BIY SURVEY REVEALS UK’S
CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS
New survey from Neff’s Bake It Yourself campaign reveals the UK is a nation with strong Christmas
traditions, from decorating the tree to making the Christmas Pudding and even to buying typical foods
like mince pies because they are ‘festive’ rather than because they are family favourites
Bake It Yourself has polled its many followers to discover which traditions the nation follows at
Christmas and which foods are the most popular during the festive season. The campaign, launched in
March 2012, surveyed over 1,000 people* to discover everything from the nations favourite Christmas
dinner accompaniments to what people do with their leftovers.
From those questioned, over 95% said they participated in the same Christmas traditions every year,
with decorating a tree coming out as the most popular (92%) followed by 2) sending Christmas cards
(84%), 3) buying Christmas crackers (77%), 4) watching Christmas films (77%), 5) listening to popular
seasonal songs (74%), 6) hanging stockings (64%), 7) making and/or decorating a Christmas cake, 8)
playing board/family games (43%), 9) children going to bed before midnight and 10) writing a letter to
Santa (31%).
However, we don’t just stick to the most common of traditions – we also seem to like making our own,
as we come together and families merge, as seven out of ten people said they had created their own
traditions to enjoy. The reason why we all enjoy the activities above is because most of us see Christmas
as being all about tradition, according to three quarters of those surveyed, whilst more than half said
they wanted to pass on this heritage to their children (58%).
When asked what their favourite things about Christmas are, ‘eating lots of nice food’ came out as the
4th most popular choice at 71%, after spending time with family and friends (94%), buying presents
(78%) and decorating the house (76%). Interestingly, we’d rather give than receive, as only 46% said that
receiving a gift at Christmas was their favourite thing about this time of year.
The nation’s typical Christmas dinner consists of roast potatoes, gravy, stuffing,
carrots, Brussels sprouts, turkey, pigs in blankets, parsnips, cranberry sauce and
peas (listed in order of popularity). It’s perhaps surprising that Brussels sprouts
came out as the fifth most common choice for the most important meal of the year,
even more popular than turkey, when so many people seem to joke about not
enjoying the vegetable.
When it comes to sweet treats at Christmas, mince pies are a favourite for 82% of the UK, followed by
Christmas pudding (70%), Christmas cake (63%), trifle (55%) and yule log (54%). However, a staggering
four out of five people admitted to buying these typical Christmas desserts even though they didn’t
really like them, just because it’s traditional to have them.
The Bake It Yourself Christmas survey also discovered that almost a third of us have our own Christmas
recipe that we make every year. An overwhelming 87% of us Brits admit to eating too much food over
the course of the festive season but two thirds don’t feel guilty as they feel it’s what Christmas is all
about, whilst 21% say they make up for it by ‘being good’ in January.
It seems that we often buy too much food at this time of year, with turkey, chocolate and Christmas
desserts being the main items many of us have left over after Christmas day. Encouragingly though, only
5% said they have to throw food away compared to a thrifty 78% who have it for dinner another night,
49% who use it in a new recipe and 40% who make bubble and squeak from leftover vegetables.
Sue Flowers, brand manager for Neff, comments: “Christmas is a time of year where we all come
together to share traditions, spend time with family and friends and enjoy good food. With our Bake It
Yourself campaign, we have been celebrating the joy of baking food at home and we wanted to find out
what the nation really enjoys doing and eating during the festive season.
“It is great to learn how many of us follow traditions such as making and decorating a Christmas cake
and to see how many people have started to create their own traditions to follow as a family. It’s
fascinating to learn how many types of food we consider to be a ‘must have’ on Christmas Day,
particularly when many of them may actually not be our favourite things to eat, as it goes to show how
important food is to us as this season.
“Sharing cooking and baking at Christmas is a great way to carry on a tradition,
should you be a turkey fan or have your own twist for Christmas dinner, and the
perfect time to bring people together.”
Neff has also created a series of Bake It Yourself Christmas pudding alternative
recipes, to provide inspiration for those looking for something different to try this
year instead of the traditional mice pies and Christmas cake. Full details and
photography are available on request.
ENDS
* The survey commissioned by Neff via Survey Monkey, was distributed to more than 72,000 Bake It
Yourself Facebook fans and more than 27,000 Twitter followers – figures accurate as of 31st July 2012. Of
those who the survey was distributed to Neff collated 1,007 responses from people in the UK, July 2012.
About Bake It Yourself
Neff is celebrating its 40th anniversary in the UK in 2012 and is marking this great milestone with a
nationwide campaign called Bake It Yourself.
Reflecting the nation’s current love for all things home-made, Neff is encouraging people to bake for
themselves to see how rewarding and fun it can be. Providing expert advice and inspiration every step of
the way so that everyone can ‘BIY’, the campaign will involve a wide range of exciting activities
throughout the year and has dedicated Facebook and Twitter pages so people can get involved and
share their love of baking and cooking.
About Neff
Neff has been in the UK for 40 years. As a company, it has set new benchmarks during that time with
outstanding innovations such as the CircoTherm® cooking system and the fully retractable SlideAway®
door oven. Other recent innovations include the no-glare NeffLight® lighting system and the new
AquaAssist® cooking concept.
Specialising in ovens, the company also offers a full spectrum of cooking, cooling,
dishwashing and laundry appliances including microwaves, steam ovens, extractor
hoods, dishwashers, washing machines and refrigeration.
Since 1972, the Neff brand has consistently stood for impressive design, innovative
technology and high energy efficiency and that remains true today after 40 years in
the UK.
For further information on Neff’s Bake It Yourself campaign, please contact:
Kelly O’Hanlon / Emma Vaughan / Katie Honeybourne
Willoughby PR
Tel: 0121 456 3004
Email: [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected]
For product information and images or expert comment, please contact:
Liz Falconer
PR Manager, BSH Home Appliances Ltd
Tel: 01908 328256
Mob: 07899 982077
Email: [email protected]