Mitchells & Butlers expects to serve up 714 tonnes of turkey, 207 tonnes of Brussel sprouts and 40 tonnes of Christmas puddings as statistics from the company have revealed the number of festive meals sold in the first two weeks of December has nearly tripled from around 90,000 back in 2011 to a turkey-gobbling 260,000 plus last year.
The company, which is behind brands such as such as Browns, Miller & Carter, All Bar One, Ember Inns, O'Neill's and Vintage Inns, also found 65% of consumers said that they would be having more than two Christmas dinners throughout December - with 7% revealing they'd be enjoying five or more.
More than four in five people (82%) are expecting to celebrate with family and 64% of us look forward to this the most. Celebrating with friends (30%) along with the office party (20%) were also high on the list and interestingly, just over one in ten of us actually look forward to work parties the least.
Three-quarters will travel less than five miles as we look to celebrate close to home. People living in the East Midlands travel the furthest for their Christmas dinner with nearly 20% of people travelling more than 21 miles. Incredibly, over 10% of people living in Wales & the South West will travel more than 50 miles.
Catriona Kempston, Marketing Director at Mitchells & Butlers, said: "Whether you're entertaining friends and relatives, travelling to see family, or even having to work over the festive period, Christmas is rarely stress free. Whilst carving the turkey on the 25th is seen as tradition, our survey shows that in actual fact, more of us are having more than one Christmas dinner as a result of catching up with friends and relatives at their local Harvester or Ember Inns, festive parties at All Bar One and even as part of a Christmas shopping trip when taking a break at Browns.
"One of the reasons for this is the simple convenience of eating out. Not having to worry about cooking means that people have one less thing to think about - making the prospect of having Christmas dinner out much more appealing."
Other stats revealed that Scottish families will be entertaining the most guests on Christmas Day, with 14% of those asked accommodating for 15 guests or more. And if you're not tucking in to turkey, 37% of us would choose steak as an alternative.
With 1,700 pubs and restaurants around the UK, Mitchells & Butlers has released a new Dining Out Card which can be used at any of their locations. Quick and convenient to buy online, the card makes the perfect present this Christmas.
