Nearly half (47%) of UK adults who celebrate Christmas decorate the exterior of their homes for the festive season, spending £571 on average, according to Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) firm Clearpay.
Nearly half (48%) of Brits who celebrate Christmas say their spending on outdoor decorations has increased in the past two years.
Victoria Foley from Hastings, East Sussex loves putting up outdoor decorations. She says: “We started putting up the Christmas decorations outside of our house in 2020 during lockdown, it cost my partner and I approximately £1,300.
“We started doing it for the kids and myself as we are really into Christmas! We live in a little cul-de-sac of 8 houses and each year it has got bigger and bigger, we now all put lights up as most of us have young children.
“It has become a bit of a spectacle within our village and people often walk around to come and have a look at all of the lovely lights.”
(Image: Victoria Foley)
Many now decorate the outside as well as the inside of their homes
With 12 weeks until Christmas, the countdown is on and it’s not just what’s under the tree that counts, but what’s outside the house too. New research reveals that almost half (47%) of UK adults decorate the exterior of their homes for Christmas, spending an average £571 on festive outdoor decorations.
The most popular decorations are outdoor Christmas lights (71%), followed by wreaths and garlands (45%), and window displays, including stickers, silhouettes, and lights (41%).
More elaborate displays include outdoor Christmas trees (41%), large light-up figures such as Santas and reindeer (27%), and festive inflatables (17%). Some are investing in interactive displays including outdoor projectors (11%) and outdoor sound systems (11%).
Clearpay sales data shows demand for outdoor Christmas decorations is up year-on-year. Items seeing a big uplift include solar-powered Christmas lights (+287%), outdoor festive projectors (+162%), large light-up reindeer (+109%) and artificial snow machines (+80%).
The top five most festive regions in the UK, spending the most on outdoor Christmas decorations, are:
- South West (£649)
- London (£633)
- North East (£631)
- North West (£572)
- East Midlands (£521)
Rich Bayer, CEO at Clearpay, says: “With nearly half of UK adults who celebrate Christmas telling us that they’ve increased their spending on outdoor decorations in recent years, it’s clear that Brits want to spread joy. Outdoor decorations are just one expense, so it’s important to think ahead and budget for all elements that make Christmas special – this includes food, drink, gifts, outfits and travel. There’s still plenty of time to plan these purchases over the next few weeks, and by using payment options like BNPL you can spread the cost of Christmas over the short term without incurring interest.”
For almost half of UK adults (48%), spending on outdoor decorations has increased in the last two years, and more than a quarter (28%) admit to spending more on outdoor decorations than on those inside their homes.
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Festive spirit is the main motivation behind decorating, with almost three quarters (73%) aiming to create a joyful atmosphere. More than half (53%) want to bring happiness to their community, and nearly half (49%) do it because it’s a tradition.
A competitive streak also plays a part for some, as 13% see decorations as a status symbol and 6% do it to compete with neighbours. Encouragingly, a significant 70% of UK adults said their neighbours enjoy their outdoor decorations.
It looks like some Brits are breaking with tradition. Instead of waiting until December 1 to put up decorations, nearly a quarter of UK adults (24%) plan to put up their decorations in November, suggesting an eagerness for the festive season to begin.
