Just one in five (18%) say it is acceptable to start putting up Christmas decorations at home in November, with three quarters (74%) saying it’s only okay to start hanging baubles in December, according to new research from Savanta.
Savanta’s findings suggest that Brits have increasingly accepted that shops will start openly preparing for Christmas in November (44%), although only 4% say it’s acceptable in October.
Nearly half (46%) of the UK public say they think retailers should only start playing Christmas music and hanging decorations in December.
The research suggests an interesting gender divide in how men and women approach Christmas preparations. Men (43%) are much more likely than women (24%) to say it’s okay to only start buying Christmas presents in December. One in four (25%) of women say it’s good to start buying presents in October, double the proportion (12%) of men.
Savanta’s research of Christmas suggests that one in ten (10%) think it is never acceptable to go see a pantomime, the highest proportion of all different Christmas activities listed.
Richard Brooks, Director at Savanta said, “It’s clear that we have strong views on when it’s acceptable to start celebrating Christmas. While it looks like we’ve begrudgingly accepted that shops will be blaring out Christmas songs early, the British public are still overwhelmingly of the view Christmas at home starts in December.”
“Beneath our topline findings, there is an interesting insight into how men and women approach Christmas. It won’t be a surprise to many that men tend to begin their Christmas shopping much later than women.”
