With the festive season fast approaching, many households across the UK are gearing up to spread holiday cheer by decorating their homes. But when is the right time to start putting up those twinkling lights and festive ornaments?
It’s an age-old question which always leads to furious debate each year. Is December just too late? What about early November? Or are people celebrating even earlier?
Well, thanks to luxury outdoor furniture brand White Stores, now we know.
Surveying 1,000 people across the UK on their Christmas decorating habits – the brand found out when people start to deck the halls for the holidays.
It turns out – most people prefer to wait! Results show that over half put their Christmas decorations up in December (52.9%), while 25.5% prefer to put them up in November instead.
Early December (30.2%) is the most popular time of the month to get decorating. Since Advent (4th December) falls during this time – the traditional day to start getting ready for the holidays – it’s easy to see why it’s a favourite.
When it comes to shopping, over half (51.8%) of Brits begin shopping for their decorations from early November.
Surprisingly, some like to kick things off even earlier, with 3% of respondents saying they start decorating BEFORE HALLOWEEN. It’s clear that, for some Christmas fans, you can never start too early!
West Midlands most likely region to decorate BEFORE November
Interestingly, the West Midlands stands out as the region most likely to have decorations up BEFORE November (5.7%) – which makes it easy to see where some of the biggest festive fans can be found in the UK.
When looking at cities, Sheffield (9.4%) is the most likely city most likely to put their decorations up before November even starts.
Greater London most likely to have already decorated by now (mid-November)
Residents in Greater London (30%) are the most likely to have their halls all decked out by mid-November (20th). Unsurprisingly, London (23.3%) is also the most likely city to already have Christmas decor up right now.
The top five cities who ALREADY have their Christmas decorations up (from mid-November)
- London (23.3%)
- Sheffield (21.9%)
- Birmingham (21.4%)
- Leeds (20.7%)
- Newcastle (18.4%)
London leads the way with 23.3% of residents likely to have their decorations up by mid-November. Sheffield follows closely at 21.9%, while other cities like Birmingham (21.4%), Leeds (20.7%), and Newcastle (18.4%) are also keen on starting their celebrations early.
Top 5 cities most least likely to wait until December
- Cardiff – (7.9%)
- Bristol – (9.1%)
- Southampton – (9.6%)
- Glasgow – (10.8%)
- Manchester – (10.7%)
Several cities in the UK tend to wait until December to put up their Christmas decorations. Cardiff is one of them, with only 7.9% of residents having decorated by the end of November, followed by Bristol (9.1%) Southampton (9.6%) Glasgow (10.8%) and Manchester (10.7%).
While it might seem that these cities aren’t as ‘festive’ as others, residents might just prefer to wait until Advent to get decorating. Since the traditional date always falls on a weekend, it can definitely be a great chance for busy households to make time for putting their decorations up.
South West is the region least likely to decorate at all
While most of the UK is eager to embrace the holiday spirit, some regions aren’t quite keen to celebrate the season.
The South West is the least festive region, with 12.5% of residents choosing not to decorate at all for the festive period. When it comes to cities, Glasgow might be the least festive of all, with 16.2% of residents skipping Christmas decorations altogether.
Reflecting on the results Andrew Foucher, White Stores’ Operations Director says:
“Every year we often see a lot of debate around Christmas decorations – particularly when people put them up. Some prefer to wait, while others can’t wait to get started. Diving into the data, it’s great to see when each region and city across the UK starts to get in the festive mood!”
Feature image by @pvproductions on Freepik
