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Coronavirus: Cancelled Christmas parties 'to save UK workers £4bn'

Two in five work Christmas parties will be online this year, according to a study. Photo: Jeshoots.com/Unsplash
Two in five work Christmas parties will be online this year, according to a study. Photo: Jeshoots.com/Unsplash

UK workers may save about £4.3bn ($5.8bn) following the cancellation of Christmas festivities, according to a study.

Two in five Christmas parties plan to move online his year, resulting in savings of about £139 each for those who no longer have to attend an office “do”, according to a survey of 1,000 by Instantprint.

This equates to more than double the cost the average Christmas dinner in 2020.

Additionally, by cancelling Secret Santa traditions due to remote working, workers could save an additional £280m, the study found.

The survey respondents said their biggest Christmas party expense is a new outfit or jewellery, with the average person spending £40.51 on new clothes and accessories for the big night.

Unsurprisingly, women make more effort, with two in five (38%) men saying they spend nothing at all on clothes before the big night.

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A party-free Christmas will save female workers about £46.30 on clothes and jewellery, the survey found.

About 3% – representing 8.1 million UK women – even admitted to spending upwards of £200 on clothes and accessories before every Christmas party.

Birmingham was found to spend more on clothing than any other city, with Brummies splashing out about £45 each.

The study found alcohol is the second-biggest cost for British workers, with the average spend per head coming to £38 on drinks on the night of the festivities.

With a pint and a small glass of wine costing an average of £4 each in the UK, employees look set to be making savings here too.

Meanwhile, a takeaway meal after a heavy night of partying costs workers about £12. And that's not even considering the price of comfort food to get them through the hangover the following 36 hours.

READ MORE: Coronavirus – Brits face £5.8bn of unexpected expenses this Christmas

Fast food doesn't come cheap in the capital, with Londoners set to save about £18 on the takeaways normally bought following the Christmas shindig – more than any other city.

Northerners live up to their “frugal” stereotype, doling out £31 less than their southern counterparts, spending about £137 on their Christmas night out.

Meanwhile, those from cities in the south of England typically spend £181 on their Christmas night out.

However, one southern city that bucks the trend is Norwich, where Christmas drinks cost just £22 on average – cheaper than any other city in the country.

Surprisingly, London is not the most expensive night out in the country, with the average punter spending just £48 on Christmas drinks, while Bristol workers fork over £51.

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