Irish party on in Euro Christmas spending league

IRISH families will be Europe’s biggest Christmas spenders this year, splashing out €1,430 each on presents, food and nights out — a national total of €3.5 billion.

New figures show €720 will be spent per household on presents, €431 on food and €279 on socialising, an increase of 6.9% on last year’s €1,339.

But compared to last year families will be spending far less on presents and much more on food: the amount spent on nights out will remain almost static. Last year, the average Irish family spent €824 on presents — a national Santa’s sack worth just over €2bn.