King's College London

One in nine people (11%) say they’ll be spending Christmas Day alone this year – up from one in 20 (5%) who said the same 55 years ago, according to new research that compares festive attitudes and behaviours in 2024 to those in 1969.

The study, by the Policy Institute at King’s College London, finds the share of people aged 65+ saying they will spend Christmas Day by themselves has remained the same over this period, at 15% – but among all other age groups it has risen, with the biggest increase seen among the youngest surveyed, where one in 11 (9%) 21- to 34-year-olds now say they’ll be alone, up from one in 100 (1%) in 1969.

The research – which is based on two nationally representative surveys of UK adults aged 21+ in 2024 and 1969 – is part of a series of studies updating survey results from decades ago to understand changes in the nation’s beliefs and ways of living.

This latest study finds that, overall, eight in 10 (80%) people today say they enjoy Christmas, down slightly from 55 years ago (86%).

And while there have been some notable shifts in attitudes, others have barely changed, highlighting the persistence of some beliefs about the festive holiday.

People are now less likely to say parents should encourage their children to believe in Santa

Six in 10 (62%) people today think parents should encourage their children to believe in Santa Claus – down from three-quarters (75%) in 1969.

This change has been driven by shifting views among older age groups. For example, the proportion of 55- to 64-year-olds who think parents should encourage belief in Santa has fallen from 83% to 59%.

By contrast, 65% of 21-to-34-year-olds today hold this view – virtually the same as the 68% of this age group who felt the same in 1969.

The belief that Christmas goods are sold too early in the year has become more widespread

79% of the public say big stores start selling Christmas goods too early in the year – an increase from 64% 55 years ago.

Men have seen the biggest change in attitudes on this issue, with eight in 10 (81%) now saying Christmas goods are sold too early – up from six in 10 (59%) in 1969.

But people were just as likely to feel Christmas was too commercialised back in 1969 as they are today…

80% of the public now agree Christmas is too commercialised – nearly unchanged from the 83% who felt this way 55 years ago.

…and they were just as likely to want to cut down on Christmas spending

In 2024, 54% say they’d like to cut down on spending for Christmas, compared with 46% who say they would not. In 1969, the public were also very divided, with 52% wanting to reduce their festive expenditure and 48% preferring not to.

A greater proportion now see Christmas as a family, rather than religious, occasion

Six in 10 (60%) people say Christmas is mainly a family occasion, rather than a religious one – up from around half (53%) 55 years ago.

Professor Bobby Duffy, Director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, said:

“Christmas is just a little bit lonelier and less joyous or magical than it was 55 years ago. The proportion of people spending the day itself alone has doubled, we’re less likely to say we enjoy it, and a lot less likely to think parents should encourage their children to believe in Santa.

“But this doesn’t mean we’ve given up on Christmas – indeed a large majority of eight in 10 still say they do enjoy it, and nine in 10 will spend it with family or friends.

“These long-term trends are also useful in reminding us that some things have remained the same, despite the huge changes seen. 1969 was the year man landed on the moon, John and Yoko staged their bed-in for peace, the death penalty was finally abolished, and our current King was invested as the Prince of Wales. But even back then, eight in 10 were complaining that that Christmas was too commercialised – exactly the same proportion as today.”

Survey details
Question wordings and response options have been kept consistent between the two surveys to preserve trends, even though in some cases they do not reflect current best practice in polling methods (for example, not allowing “don’t know” responses).

2024
Fieldwork was conducted via Focaldata’s in-house platform, with API integration to an online panel network. Data collection took place between 11 and 12 December 2024, with a total of 996 respondents from a nationally representative group of those aged 21+ in the UK completing the survey. Data was weighted by age, gender, region, ethnicity and education status.

1969
Fieldwork was conducted by National Opinion Polls (NOP) Ltd. Data collection took place between 10 and 15 December 1969, with a total of 1,742 respondents from a nationally representative systematic probability sample.