Christmas has always been a traditional day for many people in Britain and around the world. It’s usually spent at home, and numerous relatives will visit for lunch or dinner (sometimes both) making it a stressful exercise for the person cooking and whoever is in charge of ensuring that there are never too many people at the table at once.
But people are catching on to the fact that sometimes the holidays are better spent away from home. Blue Chip Holidays has recently polled 1,158 adult Brits, after seeing a 26% increase in bookings for the Christmas and New Year holidays compared to last year, and an increase of 60% from 2013.
The first question in the survey? Where would Brits choose to spend Christmas if they could spend it anywhere. Unsurprisingly, at home with family was still the most popular choice, but it was followed by the idea of renting a large house for a get-together with family, going somewhere hot, spending it at a cottage with a loved one, or enjoying Christmas at a hotel where everything would be taken care of.
Respondents were then asked what they would rather do on Christmas day, and with three answers to choose from, the results were interesting. While 58% said they would like to have the traditional Christmas celebrations, a huge 36% said they would prefer to spend it outdoors, taking part in various activities, and 6% said they would spend it volunteering.
The next question was, “Which outdoor activities?” and the top 5 answers were cycling, swimming, surfing, rambling and skiing (in that order).
This represents a change from the traditional Christmas spent predominantly inside, eating rich Christmas food, and could be part of a generation shift. Generation Y is less likely to put up with doing things “because they have to” and because of tradition or family responsibilities, so maybe we’re seeing this shift due to this generation’s refusal to have a traditional Christmas purely because of expectations.
The truth is, while Christmas is exciting for kids, for many adults it can be a nightmare. Along with having to buy gifts for extended family and friends, Christmas often includes hours spent in the kitchen, followed by hours of clean up.
Spending the day away from home but with family is a great compromise. Instead of buying each other expensive gifts, why not agree to rent out a beautiful holiday home somewhere, and spend the day skiing, making snowmen and having snowball fights with the family. You’ll often be surprised by how quickly other family members will jump on this idea, as it means no one will have the full responsibility of making Christmas day a success and everyone will be able to relax and simply enjoy each others company.
For more information about this growing trend, and to decide if getting away for Christmas could be a great idea for your family, check out this article.
