The Cost of Christmas Joy? Around €1000 Apparently!

Irish families are set to splash out almost €1000 this Christmas which is more than anywhere else in Europe.

A new study by Deloitte, has revealed that on average each household will fork out €965.80 for the festive season.

Despite the fact that spending has decreased for the third year in a row Ireland is still spending more than any other country in the EU and triple the amount that the Dutch are planning to spend.

Half of the money will be going towards presents for friends and family with the other half covering all the food and socialising.

As well as how much we are planning to splash, the study also revealed that the most popular Christmas gift is a book. Not that we’re surprised with the popularity that Fifty Shades of Grey and the likes have had this year. Although we reckon everyone has read it at this point!

Books topped the wish list for presents this Christmas.

Cash, clothes, cosmetics and gift vouchers made up the top five sought-after presents. They are also now making up our Christmas shopping list.

Speaking about the results, Richard Howard from Deloitte said: “Consumers in Ireland are slowly becoming less pessimistic, and this is positive to observe give the importance that consumer sentiment and spending is to the overall economy.”

He added: “In addition, it’s clear that Irish consumers’ desire to celebrate the festivities remains extremely strong.”