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NEW YORK — For many people, Christmas dinner starts before breakfast! A new poll finds the average American starts cooking Christmas dinner at 9:36 a.m.
The survey of 2,000 adults reveals how early households start to put together the much-anticipated meal, with it taking just over three hours to prep the entire event. The ideal time to eat it is 3:45 p.m., and it will take three days for families to eat all the leftovers before food boredom sets in.
Sixteen percent say the best thing about the festive season is the preparation of the Christmas Day dinner, despite 44 percent finding the food aspect the most stressful above any other national holiday.
Commissioned by bakery brand St Pierre and conducted by Talker Research, the study finds nearly four in 10 (38%) claim to be the most creative with their dishes during this festive time. However, 54 percent admit to feeling uptight whenever they have to think about prepping or cooking food for this or any other national celebration.
Despite this, Christmas was ranked as the most favorite holiday of the year by 49 percent, with reasons including spending time with family (35%), enjoying exchanging gifts (28%), and taking pleasure in decorating the Christmas tree in the lead-up to the big day (23%).
“We were surprised to see how early people start prepping their Christmas Day meal, but it is a dish that is taken very seriously and it’s important to get it right,” says a spokesperson for St Pierre, in a statement. “For a lot of families, keeping up with seasonal dining traditions is part of what makes every holiday season so special – with food appearing in the top ten most enjoyed aspects for Thanksgiving, Halloween, Easter, and of course, Christmas.”
The study also quizzed respondents on other national holidays and saw Thanksgiving take second place (20%) – followed by New Year’s (7%), Halloween (6%), and Independence Day (4%). When it comes to decorating, Christmas takes the top spot as the favorite holiday to decorate for (64%), with 19 percent voting for Halloween – putting it in second place on the list.
Meanwhile, 61 percent will leave their festive decorations up for the longest duration compared to the other well-known holidays. Of those polled, 46 percent say they are the most experimental for the December holiday when it comes to decorating, costumes, and parties.
Santa Claus takes the top spot for the most loved national holiday character, with The Grinch (12%), Michael Myers (6%), and Santa’s Elves (8%) also featured on the list.
“The excitement for the big day is well and truly here, and people will be doing their annual food and present haul if they haven’t finished this already,” the spokesperson adds. “Food and festivities can bring people together like nothing else. Food is more than a meal on your plate; it’s the nostalgia of family recipes, it’s the shared experience with loved ones and it’s memories created to be treasured.”
This article was first published on December 24, 2023.
