UK Spending Habits At Christmas

Along with Belfast and Glasgow we spend the most when it comes to gifts at Christmas, nights out and decorations. Getting into the spirit is important to us and these things only help that!

It is Belfast however who spend the most with £42 on new Christmas decorations and almost £100 on nights out over the festive season.

We are also a thoughtful bunch when it comes to Christmas with most of us spending more than £250 each on gifts for loved ones, buying presents for an average of 10 different people. So getting prepared early will get rid of the last minute stress to find something perfect for everyone!

The average Brit starts their shopping 10 weeks before Christmas day, so getting started earlier is always better and will keep you ahead of the stress. Budget for your food and drink, which on average costs £142.26 (don’t forget the turkey!) Factor in your spend on new clothes for Christmas parties and decorations to make sure you are well prepared for the season. Start before everyone else and work out when to start buying things by checking out our budget timeline piece.

With Brits saving a whole six months before Christmas you can make sure that no spends are going out from November’s pay and enjoy the month running up to it with no presents left to be bought, allowing you to focus on spending time with the family, which is the nation’s favourite thing about the period. 45% of us like giving presents the best to make sure we make everyone happy, which means preparation is key to secure the best bits for the family!

4 in 10 of us want to bring the inside festivities outside and decorate our houses, with £30 being spent every year for new decorations. But with new themes and colours popping up every year we like to make sure we’re on trend! With Christmas trees going up around the 11th-16th of December 1 in 10 of us actually get ready before December starts! So make sure you get your favourite pieces before they run out!

If you’re in Newcastle, London or Brighton you’ll also be surrounded by some of the most festive people in the UK and can join in with the festivities at the earliest possible date! Whilst Edinburgh Scots need to up their game in the festive fun!

Get yourself Christmas-ready with our 3 top tips in preparing for the season:

• ● Write a to do list distinguishing what you need for food and what you want to buy for each person – ticking things off will give you a sense of organisation and makes sure nothing is missed!



• ● If you’re hosting Christmas dinner make sure you make a note of who is coming, so that you aren’t searching for extra veg in the freezer to make up the numbers! Speaking of which- getting your frozen veg in early will stop you having to shop closer to the big day when you need your fresh food and turkey!



• ● When shopping for gifts try and section them off into categories, so buy the pyjamas together, electricals together, small gifts together and so on – this way you can tick things off by category




We think Christmas can become a super hectic time and we want you to be as smart and savvy, as you can to make it much simpler, so check out our top tips and help yourself have the best Christmas ever! Shop our Christmas hub here and get ready for the big day.