Britons slim down Christmas dinner spend

Brits are planning to slim down their spending on festive food and drink this year as the average spend per adult looks set to fall 13 per cent, from £89 last year to £77 this Christmas. New research from the Santander 123 credit card also shows that 13 per cent of people say they will do their best to avoid being the host for Christmas dinner this year in a bid to save money.

Whilst the majority (82 per cent) of Britons say they will have a family meal at home to celebrate Christmas this year, 9 per cent - equivalent to around 4.5 million people, will go to the pub or a restaurant to enjoy their festive fare.

While traditional roast dinners remain the meal of choice for most, 9 per cent (4.3 million) of those having celebrations at home are choosing alternative Christmas fare this year including curry, pizza, Chinese or fridge leftovers.

When asked who would be doing the cooking in their home this Christmas, 16 per cent of respondents - equivalent to around 6.6 million people, said it would be a man. Fifty-four per cent said a female would do the cooking this year and 27 per cent said they would share cooking responsibilities. Two per cent said the plan was for everyone to bring a different dish.

Santander's study revealed that half (51 per cent) of those who will celebrate Christmas this year will do so with their immediate family only. 31 per cent will extend the invite and to other relatives as well, 4 per cent will spend the day with friends and 3 per cent say they will celebrate Christmas by themselves.

Alan Mathewson, CEO of Santander Cards, said: "It's easy to forget just how expensive it can be catering for friends and relatives over the Christmas period. People are reining in their spending on everything from presents to their main Christmas dinner and many are even doing their best to avoid hosting altogether. Those who are looking to be a bit more financially savvy over Christmas should also consider ways to make the money they do spend go a bit further, including the Santander 123 credit card which offers cashback on spending in supermarkets, department stores and even on travel."

Santander's ‘123 World'

The Santander 123 Cashback Credit Card is one of a series of great initiatives from Santander designed to reward customers and help them save money. The card pays up to 3% cashback on household spend and has paid over £10 million in cashback to customers since its launch in September 2011. In addition Santander also offers its unique ‘123 Current Account' which pays cashback on all utilities, council tax, Santander mortgage payments and communications direct debits set up on a customer's account, as well as paying in-credit interest on balances up to £20,000. Santander is also driving down the cost of car insurances and offering to beat car insurance renewal premiums by 20% for Santander 123 current account or credit card customers or by 10% for all other Santander customers.

Santander also provides a simple to use online calculator which customers can personalise to their own household bills and spending to see how much they could save in a year.

For more information, visit santander.co.uk.