The dog’s birthday, end of a school term and moving house are among the reasons why party-mad Brits hold impromptu get-togethers, according to research. A study of 2,000 adults found people have an average of nine parties a year, celebrating everything from a friend’s divorce to the next reality TV final.
Other wacky reasons for holding parties include celebrating a friendship, a major sporting event or returning from traveling.
More than half of Brits admit they’ll find any reason under the sun to host a knees up for friends and family, inviting at least 13 people and spending just under a hundred quid a time.
Trevor Pereira, of intu shopping centres, said:
“With recent sporting achievements, there’s been plenty of reasons to celebrate and no doubt the upcoming birth of the Royal baby will give us all another great excuse to have a party.”
The survey revealed the most popular excuse to celebrate is a house moving party – with a third of all new homeowners welcoming friends and family into their new home.
One in four of those polled will hold leaving do’s for people who are finding employment elsewhere or moving away from the area.
While 21% choose to hold their most impressive parties in place of a more traditional funeral – preferring to celebrate the life of the person rather than mourning their death.
In addition, one fifth of us gather our nearest and dearest together whenever there is a happy Royal occasion – which means we’re set to party following the announcement of Kate Middleton’s new baby.
More than one in twenty have held wine tasting parties, one in 10 hold parties to stress while watching the football, while 15% like to celebrate a new job.
Wetting the baby’s head, cocktail evenings, home renovations and engagements also feature in the top 20 list of party ‘excuses’.
According to the research, one in 20 people have celebrated the cat’s birthday, and 3% have even hung out bunting after dumping a partner.
Other reasons for drinks and buffet food with friends include leaving school, major sporting events and returning from traveling abroad.
When holding impromptu or random parties, 34% of Brits end up swapping gossip about the neighbours, and a third end up dancing round to cheesy music.
Six in ten people always end up working their way through copious amounts of booze, while seven in ten usually lay on a buffet.
When asked which celebrity guest they would most like to have to their party, the majority of those polled selected presenting duo Ant and Dec.
Actor and comedian Russell Brand came second, closely followed by pop star Rihanna.
Prince Harry, Michael McIntyre, David Beckham and Boris Johnson were also amongst the famous people who would make great celebrity guests.
TOP 20 PARTY ‘EXCUSES’
1. House moving party
2. Leaving do
3. Funeral / someone dear passing away
4. Royal occasion
5. Engagement
6. Celebrating a new job
7. Friendship parties
8. Wet the baby’s head
9. National football team parties
10. Reality TV final
11. Cocktail evening
12. School leaving party
13. Graduation
14. Home renovations
15. Major sporting event
16. End of a school term
17. Wine tasting
18. Return from travelling
19. Dog’s birthday
20. Divorce
