London, North East and Wales have topped the list of those parts of the UK serving up the biggest portions on Christmas Day – with families in Wales dishing up the most turkey, London adding the most bread sauce and the North East delving into the biggest helping of gravy.
SPAR UK surveyed 2,000 adults and found that the average Brit will tuck into three slices of turkey, four pigs in blankets, four roast potatoes, two Yorkshire puddings, five brussels sprouts and 100 ml of gravy on Christmas Day.
The poll also discovered that confidence is high when it comes to cooking skills, with two thirds surveyed (63%) proud to say that their whole family loves their Christmas dinner and over half (53%) believe their dinner couldn’t be any better.
Cooks in Northern Ireland were the most confident with over three quarters (76%) agreeing that the family love their Christmas dinner, but only half (51%) in the West Midlands said the same. And when it came to perfecting every element of the meal, nearly a quarter (22%) of over 55s strongly agreed that their Christmas dinner couldn’t get any better.
However, half (50%) believe there is too much pressure to create the perfect dinner and over a quarter (26%) admit that at least one ingredient always ends up burnt. More than a third (37%) also revealed that they don’t eat very much after cooking their Christmas dinner, as many feel the stress after preparing one of the most important meals of the year.
Furthermore, 54% said they always go overboard with how much food they need, with two thirds (65%) of families in Northern Ireland cooking too much for dinner.
Alongside the traditional ingredients, a third (33%) do things a little differently with mashed potato as part of their dinner – whilst a quarter (24%) opt for beef over turkey or as well as. In the North East, 15% surveyed have up to 6 slices of Turkey with their dinner – the most in the UK, but surprisingly it is Northern Ireland who have the most Yorkshire Puddings, with 8% having 5 to 6 on their plate.
Only 1 in 10 cook a Nut Roast alternative for Christmas Day but this is the most popular in Brighton with 1 in 5 (20%) including it as part of their dinner, followed by 18% in Bristol.
Two thirds (67%) will sit down to eat their Christmas dinner with friends and family between 1pm and 4pm, and most families tuck into their meal at 3.10pm – traditionally just after the usual slot for the Queen’s Speech but the first for King Charles this year.
Over 55s usually eat the earliest on Christmas Day at 2.40pm and families in the North East tuck in just after 2pm, nearly two hours before Londoners who enjoy dinner at 3.45pm.
Jamie Seymour from SPAR UK commented: “Christmas dinner is always an exciting but stressful part of the festive season, especially when you’re trying to get your timings right or if you’ve forgotten the pigs in blankets! Our research shows that we all love sitting down for dinner with our nearest and dearest, so if you do forget anything for the big day our stores can take some of the pressure off.”
And with the flavour of turkey still lingering between the teeth, it’s time to add some greenery to the spread. Why not check out these 5 IDEAL reasons you should eat your Brussels sprouts this Christmas? You won’t regret it! Or, perhaps you will afterwards…
