British Christmas Through The Ages: Go Big or Go Home! The Extravagant Christmases of 2010+ - The British Hamper Company

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British Christmas Through The Ages: Go Big or Go Home! The Extravagant Christmases of 2010+

22 Dec 2021 by Liz Tod

*Updated 21/11/2022*

Well, what an eventful time we’ve had here this last decade (and a bit). 

And speaking of which, what do we call the decade of 2010-2020?! There is no obvious name for this decade (such as the 90s or the Noughties). Some suggest calling this decade the Teenies or the Tens – but neither seem to have stuck.

We’ve had 8 general elections and referendums and a 5 million increase in population, to start.

We’ve had more people than ever accepted into university and onto higher education courses, a 20% increase in homes with access to the internet, a climate crisis, Instagram, and Brexit!  

A decade which saw the 2012 Olympics in London and in 2015 Queen Elizabeth II became Britain’s longest-reigning monarch!  And then, of course, Covid-19 but enough on that, think we’ve all had enough.
 

Let’s start with some facts on our Christmas shopping habits in the decade of 2010:

  • UK consumers are the biggest Christmas spenders in Europe.
     
  • Most (just over half) of us start Christmas shopping in October & November.
     
  • 25% of us don’t start until December.
     
  • 12% say they leave their shopping until the week before Christmas.
     
  • Black Friday was introduced to UK customers by Amazon in 2010 and really took off when ASDA took part in 2013.
     
  • 76% of families choose turkey and most buy it in advance (25% of us buying months in advance).
     
  • 10 million turkeys are cooked in the UK every Christmas.
     
  • We spend £48m on Christmas puddings (!).
     
  • The most expensive item on our food shopping list is wine, followed by the cheeseboard and then Christmas pudding (surprising?!).
     
  • The average number of presents a child receives here is 16.
     

Can you guess which Christmas decorations we spent the most on during this decade?

  1. Christmas trees
     
  2. LED lights
     
  3. Garlands
     
  4. Christmas Crackers
     

And now some Christmas silliness from the decade 2010-2020

*83 sq Km is the amount of wrapping paper sold in the UK every Christmas.

*113 ft is the height of the tallest ever snowman built in Maine, USA.

*3 is the number of Christmas no 1’s the Beatles had.

*957 is the number of calories in an average Christmas Dinner.

* 2,340,000 mph is the speed at which Santa's sleigh would need to travel if he were to reach every home in the world on Christmas Eve.

* 25 million is the amount of Christmas puddings we eat each year (are we obsessed?).
 

Talking of food, what have been the trends during this decade?

The decade of 2010-2020 has seen the rise of:

  • Artisan food, often produced by small family businesses.
     
  • Organic produce
     
  • Vegetarianism
     
  • Veganism
     
  • When eating out we’ve particularly loved ‘sharing’ plates and brunches (‘bottomless brunches’ becoming extremely popular!).
     
  • Avocado, in every shape and form, has been/is loved.
     
  • Prosecco.  We consider it the sort of drink suitable for ANY occasion and its popularity has soared during the last few years. Apparently, 486 million bottles were sold here in 2019  (and maybe more during the nightmare of 2020?!).
     

Did you know?

  • It only needs one snowflake to be observed falling somewhere in the UK on December 25th for the Met Office to consider it a white Christmas!

The last time we had a widespread white Christmas in the UK was in 2010.
 

A few weather records during this decade

  • The deepest snow on Christmas Day was 45cm in 2010, Cae Porth Wales
    (the deepest ever was In Perthshire in 1981, 47cm).
     
  • The warmest Christmas Day was also in Wales. Hawardan, Clywd enjoyed a balmy 15.2c. (the warmest ever was 15.6c Killerton Devon in 1920).
     
  • The coldest Christmas Day was at Altnaharra, Sutherland in 2010 – a very chilly -18.2c. ( the coldest ever was -18.3 at Gainford Durham in 1873).
     

So, what toys and tech have been the festive favourites during 2010-2020?


The top toys and tech of 2010

  • Toy Story 3 DVD
     
  • iPad
     
  • Kindle
     
  • Nerf N-Strike
     

The top toys and tech of 2011 

  • Nintendo 3DS
     
  • LeapPad Explorer
     
  • Lego Ninjago
     
  • Fire Temple
     
  • Doggie Doo
     

The top toys and tech of 2012 

  • Nintendo Wii-U
     
  • Furby
     
  • Lego Lord of the Rings
     

The top toys and tech of 2013 

  • Big Hugs Elmo
     
  • Hoverboard
     
  • X Box 1
     
  • Grand Theft Auto V
     

The top toys and tech of 2014

  • iPhone 6
     
  • The Sims 4
     
  • Minecraft figures
     
  • BopIt!
     

The top toys and tech of 2015 

  • Thunderbirds Interactive Tracy Island
     
  • BB-8 droid (Star Wars)
     

The top toys and tech of 2016 

  • Paws Patrol
     
  • Pie Face
     
  • Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage
     
  • Nintendo NES mini
     

The top toys and tech of 2017 

  • Anki’s Cozmo Robot
     
  • Fidget Spinner
     

The top toys and tech of 2018

  • Boxer AI Robot
     
  • Monopoly Fortnite Edition
     
  • Playstation Classic
     
  • Harry Potter Hogwarts Great Hall
     

The top toys and tech of 2019 

  • Lego Harry Potter Knightbus
     
  • Ultimate Walking Buzz Lightyear.
     

The top toys and tech of 2020 

  • PS5
     
  • Xbox series X.
     
  • Star Wars Baby Yoda.
     
  • Back to the Future Playmobile Set.
     

And nominations for top toys 2021 include – Scalextric Batman vs Superman and Lego Elf Clubhouse……….
 

What films and TV programmes have we enjoyed at Christmas during 2010-2020?

Top shows and films in 2010-2020 included:

  • Arthur Christmas (2011)
     
  • The Snowman & the Snowdog (2012)
     
  • Get Santa (2014)
     
  • Far from the Madding Crowd (2015)
     
  • The Man who invented Christmas (2017)
     
  • Last Christmas (2019)
     
  • Downton Abbey
     
  • Call the Midwife
     
  • Mrs Brown’s Boys
     

And Christmas is almost open us again this year - what traditions of ours will seem unusual to future generations we wonder.

But for now, open that prosecco and let’s enjoy this (nearly) normal festive time!