Geordies are the ‘tightest’ when it comes to buying Christmas presents for their nearest and dearest, a study has found.
Researchers polled 2,000 Brits to find out who was planning on spending the most – and least – on festive gifts.
The study by Outlet Shopping at The O2 found that the average spend was £275.
If every adult in the UK spent that much, the Christmas shopping list for the country would top £15bn.
Geordies, like Ant & Dec, Cheryl and Jimmy Nail, said they’d spend an average of just £219, while Scots – like Sir Alex Ferguson and Lorraine Kelly – said they’d spend £312.
Fold from Yorkshire were the second most generous, spending £305 on average – despite Scots and Yorkshire folk having a ‘reputation for being tight’.
Researchers polled 2,000 Brits to find out who was planning on spending the most – and least – on festive gifts
If every adult in the UK spent that much, the Christmas shopping list for the country would top £15bn
Yorkshire folk are famously tight with money, encapsulated in the saying ‘A Yorkshireman is a Scotsman with all the generosity squeezed out of him’.
Other jokes include that copper wire was invented by two Scotsmen fighting over a penny.
Despite this, the regional spending Christmas list was as follows;
Women generally spend more than blokes, forking out £290 on festive gifts, compared to £260 for chaps.
Those over the age of 55 spent the most, £330 on average, compared to £310 for those aged 45-55, £290 for those aged 35-44, £240 for ages 25-34, and £180 for those aged 18-24.
Gareth Dunk, 56, of Newcastle, said he was only planning on spending £100 on gifts, adding: ‘I usually give a tenner to the two grandkids, get some perfume for the wife and that’s about it.’
Hilary Taylor, 35, of Edinburgh, said she had a budget of £400.
She said: ‘I love giving and seeing people’s faces when they get something they actually want – I usually spend all year finding and buying gifts for everyone in my family.’
A spokesman for Outlet Shopping at The O2 said: ‘The average Brit will be getting all their Christmas shopping done for £275 this year.
‘Nationally, Scots will be spending the most, with an average set budget of £312, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber at £305.
‘The thriftiest Christmases will be happening in the North East, with an average budget of £219 set aside for gifting.’