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And so this is Christmas...
28/12/00



For all of those MrWeb readers who have resorted to the computer after the exhaustion of Christmas, you are not alone! According to the findings of a survey from Taylor Nelson Sofres, almost one in seven (13%) adults in Britain ":can’t wait for Christmas to finish" and find it "the most boring time of the year." This was highest amongst 35 to 54 year-olds (17%).

At the same time, a majority (73%) said that they look forward to Christmas as "an opportunity to spend time with family and friends", although fewer than one in 10 (9%) now see Christmas "primarily as a religious celebration". The research also revealed that nine out of 10 adults planned to sit down to eat a Christmas meal together with their family and friends. Only three per cent said that "children are allowed to play with their games and toys and eat when they are ready", even if the adults have sat down to a meal. Just one per cent said that they "don’t really sit down to eat together" at Christmas. Only 17% of Britons said that they go to church regularly during the rest of the year, although more than a quarter (28%) had planned to go at Christmas. Other findings include the following:

  • Six per cent "don’t do anything special for Christmas".
  • Three per cent "only look forward to receiving presents and feel that the family/friends part of Christmas is tedious".
  • More than four out of 10 people (42%) sit down at Christmas "to eat together at a set time".
Of those who had been to an office or works Christmas party, over seven out of ten (72 %) claimed they had "never done anything they later regretted" at the party. However, two per cent admitted "expressing negative views about their boss" and three per cent said that they had had "a passionate or sexual liaison with a colleague". According to Sue Homeyard, Director, Omnibus Services, Taylor Nelson Sofres, "Despite increasing perceptions that the "traditional" family Christmas is disappearing, these findings suggest that it is very much alive and well. Whilst the religious focus of the Christmas period has limited significance today, the Christmas meal still clearly provides a strong, unifying focus for families - irrespective of their religious beliefs." The research was undertaken using Taylor Nelson Sofres’ PhoneBus between 15 and 17 December 2000, amongst a representative sample of 1,004 adults (aged 16+)in Great Britain.