Costs of Christmas Dinners ‘Worrying Two Thirds of British Adults’

As many as two thirds of adults living across the UK are worried about how they will afford to pay for their Christmas dinners this year.

That’s according to research conducted recently on behalf of the Salvation Army, which is concerned about how many households will be struggling to cover the costs associated with celebrating over the upcoming festive period.

The fundamental problem for so many people currently is that their essential outgoings are increasing but their incomes are generally staying much the same, which inevitably puts an extra squeeze on their finances.

For a lot of people, debts are an important part of the picture as well, with more and more households adding to their borrowing levels to cover their everyday living costs.

Food prices have been rising sharply over the course of 2022 and reliance on food banks has been notably increasing.

According to the Salvation Army, almost one in six (16 per cent) of people expect to rely on items from a food bank over the Christmas period, while 38 per cent say they would need to skip meals if they incurred any unexpected major expenses.

Sadly, around one in seven survey respondents said they will not be able to afford presents for their children this Christmas, while 18 per cent plan to visit a free-to-enter building simply to warm themselves up while keeping their own energy costs down.

“Christmas should be the season of joy, not sorrow,” said the Salvation Army’s Lieutenant Colonel Dean Pallant.

“If so many people are worried they can’t even afford one of the most important meals of the year, it’s a red flag that poverty is creeping further into our communities.”

Mr Pallant went on to say that his organisation’s food banks have seen an unprecedented level of demand in recent months, with some people who used to donate food now queuing up for emergency food parcels themselves.

“We expect this Christmas to be one of our busiest ever and are providing as many emergency food parcels as possible for those in urgent need,” he said.

“We also offer a warm space in many of our buildings to people who can’t afford to heat their homes and will support rough sleepers, so they aren’t forced to spend a cold Christmas on the streets.”

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