As we come to the end of the year, the festive season is in full swing and with Christmas Day edging ever nearer we thought it timely to have a look at all things seasonal and celebrate!
With a big anniversary of our own just around the corner too (more on this to follow over the next few weeks… watch this space!) we’re going to have some fun with a little game we’d like to call “Noel Numbers” – can you see what we’ve done there!
£660
The average amount each family in the UK is likely to spend this Christmas. It seems that whatever the doom and gloom in the headlines, Christmas remains the one time in the year where people let go, treat themselves and push the boat out… even if it means having to face those credit card bills in January (which it seems many of us do too!)
6-1
The odds of snow in London on Christmas Day in 2019. In order for it to be officially declared a white Christmas there needs to be one snowflake observed falling somewhere in the UK in the 24 hours of 25 December. The last time we experienced a white Christmas across much of the UK was 2010. Not only was there snow on the ground at 83 % of the Met Office stations (which was the highest amount ever recorded) but snow or sleet fell on the day itself at 19 % of the stations – both of which were highly unusual for us here in the UK.
40 million
Rolls of sellotape are used to wrap up all those Christmas presents, as well as 108 million rolls of wrapping paper and 100 million black bags full of packaging from toys and gifts. That’s a hefty amount of waste!
7.1 million
Watched the Queen’s speech on Christmas Day in 2018. Whether you think the Queen’s Christmas broadcast is a must on Christmas Day or not, there are still a vast number of people who take time out of their busy day to see what Her Majesty has to tell us! In fact, last year it was the most watched programme on the BBC on Christmas Day itself – “Call the Midwife” then topped the bill once the figures for on-demand viewing were included.
4,705,882km/h
How fast Santa would need to travel to be able to deliver all those presents to every child in the world… that’s quite something! He’d need to clock up a total of 160,000,000km to be able to visit 200 million children in 800 million homes.
20 metres
The minimum height of the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square! The history behind the tree is interesting too – it’s been a gift given by Norway since 1947 to say thank you for the UK’s support during WW2. It’s chosen months before Christmas and then felled during a special ceremony in November, before making its way by boat in time for December.
5,200
The average number of calories consumed during Christmas dinner… more than 2 times the recommended daily amount for women (it’s not quite so much for men!) Apparently you’d need to run 2 marathons to work off that intake… probably need to get going now then!