Evolution of Irish family means more travelling at Christmas, survey reveals
Ireland’s modern family is rushing all over the country, cramming in as many visits as possible and gifting all the way during Christmas, according to a new survey.
The evolution of the traditional Irish family – with extended families, stepfamilies, cohabiting parents and civil partnerships – means that the average Irish person now attends six Christmas celebrations in order to keep the peace and ensure everyone is happy, the research found.
Some 35% of adults in Ireland admit that they find it hard to say no to family members at Christmas, so end up doing the rounds of everyone.
The nationwide survey conducted with 1,000 adults across Ireland by Censuswide on behalf of TK Maxx found that one in five Irish women think their mother’s gift is the most important, with over half (53%) of Irish men believing their partners gift is most important. Despite this, men were found to spend five hours 23 minutes looking for their ‘special person’s’ gift, compared to 7 hours 24 minutes for women.
It also found that, on average, Irish adults will spend 49 hours, 26 minutes Christmas shopping for family, friends and pets, purchasing 32 presents costing on average €623.26.
A third of Irish adults said more than 30% of their Christmas gifts are technology based
Deborah Dolce, group brand & marketing director at TK Maxx said: “With the evolution of the modern family, it’s no surprise that we have multiple Christmas celebrations, meaning more family members to buy presents for.
“And we still want to find interesting gifts and not break the bank. It’s for these exceptional people in our lives that we often look high and low for the perfect present.”
