Christmas, so the song tells us, is "the most wonderful time of the year". But it can also be a period loaded with stressful expectations such as picking perfect Secret Santa gifts and selecting thoughtful presents for in-laws. And don't even get me started on trying not to get drunk at every damn Christmas party.
So it's interesting to check out new research offering an insight into how millennials actually intend to spend Christmas this year. After polling 2,000 UK adults aged between 21 and 38, the hotels.com team found that around a fifth want to spend the day with friends rather than family.
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In fact, around one in ten said they're secretly hoping there's no space for them at their in-laws' place. On average, three hours is the maximum amount of time they'd ideally like to spend with in-laws.
Nearly half of the millennials polled said they intend to avoid the traditional turkey lunch and have an alternative Christmas dinner such as pizza or a festive vegan meal. Just under a fifth said they'd be doing the hosting and cooking themselves.
Given how busy we all are, it's not too surprising that many of the millennials polled said they're planning a relatively relaxed Christmas Day. More than half said they intend to sit in front of the TV and watch festive movies, while more than a third said they'll play board and card games.
Meanwhile, more than a fifth said they intend to spend the day in pyjamas and around one in seven said they'll take an afternoon nap – both pretty dreamy ideas, tbh.
Around a fifth said they're intending to avoid alcohol completely on Christmas Day, while nearly one in ten said they're planning to take a mini-break at some point over the festive period.
Obviously the research only polled a relatively small number of millennials, but there's one takeaway from the results that we can definitely get behind: in 2018, there's no right or wrong way to spend Christmas.
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