases, including asylum seekers and refugees.

“That’s his holiday gift this year,” she said, adding that she bought regular presents for other members of the family.

Other people said although their gifting might seem combative they hoped it would actually help bring them closer to their Republican relatives.

Francie Schnipke, who works for a not-for-profit group in Chicago, also donated to the SPLC – in the name of her Trump-voting older brother in rural Ohio.

She said he went from being a non-voter to a vocal Trump fan, despite the fact that their mother is Mexican and they have a family member with special needs, two groups among many denigrated by Trump during the campaign.

She thinks the brother was swept along by the rhetoric of co-workers at his transportation company.

“He’s always been a loving brother and father. I’m reeling,” she said. “I think he was emboldened by the idea of the outsider coming to fix dysfunctional Washington.”

Ms Schnipke said she hopes the information leaflets the SPLC will send her brother will “give him pause”, she said.

Mr Tereska, however, was less understanding of his family's choice to vote for Mr Trump.

“My father wrote in John McCain on his ballot, so I take that as a vote for Trump. My mother will not talk about it, so I assume she voted for Trump. They are getting donations to Planned Parenthood,” he said.

“I’m still grappling with the result of the election and this is my small slice of revenge for the fact that their votes have just jeopardised me and the entire world for the next four years.”