Brits spend more than £200,000 a minute on Christmas presents

Christmas shopping is one of those things people seem to love or hate. It takes up time, can be costly and it's not always easy to find that perfect present.

But, do you know how much money Brits are actually shelling out to make sure there are some gifts at the bottom of the Christmas tree this year?

New research from Voucherbox shows that during the eight week Christmas shopping period, people in the UK are spending £200,000 each minute.%VIRTUAL-ArticleSidebar-Christmas%

That's not the only shocking statistic to come from the festive season either. According to the findings, we will eat almost 10,000 mince pies, 1,240 Christmas puddings and drink almost 15,000 units of alcohol every minute in December.

Fan of a festive roast? You'll be amazed to find out that a staggering five tonnes of potatoes will be eaten every minute over the festive season.

Last year Brits outdid the rest of Europe and spent the most on their Christmas shopping, handing over 32% more than those in France and Luxembourg.

It's thought that Brits spend 14% of their average month's salary is spent on Christmas presents for friends and family.

But it's not all good news for Christmas shoppers. More and more people are dealing with the majority of their gift shopping online, but as much as £150 is scammed from online shoppers every minute in the lead up to Christmas.

It's not just presents being bought either, 550 Christmas cards will be sent each second, a metre of wrapping paper is used every minute and 264 Christmas trees are bought every minute.

To learn more, scroll through the real-time infographic below which shows the stats adding up as we head towards Christmas!

Source: Voucherbox.co.uk