Average Christmas booze spend hits £20

Consumers spend an average of just over £20 on booze with Christmas lunch, research from the Nationwide building society has found – but 10% spend less than a fiver.

The report, completed by the Nationwide from a survey of around 2,000 customers across the country, found the average spend on booze with Christmas dinner  – including pre-dinner fizz, wine and after dinner liqueurs- was £21.26, with more than a third (35%) spending between £11- £30. Around a quarter of people spent more than that, with 14% of those saying booze for Christmas lunch cost more than £41. But at the other end of the spectrum, 10% of people in the survey spent less than £5 on alcohol to have with Christmas dinner, and 18% said the question was not relevant to them – leaving one to wonder where two thirds of those got their booze, as only 6% admitted to having a dry Christmas.

Across the UK, the average number of people at Christmas meal is just under six, although 22% were likely to feed between 7 and 9 people and 7% feeding up to 12 people.

Although the survey did not breakdown the number of adults or people under the age of 18 at lunch, it did provided a snapshot by gender, age and region.

The attitude to booze buying between the sexes was relatively balanced overall, but men tended to spend more on booze – until they hit the £20 mark. Nearly 4% of men spend less than £5, compared to 6% of women, and 20% of men spend between £11 – 20, compared to 17% of women. However the tables were reversed higher up the price ladder, with 19% of women spending more than £20, compared to only 14.5% of men.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, it was the 35 – 44 age bracket that spends the most on booze – and were also more prepared to shell out more for it, with 21% saying they  spend more than £40, compared to only 11% of 25-35 year olds and a similar number of people over the age of 55. The majority spent an average of £21-30, with those aged 55plus falling into the £11 – 20 bracket.

Northern Ireland was also the least lonely place to spend Christmas, the survey found – with the lowest percentage of people eating Christmas lunch alone compared to the 3% average. And people in Northern Ireland append the most of alcohol (£26.02), with the East Anglia spending the least (£19.23) and only 7% spending more than £40, compared to 28% in Northern Ireland. People from Wales were the next biggest spenders, with 20% likely to spend over £40, followed by Londoners, people from the South West, Yorkshire and the Humber and the West Midlands. However around 20% of respondents in the North East spend less than £5 on booze for Christmas lunch.

Although around 15% said they didn’t have a traditional Christmas dinner, the majority did, with turkey likely to come only second to booze in terms of the overall spend. Brandy butter was also – but fewer people are eating it.