London leads Britain in Christmas home decoration

London is getting a head start on Christmas this year by decorating early. A recent YouGov poll also shows when the rest of Britain plans to catch up, if they’ll be buying decorations and where they’ll shop for them.

London’s early start on decorating

At the early date of November 13, only 8% of Britons had decorated their home for Christmas. In London, however, the proportion was twice that, at 16%. The North is getting a later start this year, with only 5% of homes already adorned.

There are other key demographic differences in disposition to decorate. Younger Britons are more likely to decorate than their elders. Among 18-24-year-olds, 19% have decorated, with 15% of 25-34-year-olds doing the same. That number drops to 6% among 35-44-year-olds, and even lower among older Britons.

When will the decorations go up?

When will the wreaths and tinsel start going up this year? Most Britons will hold off until the beginning of December. In the first week of December, 29% plan to start decorating their homes, with 17% and 18% in the following weeks, respectively.

Demand for December decorations

A third of Britons (35%) say they purchased or plan to purchase decorations this year. Again, ornament-happy London leads the rest of the country at 46%. Not surprisingly, households with children are much more likely than those without to buy new decorations (50% vs. 29%).

Among those who bought or plan to buy decorations, 28% say they bought or plan to buy from Tesco, the most popular retailer on this occasion. B&M and Home Bargains follow closely at 26%.