Cost Of Living Crisis hits Christmas celebrations
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The cost of living crisis is leaving very few people in the UK untouched, with Christmas anticipated to be where people feel it bite the hardest.
Last year the average Brit spent £1,108 on Christmas festivities, and for many that’s an eye-watering amount well out of reach in the current climate.
Research by WDW Bingo has shown that budgets are dropping and spending is going down for most Brits, with almost half of respondents saying that their overall Christmas budget is lower than it was in 2021.
This is despite inflation increasing the cost of goods.
Presents
57 percent of respondents find Christmas preparation stressful every year, but almost half said it is more stressful in 2022 than it has ever been.
The biggest stressor by far was the cost of Christmas presents, with 75 percent saying they were worried about affording gifts.
While the average British adult spent approximately £548 on Christmas gifts last year, the survey of 1000 adults showed that 15 percent had just £100 to spend in total on gifts.
A further 36 percent capped their total gift budget at £300.
As inflation balloons, we’re under more pressure than ever to make every pound stretch a long way.
Cost saving tip: instead of buying presents for everyone in your family, why not suggest a Secret Santa with a slightly higher budget?
That way, everyone gets a gift they love AND you have the fun of guessing who your Secret Santa was on Christmas morning!
Food
People budgeted even less for festive food and drink, with 33 percent budgeting only £100 and a further 50 percent capping their food allowance at £300.
Given that some festive food staples have risen in price by as much as 226 percent since last year’s dinner, it’s no surprise that the cost of Christmas dinner worried 52 percent of our respondents.
Idea: If you’re able to afford it, donating to local food banks could help struggling families cope during the Christmas period.
Energy
The average household’s energy bill has climbed to about £3000 a year.
These soaring costs are a particular worry for consumers, and it’s having a clear impact on the way we are behaving over the festive season.
A whopping 78 percent said they would be turning their heating down or off on Christmas day, citing rocketing bills as the reason why.
57 percent have chosen not to have Christmas lights on this year for fear of an astronomical electric bill.
In addition, 30 percent say they’ll cook less than usual over the festive period to save on energy costs.
Socialising
The cost of living crisis is even having an impact on the ways we socialise over Christmas.
23 percent stated that they’d have fewer visitors than usual over the holidays to try to keep costs down.
Sadly five percent of those who responded to the survey are spending Christmas alone, with the cost of celebrating was cited as the most common reason.
Silver linings
Spending may be dropping rapidly, but 73 percent thought that spending time with loved ones is the true meaning of Christmas.
It makes sense to embrace this now more than ever as we tighten our belts.
The memories generated from Christmases with family tend to endure for far longer than the memory of which toy we got this year or that.
When we look back, we think of laughing around the table as we eat Christmas dinner, playing board games as a family, or doing crafts together.
While nobody should be worried about keeping warm this winter, WDW Bingo is encouraging readers to get back to basics this Christmas and focus on the things that really matter: the ones you love...doing so will ease your wallet and lift your spirits!
