A quarter of UK adults to scale back Xmas meal, survey finds
One in seven households (14%) now expect their Christmas guests to contribute to the cost of the celebrations
A quarter of UK adults will be scaling back their Christmas meal this year due to the current financial pressures, with 12% – up to 19% of those aged between 25 and 34 – planning to offer fewer dishes than usual, according to a survey by Strat7 Researchbods.
The survey, which looked at Christmas traditions among 2,000 UK adults, found that 19% of adults also plan to drink less alcohol this holiday due to the rise in cost of living. This also rises to a quarter of those aged between 18 and 24.
In fact, one in seven households (14%) now expect their Christmas guests to contribute to the cost of the celebrations, with 5% starting to do so this year because of the cost-of-living pressures.
Among those that are still planning to have a holiday tipple, wine is reportedly “the Christmas Day drink of choice”, with 39% of all adults partaking. This is followed by beer (21%), champagne and sparkling wine (20%) and Bailey’s Irish Cream.
The survey also found that roast potatoes are the UK’s Christmas dish of choice. They feature in 81% of the Christmas dinners made in this country, well ahead of other holiday staples like stuffing (69%), turkey (67%), Brussels sprouts (67%), carrots (67%) and pigs in blankets (65%).
In addition, nearly one in five adults don’t take a purely traditional British approach and instead incorporate other cuisines, such as Indian or Chinese food, into their Christmas meal.
However, only 3% eat out and 2% get a takeaway, showing the big home-cooked meal remains a must-have Christmas tradition for the majority of the UK.
