Xmas in Finland: southerners spend on presents, northerners spend on food and decorations

Spending on decorations, presents and food has increased since last year.

Southerners buy the most presents, while those from northern Finland spend more on edible festive treats.

Finns will spend an average of 570 euros on Christmas this year.

That represents an increase of around 16 percent on last year, according to research from Nordea.

Gift-buying takes up the lion’s share of juletide spending, with an average of 330 euros going on presents—that is an increase of 50 euros on the figure for 2012. One in five Finns is planning to spend more than 500 euros on presents.

The bill for Christmas dinner, decorations and other treats comes to an average of 252 euros, 40 euros more than last year.

The survey also found regional differences in spending. While southern Finns spend most on presents and northerners splurge on food and decorations, eastern Finland is home to the stingiest Christmas shoppers in the country.

More than half of Finns have a similar budget to last year, while one in four is looking to cut back. The most likely expenditures to be cut are food, decorations and gifts for friends.

A majority of Finns fund the holiday spending from their salaries or tax refunds, which arrived at the start of December. Around 20 percent are prepared to raid savings or use a credit card.

TNS Gallup was commissioned by Nordea and interviewed a thousand Finns aged 18-65 during November.

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