More than one third of the nation kept their Christmas decorations up past the traditional twelfth night as the majority (45 percent) struggled to wave farewell to Christmas. Furthermore, 11 percent plan to keep theirs up for the remainder of the year. 

A survey, conducted by a discount brand, polled 2,514 UK adults, all of whom were 18 years old or over, with an even split of male and female respondents. The survey was conducted as part of research into the socio-economic behaviours and spending habits of UK citizens.

Initially, all respondents were asked whether they had left their Christmas decorations up beyond the twelfth night, on which it is traditional to take them down. The survey advised that, this year, the night fell on Monday 5th January. While the majority stated that they had removed their decorations by this date (64 percent), 36 percent confirmed that they defied tradition and had not yet taken them down.

All respondents were then asked to indicate the day in which they took down their decorations, revealing that 9 percent took them down immediately after the day itself, on Boxing Day. In contrast, 23 percent stated that their decorations had not yet been taken down and a further 11 percent stated that they intended to leave some or all of their decorations up all year.

The survey then asked the relevant respondents why they had left their decorations up past the traditional twelfth night, to which the majority (45 percent) stated that they ‘weren’t ready to say goodbye to Christmas’. When asked if they were aware of the tradition, less than a fifth of Britons (19 percent) stated that they knew of the rule.

In order to understand the results further, the survey then asked all respondents to provide details on the amount they spent on decorations for the 2014/15 Christmas period. The answers ranged from as little as £5 to over £1,300, with an average spend of £55. 

Finally, in order to understand how thrifty the nation is at Christmas time, the survey asked all respondents whether they were planning to re-use their decorations next year. The majority (57 percent) stated that ‘no’ they would not be re-using their Christmas decorations in 2015, with the majority (45 percent) stating that they like to have a ‘fresh look each year’.