Bah! Humbug! for Christmas spending

The Dickens character Ebenezer Scrooge was a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas.

In one of the most vivid character descriptions ever written, Dickens imagined Scrooge by saying, “The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue, and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice…”

Thankfully we don’t come across too many real-life Ebenezer Scrooge types in our daily lives.

But with Christmas fast approaching, it’s worth remembering that not everything shares the same enthusiasm for this festive season.

In fact, one in twenty people apparently ‘hate’ Christmas.

This hatred for Christmas might be one reason behind attitudes towards spending habits at this time of year.

New research conducted by TSB found more than half of Brits are setting a festive budget, with one in five hoping to spend less during the holiday period than last year.

Whilst the average Brit intends to spend £270 on Christmas gifts for family and friends, TSB found that nearly a quarter of people intend to spend less than £100.

Over a third of Brits admitted to re-gifting an unwanted present, with women twice as likely to re-gift than their male counterparts.

But when it does come to buying presents, women on average spend more (at £290 on average) than men (with an average spend of £250).

Luckily, the cost of presents isn’t the be all and end all; over a third of people said that really, “it’s the thought that counts”.

Here in the Bamford household at this time of year, we follow the tried and tested formula of ‘something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read’ when choosing Christmas presents for the children.

They get stockings from Santa too, and there isn’t a strict Christmas budget in force, but we try our best not to get caught up in the hype of retail consumerism which seems to be everywhere these days.

When it comes to Christmas spending, are you in the Bah! Humbug! camp or do you prefer to Deck the Halls?