The number of young people spending Christmas Day alone has doubled, according to new research that compares festive attitudes and behaviours in 2024 and 1969.
According to a study by the Policy Institute at King’s College London, one in nine people say they will be spending Christmas Day alone this year.
That number has increased from one in 20 who said the same 55 years ago.
While the share of people aged 65 and over who said they would spend Christmas Day by themselves has remained the same since 1969 – 15% of over 65s – the number for other demographics has risen.
The biggest increase was seen among the youngest surveyed, where one in 11, or 9%, of people aged 21 to 34 said they will be spending Christmas Day alone.
Only one in 100 said the same in 1969.
Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, said the data indicates that Christmas now seems just a little bit lonelier and less magical than it was 55 years ago.
“The proportion of people spending the day itself alone has doubled, we’re less likely to say we enjoy it, and a lot less likely to think parents should encourage their children to believe in Santa,” he said.
“But this doesn’t mean we’ve given up on Christmas – indeed a large majority of eight in 10 still say they do enjoy it, and nine in 10 will spend it with family or friends.”
The research – which is based on two nationally representative surveys of UK adults aged 21 and over in 2024 and 1969 – is part of a series of studies updating survey results from decades ago to understand changes in Britain’s core beliefs and ways of living.
Other data found that 80% of people today say they enjoy Christmas, which has dropped slightly from 86% in 1969.
Men have seen the biggest change in attitudes on Christmas in retail, with 81% of males surveyed saying Christmas goods are sold too early – up from 59% in 1969.
‘No religion’ was the second most common response on the census, increasing to 37.2% from 25.2% in 2011.
Professor Duffy said that while things have changed significantly in the world when compared with 1969, the collated data also shows that some things have not changed at all.
“These long-term trends are also useful in reminding us that some things have remained the same, despite the huge changes seen,” he said.
