Oh Noel! We’re dreading that Christmas mess
MILLIONS of Britons are already feeling stressed about the mess Christmas celebrations will cause, according to research.
Nearly half of us ( 49 per cent) are dreading the looming piles of washing up, while 43 per cent can’t stand the idea of wrapping paper strewn about.
A third ( 34 per cent) are on edge thinking about children’s toys all over the house. Householders are also fretting about dragging Christmas trees through the house, hanging decorations on painted walls, and food and drink spills.
The survey by Plenty Household Towels found the toughest stains to tackle were red wine on carpets ( mentioned by 15 per cent), chocolate fingerprints on walls ( 14 per cent), and mud brought in from walks ( 11 per cent). Overflowing bins were a bugbear for 30 per cent of those quizzed, while food trodden into the carpet and pine needles were other messes we could do without.
Britons spend an average of five hours cleaning over Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, pollsters said.
Liverpool households were the tidiest, with about seven hours spent sprucing up homes. Edinburgh people, however, spent just three hours on festive chores, researchers found. Nearly half those polled said they will do their best to minimise the mess by carrying a bin bag around all day and insist wrapping paper goes straight in as soon as gifts are opened.
Nicola Coronado from Plenty said: “Even though Christmas might look a little different this December, after the messy year we’ve had it’s certainly still something we’re all looking forward to.”