12 Studies of Christmas: Tipples

For many Christmas cheer has become synonymous with having a few drinks. And then a few more. Whether you think that's a corruption of the original Christmas message or just a bit of hard-earned fun, it's an undeniable facet of the festive season. And after this year, we all deserve a drink. So Prolific surveyed 100 people to find out their Christmas tipples of choice.

Prefer to ask people about a different topic? Sign up today for free to learn from Prolific's 100,000+ participants.

1. Do you drink alcohol at Christmas?

Out of our 100 participants, 18 professed to not drinking any alcohol on Christmas day. The remaining 82 began to whet their thirst at a variety of times across the day, with 13% having typically drunk their first drink before midday.

2. What time do you usually start drinking on Christmas Day?

29% showed remarkable restraint and only started drinking after 5pm. Quite the opposite of our earliest drinker, who starts their session at the "Middle of the afternoon on Christmas Eve".

3. What's your favourite Christmas drink?

But which Christmas drink gets our participants tipsy? In an upset, our landslide winner was the very much non-Christmas specific Red wine. The fairly Christmassy Baileys came second, while, shockingly, Mulled wine, Eggnog, and Glögg all got 6 votes or fewer. Seemingly, rather than a yearly seasonal treat, the traditional festive drinks are more often suffered through than actually enjoyed.

In the battle of the fizz, Prosecco and Sparkling wine came out on top with 5 votes each. Champagne languished behind, with its cheap Spanish cousin Cava on 2 votes. Whether this reflects the nation's frugality or our deeply ingrained Francophobia is unclear.

4. Which of your family members is most likely to drink the most?

With a massive 25%, the dads ran away with this one, or they would if they could stand up. Mums were close behind with 17.1%. In-laws, despite their reputation, only got 5 votes in total. For 60% of our participants, it's a male member of their family who gets the most wasted every year.

5. Do you think you drink too much at Christmas?

On a slightly more serious note, we wondered who would like to reduce their yuletide drinking.

Nearly a quarter, 19 out of the 82, said they drank too much. Of that number, 6 said they would like to drink less.

When asked why, most described themselves as fairly moderate drinkers. The few who did drink a little more than usual did so in the spirit of having a festive, enjoyable time, particularly after working hard all year.

Although one participant lamented the excessive drinking culture around Christmas, our results suggest that most people felt they had their alcohol consumption under control. Moderation, or at most moderate indulgence, was the key to their enjoyment.

Want to learn about another topic?

Sign up today to ask Prolific's participants about any topic. They're ready for you anytime.

Or come discuss all things research with our community.