The True Cost Of Christmas Continues to Fall

Despite a faltering economy, recent research has shows that the cost of traditional Christmas products, such as chocolates and booze (especially spirits), has fallen in real terms over the last twenty years.

The research, carried out by Halifax Unsecured Personal Loans, reveals that books are the only traditional Christmas product to have actually risen in relative cost.

Using data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), Halifax managed to uncover the price changes of traditional items compared with wage increases. Seasonal stocking fillers, such as socks and jumpers, dropped the most in price, with the cost of winter garments dropping 53%. Next to see the largest fall were toys, falling by 52%, with the cost of a Christmas lunch seeing dramatic reductions.

Many items that feature on the Christmas grocery list saw reductions also. Products, such as brussel sprouts dropped in price by almost a third (31%), with turkey now 28% cheaper than 20 years ago. Also to fall in price were wine and Christmas cake with both becoming less expensive by 19%. However, it's not just the grocery list that's been subject to price reductions in real terms. Jewellery has also fallen in price by 19%, which is great news for those consumers wishing to treat their other halves with that something special.

Unfortunately not all things Christmas have fallen in price. Consumers will be saddened to hear that the all important Christmas item, the must have present of the time, has not saw a reduction in price. For example, in 1985, Transformers were the must have Christmas present for the nations children, currently retailing at £20-30. However, this Christmas the Xbox 360 tops the nations Christmas wish lists, with retailers pricing it at almost £300. With that said, this is a small price to pay with the cost of the new Xbox countered to some degree by the overall fall in the cost of most traditional Christmas goods.

Ian Corfield, head of Halifax Unsecured Personal Loans, said: " It's nice to see that traditional Christmas spends have become more affordable over the last 20 years, hopefully making the Christmas pound go further." However, research carried out by Virgin Credit Card revealed that it takes consumers, on average, three months to pay off debts accrued over Christmas.

It's estimated, that in total, the nation spends £13billion on Christmas celebrations every year.