The Ultimate British Christmas Traditions

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but the way we choose to celebrate varies from household to household. We’ve surveyed Brits to find out how they celebrate at Christmas, and the traditions and timeline they follow, from what they wear to what they eat and what they deem to be the ‘perfect Christmas’.

British Christmas dress code

Much in the spirit of the season, our survey revealed that 16% of respondents chose to wear Christmas jumpers on Christmas day, however unsurprisingly the majority of Brits opt for casualwear, with 33% and loungewear in third, with 13% in agreement. Only 11% of respondents choose to dress up for the day with occasionwear, which suggests that Brits prioritise casual and comfortable outfits at Christmas.

Ultimate British Christmas dinner

Arguably, Christmas dinner is one of the most exciting parts of the occasion, but with so many options that vary from household to household, the items people choose to fill their plate with and the quantity of each item is subjective.
 
With this in mind, we’ve looked at which foods people eat at Christmas time, and the quantity they eat.  

Starting with the main event, the meat. Whether it’s beef, chicken, pork or gammon the average portion is 2 slices. The item people indulge in most are the roast potatoes, with people opting for an average of 4 roast potatoes on their dinner plate. When it comes to vegetables, the most common choice is an equal amount of broccoli, carrots and parsnips, with respondents choosing 3 of each, and surprisingly the average amount of brussel sprouts is 4!

Other festive foods on our dinner plates at Christmas include on average 3 Yorkshire puddings, 3 spoonfuls of meat gravy, and 3 pigs in blankets, and the less popular choices of 2 spoonfuls each of peas and cabbage.

However, the festive meal doesn’t end at Christmas dinner, as the grand finale is in the dessert choices and in Britain, we clearly don’t do things by halves! On average we opt for 2 portions of desserts, whether that be classic Christmas treats such as Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, yule log and mince pies, or less traditional festive desserts such as profiteroles and cheese.

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Britain's Christmas drinking habits

Which cities drink the most on Christmas day? We’ve highlighted the key findings in a map below.

The top spot is shared by London who on average drink 3 glasses of wine on Christmas Day and Cardiff who drink 3 pints of beer. At the other end of the list, Bristol only drinks 1 glass of wine and Edinburgh has a single pint of beer. When it comes to spirits and mixers, Leeds and Plymouth have on average 2 drinks on the festive occasion. Bottoms up!