NEWS COPY
Half of adults are fed up of the usual Boxing Day traditions - and would prefer to spend the day watching sport in the pub instead.
A survey of 2,000 UK adults found four in 10 wish they had different Boxing Day plans, with 64 per cent doing the same things year in, year out.
More than a third of adults normally host or visit close family for a second day of celebrations while one in 10 are usually dragged around the sales.
And one in five build up to putting together another big Christmas dinner.
But exactly 50 per cent agree their ‘perfect’ December 26 would be spent in their local watching endless games of footie.
A quarter would rather spend their time meeting up with friends and 16 per cent would just like to curl up with the dog all day.
Chris Conchie, head of sport at pub company and brewer Greene King, which commissioned the research to celebrate a huge Boxing Day of sport, said: “While Christmas is certainly a time for family, after being stuck in the house for days on end many people feel a break to see friends in the pub will be welcomed by the 26th December.
“Boxing Day is a great opportunity to escape for a few hours and catch up on the sport, and more than 900 Greene King pubs will be showing the Boxing Day Premier League fixtures on Amazon Prime, so we’re expecting to see lots of post-Christmas sports fans.
“If you don’t normally visit the pub over Christmas this could be a break from the norm, and the perfect way to save getting stuck in a festive rut after the big day is over.”
According to the study, some of Brits’ biggest Boxing Day grumbles include enduring the same old films on TV (21 per cent), the house being a mess (23 per cent) and feeling a desperate need to exercise (13 per cent).
Another 11 per cent complain about being forced to play endless board games like Monopoly all day long.
The same amount struggle to maintain cordial relationships with family members, while one in 20 get fed up with having to spend all day building complicated kids’ toys.
More than a tenth also confess to experiencing ‘cabin fever’ after spending too long rattling around the same house.
It also emerged adults will spend nearly four hours slumped in front of the TV on Boxing Day, after cleaning for an hour and a half.
They’ll also have to drive for half an hour to visit seven different relatives, friends or neighbours, according to the OnePoll survey.
For Brits who are able to escape to the pub this Boxing Day, 14 per cent hope to actually spend all day there.
They’d like to sink four pints, get through four portions of chips and three packs of nuts while they catch the seasonal sports.
Chris Conchie added: “There are loads of great sporting fixtures taking place on Boxing Day this year.
“Most notable is the top-of-the-table clash between Leicester City and Liverpool at 8pm, but there are lots of other big games as well.
“Almost the whole league will be represented, including games between Manchester United and Newcastle, and Spurs against Brighton.
“There’s nothing quite like the atmosphere of watching the game in the pub at Christmas, particularly after being stuck in the house and visiting family for days on end.
"So rather than forcing down another turkey sandwich, it’s worth braving the cold to visit your local this Boxing Day.”
BRITS’ TOP 35 BOXING DAY GRUMBLES
1. The house being a mess
2. Enduring the same old films on TV
3. Having to tidy up after Christmas Day
4. Feeling bloated all day due to food and drink overload
5. Realising you have to find a home for everything you unwrapped the day before
6. Having to visit your partner's family
7. Feeling like you need to exercise
8. Being forced to play Monopoly or other board games all day
9. Seeing stuff you already bought appear in the sales
10. Having to be nice to people for a long period of time
11. Cabin fever
12. Doing the mountain of washing up you avoided on the 25th
13. Feeling like you have to maintain a cheerful and excited outlook on everything when you are so over Christmas
14. Having nothing to do apart from relaxing and more relaxing
15. You feel like you want to take down the decorations/cards already
16. Over excited children running wild
17. Boxing Day sales traffic
18. Obligatory family outings, when you don't want to leave the house
19. Looking at the bank account and realising it is empty so you can't do anything you want to do anyway
20. Too much family time
21. There are no more presents to open
22. Having to entertain tedious conversations with relatives you don't see the rest of the year round
23. Having to spend the day visiting different family members because you and your partner both have divorced parents / like to visit each side of the family
24. Having to visit people you wouldn’t see the rest of the year round
25. You have to go through a repeat of the previous day's events
26. Realising you were so focused on Christmas Day you'd forgotten to buy any normal food for Boxing Day
27. Enduring a hangover
28. You have to work Boxing Day
29. Having to continue unpacking all the kid's toys from difficult packaging
30. The in-laws outstaying their welcome
31. The kids are annoyed because their new toys don't work
32. Trying to figure out what to do for NYE
33. Having to spend the day building complicated kid's toys
34. Having to spend hours in the car
35. Not being allowed to watch sports all day
ENDS
