1 In 4 Aussies Will Do Whatever It Takes To Make Their Christmas Celebrations As Festive As Possible

There’s no one way to do Christmas. From celebrating with an all-out feast in a home with every single surface decorated, to a bucket of fried chicken on the beach, new research from Afterpay reveals how Aussies plan to celebrate this Christmas.

More than a third of shoppers will still spend the same or more than they did last Christmas. One in four (26%) Aussies say they will do whatever it takes to make their celebration as festive as possible, however 67% say they will be implementing money saving tactics.

Afterpay has unearthed Aussie’s most common rituals and traditions to reveal the five Christmas archetypes:

Over The Top Owen
When it comes to Christmas, some Aussies don’t just deck the halls, they deck everything. One in four (26%) proudly claim the title of their celebrations being ‘over the top’ – going all out to make the season sparkle and shine. This means buying individual gifts for their family (31%) and friends (14%), with a quarter (25%) saying throughout the year they’re on the lookout for the perfect present they know their recipient will love. One in five (20%) Aussies say that they spend more on Christmas lunch than any other meal during the year, and one in ten (11%) say they exclusively listen to Christmas music in December. Over the Top Owens love Christmas so much that they don’t want the festivities to stop in December – over one-third (35%) leave their tree up until mid-January.

Last-Minute Larry
Christmas comes but once a year, and sometimes even that is too soon for Last-Minute Larrys. While some might be planning from July, a quarter (25%) of Aussies say they don’t start their Christmas shopping until December arrives, with one in ten (9%) leaving their gift shopping until the week of and a real risk-taking 5% leaving it until the day before. Roughly 1.9 million Aussies (9%) say that they don’t organise their Christmas tree until the week of the festivities, with one in ten (11%) still wrapping gifts and writing cards on Christmas morning.

Teri Traditionalist
Aussies are a nation of traditionalists, with three quarters (74%) following some sort of annual Christmas tradition every year. Teri Traditionalists are hard set in their ways – and no one can make them change. Whether that’s taking annual family photos (29%), eating seafood on Christmas day (28%), or wearing a traditional Christmas shirt or sweater (18%). Millennials are more likely to be Teri Traditionalists (82%), compared to Gen X (73%) and Baby Boomers (67%), particularly when it comes to the tradition of opening gifts on Christmas Eve (23% compared to 11% and 7% respectively).

Frugal Fred
For some Aussies, celebrating Christmas means sticking to a strict budget and seeking out the best festive bargains. Over a third (35%) say they’ll be repurposing their festive decorations to avoid unnecessary costs, a fifth (20%) limiting the number of parties or events they attend to save on costs, and 19% opting to not decorate the house or Christmas tree with lights to save on costs.

Over a quarter (28%) of Aussies are Christmas Tree troopers, saving money by not having bought a new tree in over 10 years, and one in twenty (4%) Aussies are truly the thriftiest festive-season bargain-seekers, going so far as to take advantage of the Boxing Day sales to buy their Christmas gifts.

Anti-Christmas Ashley
Not every Aussie gets into the Christmas spirit, some have a serious case of RGF (resting grinch face). Research reveals that, surprisingly, one in four Aussies who say they celebrate the holiday (24%) actually claim to be ‘anti-Christmas’ and would prefer not to celebrate, and 7% say they avoid celebrating with their family and friends. A proportion of scrooges do not plan on buying any presents this year, with one in six asking their family not to buy them gifts. 10% of Aussies refuse to listen to Christmas music, and 12% name Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ as their least favourite song.