- New research shows 61% of Londoners say Christmas is the most stressful holiday on the calendar
- 48% of Londoners attribute the stress to financial reasons followed by family misunderstandings (44%) and physical tiredness (40%)
- 50% of Londoners say they would skip New Year’s Eve if they could
- 55% of Londoners think ‘parties never live up to the hype’ while 37% find too stressful to find the perfect NYE party
Christmas is the most stressful time of year for Londoners, a new survey by OnePoll and SpaSeekers has revealed, with New Year’s Eve coming in second with 13% of the vote.The pressures of family gatherings and expensive presents are something most time-poor Londoners could ‘do without’, with 14% wishing they could skip the festive period altogether.
Time-poor Millennials women who are feeling the pressure more than most, with over 60% of them ranking December as the worst time of year. Surprisingly, it was the 55 and overs that were the second most likely to want to cancel Christmas, with over 37% citing family gatherings as the reason. Meanwhile, over 14% of 25-34s ranked New Year’s Eve as the most stressful, with over half of these citing social pressure to ‘live up to the hype’ as ‘not worth it’.
“We’ve always seen demand for spa days and holidays increase in December and January – now we know why,’ agrees Jason Goldberg, CEO of SpaSeekers. “As marketing pressures to be our best selves at the end of the year grow, we all end up feeling physically and emotionally burnt out.”
London was the most resistant to the festive season, second only to the North West, where a whopping 61% of those surveyed claimed that Christmas Day was the most stressful day of the year.
It wasn’t all bad news for the festive season though: 72% of the UK claimed that Christmas was still ‘worth the strain’, with over 52% planning ahead this year to try and avoid the usual stresses, and 31% vowing to take more time for themselves in a ‘festive detox’ throughout December. 46% of those surveyed also said they’d be actively seeking out physical relaxation, such as yoga or spa days, to ‘keep them sane’.
Survey results also showed a growing desire to find stress-busting presents beneath the tree this year, with almost 60% of UK women claiming that a spa voucher would be top of their list after the holiday period.
“Based on this data, we’re looking to launch a special ‘Christmas Escape’ spa voucher at all our spas across the country,’ agrees Jason. “We’re looking forward to helping everyone turn the tide on festive stress this season, and make Christmas enjoyable again.”
Don’t let stress take over this holiday season! ⛄️🎄 Read our best tips for a stress-free Christmas & enter our competition for a chance to win one of two prizes at Champneys Resorts & Best Western Kenwick Park Hotel & ClubSpa visits Full data from the survey into stress in the UK on request.