52 per cent of British families have to pop to the garage on December 25 because they have forgotten something vital for Christmas Day celebrations.
According to research¹ by leading retailer Argos, batteries (29 per cent) top the list of things people are most likely to forget, with sellotape (18 per cent) and buying wrapping paper (16 per cent) coming close behind.
Top ten things people are most likely to forget this Christmas:
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Buy batteries
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Buy sellotape
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Buy wrapping paper
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Buy tinfoil for the turkey
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Make the gravy
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Fill the ice cube trays
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Buy presents for extended family
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Take the Christmas presents with you when visiting friends and family
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Putting the vegetables on for Christmas dinner
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Making a vegetarian option
Over half of us feel our stress levels soaring as the big day approaches, and 40 per cent admit to worrying about the stress and expense, so much so that over half avoid hosting Christmas altogether.
Women are the most likely to worry, with 60 per cent saying they are simply too busy in the lead up to the big day to remember everything, and 32 per cent attribute their forgetfulness to working long hours.
Men, on the other hand, blame nights of partying for their lapses in memory, with a quarter saying they have too many Christmas parties to attend (5 per cent more than women)– leaving little time for shopping – and nearly a third claim they have too many people to buy for.
This year, Argos is coming to the rescue by sending out 800 of its fools** – replicas of the mischievous creatures featured in its Christmas advert – across the nation wearing £15,000 worth of vouchers to help customers ‘fool-proof’ Christmas. A further 200 fools are being placed at random in Fast Track delivery packages meaning customers using the same-day delivery service also have the opportunity to bag a fool and win.
Gary Kibble, Marketing Director at Argos, said: “For many families, the festive season doesn’t come cheap or easy with 50 per cent admitting they feel the stress levels rising in the lead up to Christmas Day.
This Christmas, we wanted to give hard-working Brits a helping hand with our £15,000 giveaway so Brits can fool-proof their Christmas. It’s also a chance for our customers to capture a cheeky fool of their own and make sure they don’t wreak havoc on the big day.”
All bargain hunters need to do upon finding a fool is tweet a photo of it to @Argos_Online to be rewarded with a voucher to spend on any of the thousands of products available at Argos. Argos’s Twitter and Instagram will be giving out clues about where to find them, so punters should keep their eyes peeled!