Someone’s on the naughty list…

Chris Hopkins Political Research Director 11/26/2021

New polling from Savanta suggests a third of people in London (34%) and the East Midlands (34%) are not looking forward to Christmas this year.

One in ten Londoners do not plan on eating a Christmas dinner this year...

On a positive note, the Northern Ireland, Eastern, and South-East regions present less of a Scrooge-mentality, with only a quarter of residents not looking forward to the post-Covid festivity.

Positivity toward the holidays is also higher amongst the 35-54 demographic (66% ‘Looking forward’), compared to those aged 18-24 (57%).

On the other hand, one third of those aged 18-24 (33%) and 55-64 (32%) report that they are not looking forward to Christmas this year.

Anticipation for the Christmas period is moderately split across genders, with females more looking forward to Christmas this year (66%) than males (62%).

At a political level, positivity towards the holiday is higher amongst Green voters (86%), and Conservative voters (71%), than non-voters and Plaid Cymru voters who carry the least enthusiasm for Christmas this year (56%).

Many have suggested that the key to a good Christmas is the opportunity to spend the holiday with family, as the easing of lockdown promises a return to traditional Christmas settings for many.

However, over a quarter of UK adults (27%) report ‘not yet knowing where they will be having dinner on Christmas day’.

This uncertainty applies to a third of London residents, providing insight into perhaps why the same proportion of Londoners are not looking forward to the holiday season.

One in ten Londoners do not plan on eating a Christmas dinner this year (10%), compared to just 6% in the UK overall.

Moreover, 41% of 18-24 year-olds share this position, with 8% actively choosing to not eat a Christmas dinner on Christmas day at all (2% more than the national average).

On the other hand, certainty around where to eat Christmas dinner has an incremental increase based on age, with the 55+ age group having the highest category percentage (77%), compared to just 55% of those aged 18-34.