Teesside is preparing for a busy December as residents are set to spend a total of more than 4.9 million hours preparing for Christmas.*
In a survey of more than 2,000 shoppers, nearly 1 in 4 residents (23%) said they will need more than the equivalent of a working week to prepare for Christmas Day, taking into account shopping, cooking, getting the house in order, and wrapping presents.**
The research – commissioned by British Land, owner of Teesside – also revealed that Teesside residents find choosing the right gift the most stressful part of the preparations. And it seems they’ll have lots of gifts to buy, with 38% of people in Teesside set to hand out more than 15 presents.
And while Christmas is traditionally a time to be spent with family, for most people in Teesside it’s one of the most stressful things about planning for the festive period (8%) – along with cooking the Christmas dinner (11%) and decorating the house (7%).
Centre Manager, Mike Clarke said: “Christmas is one of the busiest but most enjoyable times for us here at Teesside and it’s no surprise given how much effort shoppers are putting into their festive preparations.
“While some of us are super organised and started Christmas shopping well in advance, we’re anticipating a surge in shoppers in the coming weeks as people look to tick the essentials off their list. To make things a little easier, many of our retailers are offering Click & Collect and gift wrapping.”
Teesside has just launched a free augmented reality game or virtual treasure hunt – Freezy’s Christmas Adventure’. The centre has been selected to trial the technology as it prepares to gear up for the busy festive period.
By downloading a simple app to a smartphone or tablet, children will be transported to a magical land and asked to help friendly snowman, Freezy, and his friends overcome obstacles and find presents hidden around the centre.