• One in ten Brits surveyed say their Christmas decorations will be up before 30 November
• Four cent already had them up by Bonfire Night!
• Almost half say it makes them feel happy when they see Christmas lights, with others claiming it makes them feel more positive and warmer
• Women are more likely to say the festive illuminations make them feel happy

Christmas is expected to come earlier than usual this year as desperate Britons seek distraction from the ongoing saga of Brexit, turning to festive lights and decorations to lift their spirits.

One in ten of those putting up Christmas decorations this year say they will have them up before 30 November, according to the recent survey by Safestyle, while four per cent already had them up by Bonfire Night!

The good news is that switching on the Christmas lights won’t just brighten up your house and garden, it will make you feel brighter too, particularly if you’re female.

Around half of those surveyed, across all age ranges and regions, said that seeing homes, streets and town centres illuminated for the festive season makes them feel happy (48 per cent), with this effect being particularly visible in women (53 per cent).

Overall, three out of ten respondents said the festive lights make them feel positive (30 per cent), with almost as many claiming they make them feel warmer (28 per cent), suggesting that festive colours and lighting can create a ‘whole body’ emotional response.

With 84 per cent of those questioned saying they will be putting up Christmas decorations this year, there will certainly be plenty of ‘feel-good factor’ to go around.

The weekend of 30 November-1 December is looking like the most popular time to do this, with almost one in six (17 per cent) saying they will be putting up their decorations during that weekend. This means that more than a quarter of those decorating for Christmas (27 per cent) will have done so by the first day of December.

Around one in ten respondents admit to putting their decorations up as early as they can (11 per cent) to make them feel festive, with roughly the same number saying they like to leave them up for as long as possible (10 per cent).

The survey was commissioned by windows and doors company Safestyle, which is encouraging British homeowners to ‘brighten up Britain’ by putting up their decorations earlier than usual this year.

Martin Troughton, Marketing Director at Safestyle, explains, “It’s been a challenging year for the country in so many ways and it’s clear from the survey findings that festive colours and lights can really boost our sense of wellbeing, providing the perfect antidote to the ongoing Brexit debate.

“As we head into winter, it’s great to know that we can help ourselves and others feel better, happier and more positive by brightening up our homes and communities at the darkest time of the year. The knock-on effects for our personal wellbeing as well as our local neighbourhoods are staggering.

“As part of our commitment to ‘Brighten up Britain’, Safestyle is sponsoring a new national competition called Illumination Street so now there’s yet another reason to get the decorations up nice and early!”

Illumination Street is a new, independent initiative that has been launched by TV gardener David Domoney to brighten up Britain’s front gardens with Christmas cheer. The campaign launched on 3 November and includes a national competition with prizes for the best garden displays, community Christmas display, front door display and children’s window display.

David Domoney says, “The aim of the Illumination Street campaign is to encourage adults and children to use their imagination and creative flair to really make the most of their home and garden during the festive season. With prizes to be won for the best entries across a range of categories, we want to celebrate and share the uplifting displays during this magical time of year. You don’t have to spend a fortune to create impact; it’s all about imagination and fun.

“Illumination Street has been born on the back of one of the nation’s most-loved garden campaigns, Cultivation Street – a national gardening campaign for community gardens, school gardens and gardens for better health, now in its eighth year. It makes such a huge difference when communities come together to brighten up their local area, so by introducing Illumination Street this year we hope to inspire people to make more of their homes and gardens, channelling that same positivity and cheer through to the winter months.”

More information about the Illumination Street campaign and competition deadline dates can be found at illuminationstreet.com

ENDS

Notes to editors

Additional content:
The following additional content is available towards the bottom of this release:
• David Domoney’s top five tips to brighten up your home this season on a budget
• Regional data on the areas of the UK where people are most likely to:
o Feel happy when they see Christmas illuminations
o Put up lights/decorations in their garden
o Put up decorations as soon as possible
o Leave their decorations up for as long as possible

The research:
The research for Safestyle was carried out online by Opinion Matters between 18/10/2019 and 21/10/2019 amongst a panel resulting in 2,016 UK adults. Opinion Matters abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles.

