Surprisingly, more than a third of Aussies are dreaming of a cold Christmas

Australians will spend more than AUD$12 billion on presents, eat over 204 million pieces of chocolate and travel 6.3 billion kilometres to visit around 167 million friends and relatives over the festive period, a study by British Airways has found.

The study of 1,000 Australian respondents, conducted by OnePoll, also revealed Australia as a nation of givers with 41% of respondents saying giving gifts is the best part of Christmas and only 19% saying receiving gifts is the best part.

On average, women are more likely to spend the most on Christmas gifts, splashing out around AUD$515 in total, with men spending AUD$441.

Despite Australia’s hot climate and sunny beaches, 35% of Australians admitted they would prefer to experience a cold Christmas, only slightly lower than 44% who still prefer to have warm weather during the festive season. Australia was the first choice of places to spend Christmas Day (82%).

However, when asked, where else in the world, other than Australia, they would like to spend Christmas Day, the USA (26%) and the UK (25%) topped the polls as the most popular options.

It would seem that the feeling is mutual, with a similar One Poll Survey in the UK revealing that one in five Brits would most like to travel to Australia to celebrate Christmas Day. 1 in 10 Australians have already spent Christmas Day in the UK which ranked top, ahead of the USA.

Over the Christmas period, the country will buy a total of more than 317 million gifts for over 191 million people, with the average Australian buying 13 different gifts for eight people, spending almost AUD$493 in total.

The study also found that Australians will travel 213 kilometres to deliver gifts to friends and relatives, amounting to 5.2 billion kilometres as a nation, as well as some 2.9 billion kilometres to deliver Christmas cards.

With summer in full swing, December is a sociable month for Australians who will spend around AUD$4.6 billion on 58.8 million Christmas parties or nights out, amounting to $187 each in total for the month of December.