Crippling feelings of ‘house shame’ and the threat of failing to meet expectations as the perfect Christmas hostess are pushing women to breaking point, a new study reveals.
Home and Garden on Female First
Nearly half of women surveyed said they are feeling under enormous pressure to make their home beautiful for the festive season, with a fifth dreading Christmas gatherings as they worry about the size, look and comfort of their home when entertaining and accommodating friends and family.
The nationwide study of 2,000 women commissioned by Big Yellow Self Storage, found that Christmas stress is making life miserable for both themselves and their nearest and dearest. 36% said they are snapping at loved ones, a fifth are having sleepless nights and a further 14% are regularly breaking down in tears.
Guilty secrets
The fear of being judged about the quality and presentation of their home is a major stress factor for UK women, along with anxieties about what guests with prying eyes might find!
The top five items women would be most embarrassed for relatives to find are:
- Mould in the bathroom or mouldy walls/ ceilings
- Bad or unfinished DIY jobs
- Stained carpets or old lino
- Unfashionable/ tatty furniture & furnishings
- Lack of space
Aric Sigman, a leading psychologist on the effects of media pressure, comments: “Women feel they should – and are often expected to – provide an increasingly impressive Christmas. The relentless fantasy portrayal of the ideal Christmas in the picture-perfect festive home while perhaps inspiring, is for most, unattainable and leaves many women feeling inadequate.
"For a generation of women who have never been so time-poor and pulled in so many different demanding directions, this added pressure is the home appearance equivalent of expecting the average woman to look like a ‘supermodel’.
"Today’s financial and time pressures are truly at odds with the media and cultural pressures to spend and achieve an even better Christmas and this is not a conducive atmosphere for families to try to enjoy the festive break.”
Size matters
It’s not just the contents of their home that is up for scrutiny – lack of space is a major source of house shame with 16% of women saying that the size of their home is an embarrassment when entertaining. A further 9% say that a cramped spare room leaves them feeling red-faced when they lack space for extra beds and cannot accommodate overnight stays in comfort.
Celebrity pressure
15% of woman say they feel ‘angry’ and ‘a failure’ as a result of the constant stream of celebrity cooking/ home makeover shows as they present ‘an impossible ideal that no one can live up to.’ One in ten admitted that these shows pile on additional pressure in their quest to provide the perfect Christmas for visitors.
Keeping mum
When relatives arrive, women reveal that it is their mother’s opinion that matters most –18% admit that hers is the only opinion that matters. And it seems that the scrutiny of mother-in-laws can be as monstrous as ever with 13% of women revealing that they fear their comments the most.
Anthony Chenery, Big Yellow Self Storage, comments: “Christmas can be stressful. All of us would love a bit of extra space to give guests a comfortable stay, but we don’t all have the room to spare. For those who need to create some additional space in their homes – and perhaps to hide some of that clutter – Big Yellow Self Storage is an affordable solution, no matter how small or short term.”
Tagged in Christmas Home Home Interior