It’s the most wonderful time of the year – or so the song goes. But recent research has revealed that almost four in five Brits find the festive period stressful and more than two thirds are relieved when Christmas Day is over.
A survey by plant-based food company THIS looked at what we believe to be the worst parts about this time of year. And while Brussels sprouts do get a dishonorable mention, they don’t feature quite as highly as you might expect.
One of the biggest parts of Christmas Day is opening your presents. The most exciting part of the day for youngsters, the tradition continues through to adulthood, with loved ones giving gifts to each other no matter what age they are.
The look on someone’s face when they open a brilliant gift is a joy to behold, but, according to THIS’s research, the struggle to find the perfect present is the absolute worst thing about Christmas.
More than half (53 percent) of people find thinking of what to buy their family and friends as a drag during the festive period. It’s not just the thinking that frustrates people, it’s the whole present process.
Over a third of people (37 percent) hate how busy the shops are around the festive period, and, rounding out the top three, 31 per cent of people find wrapping lots of gifts to be a yuletide yawnathon.
Most people cut loose a bit at Christmas, with work parties and reunions with family and friends, it’s understandable that many of us overindulge a bit during the festive period. But one in four (26 percent) of us hate feeling fat around Christmastime – and 11 per cent don’t enjoy how often we’re hungover.
Seemingly endless loops of Christmas music (21 percent) and festive films (9 percent) also make the list, while many others hate having to fake liking presents (23 percent) and one in six (16 percent) are sick of politics chat around the dinner table.
Speaking of the dinner table, having to wolf down dry turkey bothers 12 per cent of Brits and – somewhat surprisingly – Brussels sprouts only just sneak into the top 20, with nine per cent of us ranking them among the worst parts of the festive period.
THIS’s survey also found that a whopping 78 per cent find Christmas stressful and even more (81 percent) of us feel the pressure of having the “perfect” time. The stress has led 30 per cent of people to consider cancelling the whole thing, while a similar number (27 percent) have grumbled so much that they have been labelled a Scrooge.
Given all of these factors, many people have developed their own coping mechanisms. Half of us (49 percent) like to get out for a Christmas walk to relieve stress in the fresh air, while buying all presents by December 1 (44 percent) and preparing food as early as possible (43 percent) have also been found to help.
Mark Cuddigan, CEO of THIS, said: “The festive period is always a special time for family, friends and food – but for many the shopping, wrapping, Christmas tunes, and cooking can become overwhelming.”
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