It’s a handful of sleeps until Christmas, so finally permissible to talk about Christmas in the virtual PMP office. In fact, we’re having a virtual staff party this evening including a “Quizmas” lovingly compiled by the office Kat. My grinchiness stems from working in retail as a student over Christmas holidays, but even that sounds kind if nice right now. It’s the most exceptional time of year, but we’re all craving normality. So, we thought it would be nice to ask what’s normal for you on our Survey Draw.
Tipple
Nearly one in five of us (19%) favour a cheeky Bailey’s, particularly in the West Midlands, where that figure is a quarter (25%). Next in is bubbles at 16% (21% in Newcastle), followed by whisky at 8%, Snowball at 3.6% and Brandy at 3%. Egg nog is surprisingly popular in the East Midlands (4%, compared to 1% elsewhere), snowballs are twice as popular in Wales (7%), as is brandy in London (6%). In my postcode “All of the above” gets 100%.
Tree
Only 11% of us have real trees these days. with 71% going artificial, and 14% having none at all. 3% of us have a “living tree”, particularly them London hipsters (7%). Most of us (56%) have a star at the top, 20% have an angel, and 10% a fairy, leaving an intriguing 11% with “Something else”.
Clothes
A shocking 13% of Londoners lollop around in their PJs for the day, compared to 7% nationally. Half of Scots dress up for the day, while only two in five of the rest of us do. Half of us dress “Normal”, including one of our team members, who dresses like an elf all year round.
Dinner
Predictably, most of us (69%) eat turkey on Christmas Day, while 11% eat roast beef (16% in the South West) and 3% eat ham (11% in Northern Ireland). Most (57%) have Christmas pudding, while 22% have trifle and 17% cheesecake. In Scotland though, only 22% opt for the pudding, and 40% for trifle, and 30% for cheesecake. I’m moving to Scotland!
Sprouts are less divisive than we expected, with only 26% turning up their noses, though 34% in London. In Northern Ireland, most (57%) have another Christmas dinner from the leftovers, while 25% shove it in a toastie!
And there you have your normality for Christmas.
Apologies on behalf of 2020. Next year may only be a slight improvement, but it will feel much better. Stay safe, and have the best Christmas possible.
Chris & Team x