The past year has been full of tough challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As the virus has swept across the world, our lives have changed beyond all recognition – with everyone struggling to adapt to what has been labelled the “new normal”.
The UK has endured two national lockdowns, with the government trying to stop the spread of the virus. Now, as Christmas approaches, it’s looking very different from festive seasons of years gone by. Not only has coronavirus impacted on our Christmas spending, it’s also affected our festive mood.
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According to the Office for National Statistics, the unemployment rate for the third quarter of 2020 rose to 4.8%, with 1.62 million people out of work. This is an increase from 3.8% in September 2019 and represents the worst jobless rate since 1971, when comparable records began.
Although, on the surface, this sounds like a recipe for disaster, on the contrary, people are making the best of a bad situation and embracing the changes and all that they bring. Despite the hardships of the past 12 months, in true Brit fashion, we’re fighting back!
Are people looking forward to Christmas?
Up and down the country, people are gearing up for Christmas after an exceptionally tough year – we’re refusing to let the “gloom and doom” of 2020 ruin the holiday season.
Searches for seasonal goods online are up by a staggering 370%, partly due to the recent lockdown, when non-essential high street stores had to close. People searching for festive ideas on Pinterest has also rocketed by 77%.
In particular, searches for “Christmas gift ideas” and “holiday recipes” are up by 90% and 80% respectively. In a survey of Pinterest users, 40% said they favoured brands that would help them create special moments and bond with loved ones this year.
Sales of Christmas puddings, tree baubles and Christmas crackers were already booming by September, according to Waitrose, with many retailers launching their festive stock earlier than usual, in a bid to inject some cheer into an otherwise gloomy autumn.
Have people started celebrating early?
While Christmas decorations normally go up in December, the tree was already up in many UK homes at the beginning of November, although in years gone by, surveys revealed 63% of Brits felt November was too early to put up Christmas decorations.
However, 2020 has bucked the trend, with Tesco’s Christmas Report revealing 2.4 million people had their tree up before December. Research by retailer John Lewis revealed 40% of customers had festive decorations in areas of their home where they didn’t usually bother such as the stairs, hallway and outdoors.
According to American psychologist and award-winning author Deborah Serani, putting up Christmas decorations early is good for our mental health. It creates a “neurological shift” that boosts happiness, as it spikes our “feel-good” hormone, dopamine.
What will be different this Christmas?
Sadly, a lot of Christmas markets and carol services have been cancelled. There will be many more practical changes over the festive period due to safety precautions. However, although there won’t be any drunken conga lines, or kisses under the mistletoe, people still want to have fun.
Many school Nativity plays are being held via Zoom, with family members watching from home. School teachers have turned into film directors and are streaming the plays via their mobile phone.
Covid-compliant Santa’s grottos are open in some areas, but visitors must observe social distancing. Sitting on Santa’s knee is banned – at Selfridges’ grotto in London, he’s greeting kids with an elbow-bump! Santa’s helpers are wearing masks, while pulleys, rather than elves, deliver the presents.
Some stores have opted for a virtual grotto, where kids talk to Father Christmas via a screen, rather than in person. In others, Santa is sitting in his own “bubble” behind a clear Perspex screen, while he’s posing for socially-distanced photos with the children several yards in front.
People are cracking jokes that Santa’s little helpers have been taken off furlough at the North Pole to make toys again, following their “elf and safety” check! Kids are being told that on Christmas Eve, Santa will wear magic PPE that permits him to come down the chimney to deliver their presents safely.
Confectioners in various parts of the world have joined in by making chocolate Santas wearing an edible mask!
A survey of UK consumers by drinks brand Vin Crowd revealed 44% of people were “secretly looking forward” to having a quieter Christmas. The pandemic has given 30% of us an excuse not to see people we “don’t really like”!
How will people pay for Christmas?
Although people are on a tighter budget this year, they’re determined to get into the festive swing of things. The current financial struggles mean people have less money to spend on festive food, presents and socialising with family and friends.
However, the British public has been spreading some extra cheer to help those who have had a particularly tough year. The Trussell Trust, the UK’s biggest network of food banks, reports a 61% increase in donations for the needy.
Special items such as Christmas crackers, shower gels and biscuits have been included, as have cash donations to help pay rent, or the internet bill to keep people connected over Christmas. The staples include instant coffee, teabags and tinned foods, such as rice pudding.
Research showed each British adult spent an average of £513 on Christmas in 2019. This year, the figure is set to drop to £476. Even so, this isn’t a massive dip, considering the economic climate, so just how are people going to pay for Christmas?
According to a survey by the Money Advice Trust, 35% of Brits have taken out a loan to pay for Christmas 2020. An estimated 3.2 million people have increased their overdraft to fund Christmas, while 1.9 million people are buying gifts using catalogue credit.
The Bank of England says consumer credit has increased by 8.2% in 2020, compared with 2019. People intend to clear their Christmas debt by the summer, showing the majority have a repayment plan in mind.
Are people using pawnbrokers more?
The concept of pawn broking dates back to Roman times. Research by the Financial Conduct Authority revealed 350,000 Brits were regularly using pawn shops as a source of income in 2020.
Pawning items could also be a way to help with financial costs at Christmas. Unlike taking out an unsecured loan, or spending on a credit card, pawning items you don’t use any more means they are collateral, pledged as security for the repayment of the loan – you can buy back your item at some point in the future, or use it to repay the loan instead, should you decide you no longer want it back.
A report by Bristol University’s Personal Finance Centre suggested many customers favoured pawnbrokers because of the convenience, speed and simplicity of borrowing extra money, rather than using another financial service.
Contrary to the common belief that pawnbrokers cater to less well-off people, who are unable to get money any other way, 87% of customers have standard bank accounts and many are homeowners too. Around 10% of customers surveyed in October said they had used the pawnbroker’s services to raise extra cash for Christmas.
As a nation, Britain is full of resourceful people, who seem more determined than ever to enjoy Christmas this year. Regardless of the Covid-19 restrictions, the public are fighting back to preserve our greatest tradition and bring some festive cheer to an otherwise tough year.