About Safestyle:
Safestyle has been manufacturing and installing affordable, high quality, energy efficient and secure windows and doors for homeowners across England and Wales for over 20 years. Safestyle’s award winning products are bespoke-made in its UK state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and exceed high and exacting British Standards.
www.safestyle-windows.co.uk

About Illumination Street:
Illumination Street is a competition that highlights the passion, flair and effort invested into front gardens around Britain in the build-up to Christmas. The project encourages outdoor displays bursting with creativity to, quite literally, illuminate Christmas spirit for the whole community.
www.illuminationstreet.com

About David Domoney:
David Domoney is a Chartered Horticulturist and English celebrity gardener. He presents for ITV1 on daytime with This Morning and on prime time he co-presents Britain’s most viewed gardening programme, Love Your Garden, with Alan Titchmarsh. David is spearheading the Illumination Street competition.
www.daviddomoney.com

For further information, contact:
Jacqui Green at JGMPR
07885 270349
Jacqui@jgmpr.com


Additional content

David Domoney’s top tips to brighten up your home this season on a budget:

1) Growing seasonal flower & berry plants
Growing your own living Christmas decorations is a great way to keep the cost down this Christmas. For those inside the home, I’d go for sensational cyclamen. The flag-like flowerheads look really remarkable set upon the marbled foliage and they can work peppered into hanging arrangements, as indoor pot plants or in outdoor tubs – just make sure they’re hardy cyclamen if situating them outside. Else, the beautiful berries and evergreen colouration of Gaultheria or the jaw-dropping purple of Callicarpa bodinieri ‘Profusion’ can look really striking as a pop of colour in the garden.

2) Create window displays
Embellishing your home with decoration and illumination at this time of year is a sure-fire way to bring a smile to passers-by. In particular, you can focus your efforts towards front window displays and this doubles up a warm welcome when you get home. Keep it simple: dark evergreen branches such as holly, pine, spruce or bay look brilliant when lit up with a warm string of lights. Finish this off with a few window stencils in crisp white and your windows will look like a winter wonderland.

3) Foliage focal point in your garden
There are so many plants naturally growing outside that can be used to adorn with lights and decorations outdoors; try bay trees in containers shaped in globes on a stem or go for holly bushes for foliage and seasonal berries – I particularly like the variegated ‘Silver Queen’ which has cream margined leaves. These can be mixed in with the ornate foliage and bright red berries of Skimmia japonica for a striking shrub or container plant. You could also plant a miniature Christmas tree, like Picea albertiana ‘Conica’, and leave it outside to decorate as it grows every year.

4) Indoor seasonal plants
Indoor Christmas plants, such as indoor azaleas in white, pink or red, will keep your home looking festive when grown indoors. Just be sure to water them regularly or the fibrous root systems will get extremely thirsty. Phalaenopsis, the moth orchid, can be bought in a vast array of colours to suit any home or Christmas display – they’re great in bathrooms or kitchens, where the humidity is higher, and where you might need a little lift! Poinsettias are a Christmas houseplant ‘must’ but protect the foliage from cold weather as you take it from the shops to your home.

5) Homemade decorations
On a woodland walk collect up pinecones, fallen spruce, pine, birch or fern branches to make your own rustic Christmas decorations. Then, take the greenery and spray paint it in bright metallic colours; silver, copper and gold. Or, seasonal colours such as white or red. You can tie these with string or festive ribbon and, when dry, add them to your home as garlands, wreaths or use the pinecones as Christmas tree baubles.


Regional data:

Where people are most likely to feel happy when they see Christmas illuminations:
1. Bristol (56 per cent)
2. Plymouth (54.7 per cent)
3. Glasgow (54 per cent)
4. Brighton (52.7 per cent)
5. Edinburgh (50.7 per cent)

Where people are most likely to put up lights/decorations in their garden:
1. Bristol (19 per cent)
2. Liverpool (17.2 per cent)
3. Manchester (14.6 per cent)
4. Leeds (14.2 per cent)
5. Newcastle (14.1 per cent)

Where people are most likely to put up decorations as soon as possible:
1. Bristol (16.7 per cent)
2. Newcastle (14.1 per cent)
3. Manchester (14 per cent)
4. Sheffield (13 per cent)
5. Belfast / Brighton (12.7 per cent)

Where people are most likely to leave their decorations up for as long as possible:
1. Sheffield (14.5 per cent)
2. Birmingham (11.7 per cent)
3. London (11.6 per cent)
4. Cardiff (11.5 per cent)
5. Newcastle (10.6 per cent)