Family Christmas dinner
Mums nationwide spend 29 hours and 29 minutes preparing for Christmas (on top of their day to day routine) in the run up to the festive day, according to new research by Morrisons. With over a third (37 per cent) admitting they would forego Christmas gifts in exchange for a little more help at home.
Proving the saying that a ‘woman’s work is never done’, shopping for presents and festive food takes up 6 hours and 27 minutes, preparing and cooking Christmas lunch is a further 6 hours and 14 minutes, while decorating the house sets mums back 2 hours and 7 minutes, and entertaining guests will take up 3 hours and 10 minutes, all accounting for the biggest share of mums’ time at Christmas.
Mums traditionally complete the lion’s share of the work round the house, but 32 per cent state they would give up their lead role at Christmas if they had the chance. Dads pitch in and help too, with an average of 13 hours, less than half the time Mums spend.
Although the research revealed that 28 per cent of mums find Christmas more stressful than enjoyable, they admit they wouldn’t have it any other way as 55 per cent state that Christmas is their favourite annual event.
The Morrisons study also found that it takes the average mum three attempts at cooking a Christmas dinner before they feel confident cooking it. Over a quarter (26 per cent) of mums questioned said that turkey is the hardest dish to cook, closely followed by gravy (21 per cent), sprouts (15 per cent) and roast potatoes (13 per cent).
Sonia Whiteley-Guest, Morrisons Director of Brand Development said: “We understand that Christmas can be a very busy and often stressful time, particularly for mums who tend to take the lead role.
"Though our research has revealed that the man of the house is sharing the load, it seems mums would still appreciate a few extra festive helpers as they are clocking up over 29 hours on top of their usual routine, in preparation for Christmas.”
How long do you spend on Christmas tasks? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @FemaleFirst_UK
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