Two thirds of consumers are planning to cut back on Christmas spending this year, with decorations and lights amongst the areas that will be sacrificed.
New research by Which? found that 66% of people will be scrimping over the festive season, mainly by buying cheaper Christmas food (25%), spending less on decorations (23%) and spending less on entertainment (22%) like going to pantomimes.

One in 10 people (11%) are also cutting back on the electricity they use for Christmas lights.

More than half of people (55%) say Christmas is financially tougher this year than last, showing that, despite our fledgling economic recovery, UK households continue to feel the strain of the rising cost of living, says Which?

The findings resonate with the Which? Consumer Insight Tracker, which shows that 37% of people are still feeling the squeeze and that only 16% think economic growth has had a positive impact on their standard of living.

The overwhelming majority of Brits (93%) say people are under pressure to spend too much at Christmas, and 36% have cut back on other spending so they can afford to pay for it.

The research also found that 20% of people will be entertaining at home rather than going out, 17% are only buying presents for children, not adults, and people under 34 are likely to spend more on Christmas this year (27%) than people over 35 (15%).

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: "The Chancellor may say the hard work on the economy is paying off but he's still got a tough battle ahead to convince people he's improving living standards. For two years in a row many consumers say Christmas is financially tougher than the year before so it's clear that families aren't feeling the effects of recovery in their pockets.

"There's little festive cheer when budgets continue to be stretched, especially when some families are spending less on Christmas food and decorations, and a few are even resorting to turning off their Christmas lights to save electricity."