Ho! Ho! No – Christmas cancelled for many in Mansfield due to cost-of-living crisis, report claims

Almost one in six people in the town, 15 per cent, said they plan to buy no presents at all to save cash, 17 per cent are ditching the Christmas tree and 16 per cent will go without a turkey, according to the studfy.

Half of shoppers are “worried” about being able to afford to buy gifts for the festive period, while a fifth of households plan to spend less this year than they did last year.

The findings come from a new poll of 2,000 shoppers from Inventory Planner, which provides forecasting and planning software for businesses.

The poll found households were looking at lots of ways to limit spending this Christmas.

The most popular way was to minimise travel to save on petrol and other travel costs such as rail – chosen by 26 per cent of respondents.

A quarter of households have set a strict spending limit for Christmas.

Other popular cash savers include doing home-made gifts, chosen by 22 per cent of respondents, switching to cheaper Secret Santa presents, also 22 per cent, and not using wrapping paper or seeking cheaper alternatives such as old newspapers, 23 per cent,,

One in five households will ask guests to make a contribution to the cost of Christmas dinner, while 18 per cent of those polled are working extra hours to save up for Christmas and 17 per cent have taken a second job.

One in six shoppers are buying secondhand presents and 15 per cent are not bothering with Christmas cards.

Sara Arthrell, for Inventory Planner, said: “Many shoppers in Mansfield face a nightmare before Christmas, but they are finding clever ways to save money and make sure the Grinch doesn’t spoil all the fun.

“With more than a quarter of consumers cancelling Christmas this year, many retailers are also facing a nightmare in the New Year being stuck with dangerous levels of excess stock.

“Good inventory planning is vital. With a shrinking economy and weak consumer confidence, many retailers need to turn their surplus stock into cash quickly and strengthen their cash reserves as they prepare to trade through a recession.”