A typical household in the UK spends about £2,460 in a month.
But, in the run-up to festivals such as Christmas and Hanukkah, our habits change. Households spend on average about £713 more in December, which is 29% more than in a typical month.
The cost of Christmas has risen significantly over the years, often outpacing inflation due to factors like increased expectations and new categories of spending such as technology and travel, as well as general price increases.
Historical Christmas Spending in the UK
In the UK, the total cost of the festive period has tripled in the last 30 years.
1993: The average person spent around £229 on Christmas festivities, which was roughly three and a half days of the average wage at the time.
2023: The average UK household spent an estimated £1,811.70 on Christmas festivities, which is about 80% of the average monthly income.
2024 (Forecast): The estimated average amount spent by a household at Christmas is expected to be around £719, with a large portion going to gifts, food, and drink.
Even when adjusting for inflation, the cost of Christmas has risen by 290% in 30 years. This is driven by increased spending on a wider range of goods and services, such as:
Turkey: The average cost of a turkey in 1993 was £17.39 (£34.79 adjusted for inflation), but by 2023 this had risen to £64.60.
Gifts: In 1993, the average spend on gifts was £164.51, which increased to £278.50 in 2023.
Christmas Tree: A 6ft Christmas tree cost £18.99 in 1993 (£39.07 adjusted for inflation), but the average cost in 2023 was around £30, actually beating inflation.
Other costs: Modern Christmas costs also include things like mobile data plans, insurance for new gadgets, nights out, and pet boarding, which add significantly to the total spend.
The way we buy things is also changing. The value of online shopping has more than doubled over the last ten years. In 2023, online purchases accounted for 28% of our overall spend in December.
And promotional events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday encourage us to spend more in November too, particularly as many shops have moved from one-day to week-long offers to tempt us to buy our gifts earlier.
Spending on video and music equipment and books grows the most – book, newspaper and periodicals sales more than double. Drink and specialist food sales also increase, going up by about 38% and 22%, respectively.
Conversely, our spending on hardware such as paints and glass goes down by 19% as we delay decorating and other major works until the New Year.
Whatever you spend in the Festive period, we hope that you are able to share it with the people who are most important to you, and that it brings you great joy.
