With the festive season looming, it’s hard not to notice retail stores brimming with Christmas merchandise, streets amassed with Christmas decorations and radio stations playing our favourite Christmas songs, but when is it too early to start celebrating?
A new
study from HomeLet, who surveyed 2000 UK based tenants to delve deeper
into this tireless debate and to explore how the British public feel about the
notion of celebrating Christmas cheer. Are we a nation of grinches or are we
all festive revellers?
The study found that remarkably, the majority of those surveyed (62%) believe
the festive season officially kick starts on the 29th of November.
However, some super keen residents have already had their festive décor up for
over a month, as it’s revealed 2.2% of respondents start decorating their house
as early as October. It appears that there’s still some Brits who like to do
things a little last minute as 1% admitted to usually starting their decorating
on Christmas Eve.
Of those who participate in adoring their homes with decorations, the survey
found that our survey respondents spend an average of £77.90 every year decking
their own halls.
It’s no surprise that millennials maintain their reputation for splashing their
cash, with 25-34-year olds spending the most on Christmas decorations,
averaging £113.07 a year. In contrast, 55-64-year olds are perhaps the most
economical with annual additions to their decorations, spending the least of all
age demographics, averaging £52.97 each year to top up their collection of
Christmas decorations.
The study also found that artificial Christmas trees are the staple of a
British Christmas, with 62% choosing these to decorate their homes. In
comparison, less than a fifth of Brits (18%) continue with the traditional real
Christmas tree.
Despite the Christmas tree usually being the focal point for families on
Christmas day, a fifth of tenants revealed they don’t even bother with one.
Residents of Bristol and Nottingham appear to be the biggest scrooges, with
over a half admitting to not including a Christmas tree as part of their
decorations.
To add to this, one in ten tenants confessed to hating their neighbours
exterior Christmas lights and decorations. However, it appears we aren’t all
spoilsports, as the majority of tenants feel their neighbours Christmas
decorations help them get into the Christmas spirit, with 62% stating they love
it when they see extravagant displays on their street.
Despite a half of Bristolians revealing they don’t assemble a Christmas Tree as
part of their festive décor, it appears those living in the city are the
biggest fans of seeing Christmas cheer on the streets, with 72% admitting they
love exhibiting the Christmas displays on the façade of their neighbours
houses. Mancunians on the other hand appear to be the grouchiest, with 16% of
residents admitting they hate staring at any of the local houses which display
festive décor.
Bristol was further found to be the country’s Christmas capital, spending £139.10 on Christmas decorations every year. Contrary to those residents in Sheffield, who only spend a measly £21.07 a year decorating their home for the festive season.
The nation’s biggest Christmas decoration spenders by city:
- Bristol – £139.10
- Nottingham – £118.98
- Glasgow – £114.85
- Norwich – £112.86
- Leeds – £89.96
- Liverpool – £80.51
- London – £75.79
- Edinburgh -£72.79
- Cardiff – £67.62
- Birmingham – £53.29
- Belfast – £52.75
- Southampton – £51.75
- Manchester – £51.73
- Newcastle – £51.60
- Sheffield – £21.07
Although the vast majority of us do opt to dust off our decorations each year
and transform our homes, the research found that this can sometimes come at a
cost. A third of tenants (34%) revealed that they’ve
damaged their property as a result of putting up Christmas decorations.
The most common damages include:
- Scuffing walls when bringing in a Christmas tree (36%)
- Damaging paint work when taking down decorations (31%)
- Damage to windows (fake snow spray etc) (16%)
- Exterior wall damage (10%)
More information, including details on the top five cities per industry, can be found here: https://homelet.co.uk/tenants/blog/article/the-cost-of-the-uks-christmas-decorations
Rob Wishart, Group Data Manager
at HomeLet, commented on the findings:
“With the countdown to Christmas well and truly underway, as a nation it shows
how much we love the festive period, with many of us starting to decorate their
homes before even opening the first door of their advent calendar (and some
even as early as October!).
“With so many of us eager to deck out our homes in festive
décor, it’s important to take care when putting up your decorations to avoid
any Christmas related mishaps. Ensuring that you fully prepare the space you’re
about to decorate is vital, as significant amounts of clutter can cause damage
to your surroundings, or worse, yourself!
“If you’re a tenant in a rental property, it’s important to think about what
type of decorations you plan to use to minimise the possibility of damaging any
walls, floors or ceilings. Whilst still getting in the festive spirit, checking
that everything is 100% removable is imperative and if you’re planning on using
Christmas lights for example, make sure they are of good quality as you don’t
want lights that could short out or spark. If you’re unsure of anything, it’s
important you check your tenancy agreement and discuss any concerns with your
landlord or agent before you start your Christmas decorating.”
