To mark its new ‘Helping Feed Your Christmas Spirit’ Christmas TV campaign 2024 that is sure to get the nation into the festive mood, Tesco Ireland has released new research* revealing the country’s favourite Christmas traditions that are very uniquely Irish, the top things that feed, and slightly dampen, the Christmas spirits of the Irish public, and the different personas they tend to take on over the festive period (spoiler alert: we’re a nation of Christmas Cheerleaders!)
A Quintessential Irish Christmas
Although there are many different Christmas traditions across the country, something we all seem to agree on is that there is one Irish Christmas ritual that just can’t be missed - watching the Late Late Toy Show (no matter what age you are)! The majority of respondents (40%) say this is their favourite uniquely Irish Christmas tradition, followed by Irish Mammies having a ‘good’ tin of biscuits that no one (except the special visitors) is allowed to touch (21%), and watching the Father Ted Christmas Special (18%) - despite airing on Christmas Eve 1996, it appears that it just never gets old!
When it comes to our much-loved Irish Christmas 'delicacies’, the Christmas morning fry comes out on top as the number one dish that quite literally feeds the Christmas spirit (36%) of us, followed by a tin of USA biscuits (22%) and the thing that many live off for five days post-Christmas - the infamous leftover turkey curry (18%).
Far From a Nay-Sleighing Nation…
If there’s one thing Irish people are good at, it’s celebrating, and Christmas is no different! The majority of the nation (31%) rate their love for Christmas a perfect 10 out of 10, and 38% classify themselves as a ‘Christmas Cheerleader’ - the one that absolutely adores Christmas and makes it their whole personality every year. This is followed by the ‘Christmas Coasters’ (the ones that don’t love Christmas, but don’t hate it) and a mere 7% who identify as a ‘Nay-Sleigher’ - the ones that just don’t get the festive hype!
Feeding Your Christmas Spirit
More than 3 in 10 (36%) say it looks like the best way to feed our Christmas Spirits is to kick back, relax, and watch a festive movie with the Christmas tree lights twinkling in the background. For others, it's spending quality time with friends and family (23%), especially those who they haven’t seen since last Christmas, followed by treating yourself to your favourite festive food like a delicious turkey and stuffing sandwich with cranberry sauce (19%).
Most survey respondents (29%) say that nothing could dampen their spirits during the best time of the year, but for 22% of us, leaving the shopping until the last minute is enough to make even the jolliest elf feel like a Scrooge. Luckily, Tesco Ireland has Home Delivery and Click+Collect slots available to book right now. Visit Tesco.ie and take your pick from dates and times that fit into your Christmas schedule, with both services running from Monday, 16th December to Christmas Eve. Now, that’s a bit of holiday magic we could all use!
Suzanne Quinn, Customer Director, Tesco Ireland said: “Our survey shows that we, as a nation, have some very unique Christmas traditions that are typically Irish, and we wouldn’t change them for the world! From festive cravings to festive feasts for the whole family, Tesco is a one stop shop to make sure our treasured traditions live on. With convenient Home Delivery and Click+Collect slots, along with fantastic savings through our Clubcard, our customers can spend less time stressing and more time feeding their Christmas spirits and the Christmas spirits of others.”
As a one stop Christmas shop, Tesco has everything needed to get those taste buds tingling and sleigh bells ringing this year. Tesco Fresh Irish Turkeys (3kg/4kg/7kg/8kg) are available to pre-order now (starting at €12.00 RRP / €8.99 Clubcard Price until 18th December 2024), with Tesco Irish Unsmoked Ham Fillets available now from €7.47 per kg (RRP). Tesco Finest Mince Pies 6 Pack (RRP: €3.50 / 2 for €6.00 Clubcard Price until 25th December 2024) are also the perfect rich, crumbly dessert to serve after dinner, served warmed and accompanied by Tesco Fresh Cream 250Ml (RRP: €1.39).
Tesco is helping feed Christmas spirits across Ireland with its new TV ad, which you can watch HERE.
