Wooden horse Christmas bauble on tree branch

Five ways to reduce your festive spending when hosting this Christmas

Brits are set to spend huge sums hosting festive celebrations this season, with over £42 billion being spent nationwide. That’s according to new survey research from Jackson Woodturners.

Two-thirds of Brits will be hosting guests at least once over the festive season, with the average person hosting 6 times over this period. This adds up to an estimated 340 million parties, drinks, dinners and other festive occasions being hosted across the nation.

A newly released study conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Jackson Woodturners, stair part specialists, asked 1,000 UK adults about their festive plans - whether they will be hosting, how much they will spend and the pressures of being the perfect host.

Lucie Levesley, Director at Jackson Woodturners commented,

“Getting family and friends together is what the festive season is all about and the importance Brits place on this is clear from our survey. However, with almost half (43%) admitting that they find themselves judging other’s homes, is the pressure to be the perfect host becoming too expensive?

“Two-thirds of Brits will be hosting, spending vast sums to make the occasion special for their guests and the average host spends £1,192 hosting at this time of year, which is almost half (47%) of the UK’s average monthly salary1.”

Lucie adds,

“Interestingly, it’s not just food, drink and gifts that hosts are spending their hard-earned money on. Hosts spend on average £295 in additional furniture and decorations to help guests feel festive and at ease. Nationwide this comes to over £3.8 million being spent by hosts on indoor decorations, £33.3 million on outdoor decorations and £3.4 million on furniture.”

Guests underestimate the cost of hosting and judge their hosts

Alongside judging host’s homes and skills, the survey also found that guests underestimate the amount spent by hosts, with guests thinking that they spend around £1,120, which is £72 lower than the true cost.

The older generation of guests is more likely to underestimate the amount a host has spent. Whereas the younger generation is more likely to overestimate this amount. The silent generation underestimated the amount spent by £226, Baby boomers underestimated by £450 and Generation X underestimated by £215. Whereas, Millennials overestimated by £96 and Generation Z overestimated by £367.

Almost one in six (14%) Brits won’t be hosting anything over the festive period, with the most common reasons for this being, the cost, house appearance or hosting embarrassment. For others, it is a lack of friends and family to invite over or simply being invited elsewhere2.

On top of this, Brits are set to spend £491 more over the festive season this year, compared to last year and many Brits will pay for festive expenses on credit (either via a credit card or through store credit and schemes such as Klarna). Whilst paying via credit isn’t always a bad thing, it can lead to some people overextending themselves financially.

To help ease the stress and financial pressures of hosting, Lucie has shared her top tips for hosting this year.

Lucie’s five tips on how to reduce festive spending:

Decoration swaps - Brits are set to spend £95 more on decorations this year when compared to 2023. If you are looking for a spend-free way to freshen up your decorations, why not plan a swap party with friends? A bit like a clothes swap, you all bring decorations you would be happy to share and then swap as you please.
Agree on gift spending limits with friends and family - Over a quarter (27%) buy gifts via credit (19% on credit card & 11% via store credit schemes) and whilst credit isn’t always a bad thing, it can lead some to spend beyond their means. Agreeing to gift limits in advance can be a great way to ensure nobody feels pressured to overspend, it can also help narrow down the many options of gifts to buy too.
Compromise on home updates - Over a third (39%) of Brits will make home improvements before hosting over the festive period however, these projects don’t always need to be so big. A compromise can always be made that costs less but has a similar transformative effect. Take a hallway renovation for example, a full replacement might be unnecessary, simply replacing spindles or adding new treads could still update your staircase on a smaller budget.
Use budget-splitting apps to share food and drink costs - The average host will spend £182 on food and £129 on drinks alone this year. Whilst planning shopping lists and getting portions right can help, why not agree to split the cost between your guests? You can now get apps to help with this such as Splitwise, where groups can upload expenses and the app automatically splits the bill between those in the group.
Stand by your budgets - This time of year is about who you spend it with, not how extravagant your celebrations are. If there is something you really want to do for your guests and you have the money available, then go for it. However, don’t feel pressured to do anything based on what you’ve seen online or at other’s homes. Ultimately, you are being kind enough to open up your home and spend time hosting your guests, which is more than enough.