Tomorrow (Sat Dec 7) is the day when festive stress strikes – amid fears we won’t get everything done in time for Christmas Day. A study found millions of us will start the weekend waking in a panic over the sheer amount of work still required to get in everything in place.
The figures show the first Saturday of December marks the start of Christmas dread for those who have yet to buy any gifts, write any cards or purchase a tree or decorations.
The research also revealed women seem to suffer worst with over 50% rating their stress at six or more out of 10.
However, the results also show more than one third of us are enjoying a stress-free festive planning experience.
Stewart Fox-Mills, Head of Marketing at the Post Office, which commissioned the study, said:
”We know that the run up to Christmas can be a stressful time for many people and it may feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done.
”We hope that by opening our branches for longer, having extra people to help and offering our pop-up shops, we will make Christmas just that little bit easier for our customers.”
The survey results also revealed one in eight people (13%) state that they find Christmas more stressful than having a baby.
The same percentage finds the festive season more stressful than planning a wedding.
Many highlight ‘trying to create the perfect Christmas’ as a key source of stress and a quarter (25%) cite ‘family’ as the number one cause of anxiety.
This year it appears that money worries are affecting the female population in particular, with nearly half of women (46%) stating that they are concerned about covering the cost of Christmas presents, versus only 31% of men – a difference of 15%.
Similarly, 24% of women are anxious about the cost of the Christmas dinner and food, in comparison to only 15% of men.
TOP TEN CAUSES OF SEASONAL STRESS
- Cost of buying presents
- Choosing the right present for family / friends
- Being able to afford the gifts requested by loved ones
- Shops being busy when you go to buy presents
- Not ordering gifts early enough to arrive on time
- Cost of Christmas food and drink
- Not having enough time to get all my Christmas shopping done
- Where to spend Christmas
- Cooking Christmas dinner
- 0 Writing Christmas cards
