From how much we each set aside to pay for Christmas to who gives the most generous tips at this time of year, we look at the story of Christmas 2015 in numbers.
What we save to pay for Christmas
We each set aside £420 on average to pay for Christmas, according to research by Aviva. That adds up to a whopping £8.5 billion, but even that isn’t enough. Despite all that saving, one in four of us will overspend or go into debt during the festive period.
Spending on gadgets for kids
Santa’s sack will be high-tech this year with the average parent planning to spend £225 on gadgets for their children. Video games are the most popular gadget gift, followed by tablets and games consoles, according to uSwitch.
Generous grandparents
The nation’s 14 million grandparents will spend almost £3 billion on presents for their grandchildren, a study by MBNA has found.
A poll found that that people will spend an average of £74 each on their grandchildren.
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Buying presents for people we don't like
[SPOTLIGHT]According to cashback website Quidco, many of us shell out on presents for people that we don't particularly like but still feel duty-bound to get something for. These gifts are most likely to go to colleagues, bosses or unpopular relatives, and set us back an average of £62.80 each.
Returned gifts
Carefully chosen the perfect present for someone? There’s a decent chance they’ll return it. Last year 10% of us returned Christmas presents, with each gift worth an average of £39.50, according to research by Gocompare.
A third of those people struggled to return the item as they didn’t have a receipt. So if you don’t want your money to go to waste if might be worth including a gift receipt when you are doing your Christmas wrapping.
Christmas party outfits
Research by TopCashback has found that women spend an average 10 hours scouring eight websites before spending £65 on their perfect outfit for Christmas party season.
Christmas cards
The number of Christmas cards sent is on the decline, with two thirds of people receiving fewer cards than they did 10 years ago.
Nowadays we receive just 23 cards on average, compared to 34 in 2005, according to research by SunLife.
Christmas tips
It’s the season of goodwill and 36% of us will spread the good cheer by giving gifts or money to thank our postmen, bin men and teachers. An investigation by Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks found that people living in London are the most generous, with 56% giving out tips.
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Rising energy bills
The cost of cooking the turkey, keeping Grandma warm and lighting up the Christmas tree all adds up. The extra energy used over Christmas Day and Boxing Day will cost a total of £75 million, according to MoneySuperMarket.
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Insurance claims
Extra houseguests, excited children and marauding pets combined with expensive new gadgets and ornaments lead to accidental damage being the most common insurance claim over the Christmas period.
Saga Home Insurance has revealed that the average claim for accidental damage in December comes to £670.
Hitting the sales
Once Christmas Day is over, a whopping 79% of us plan to hit the winter sales.
We’ll be heading to the shops planning to spend £150 each, according to TopCashback.
The cost of parenthood at Christmas
The 18 Christmas presents you buy before your child becomes an adult costs an average of £3,186 according to research by Halifax. Each year parents spend an average of £177, with half of parents buying between six and 15 presents for their child at Christmas.
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