Belfast crowned the UK’s most festive city

The research, by Hammonds Fitted Furniture, compared a number of Christmassy factors in order to find the ultimate festive day out destinations. The findings were then combined to rank each city out of a possible 100 points.

In the top spot Belfast scored 90 and in second, Edinburgh scored 89. York came third with a rating of 85 out of 100, closely followed by Birmingham at 83.

Those who are wishing for a white Christmas in Belfast, have more than a one in four (27%) chance, with the region having seen snowfall on 17 occasions since 1960.

The Belfast Christmas market is greatly popular with tourists. This popularity was reflected in the study, with 11.2k Instagram posts under the hashtag #BelfastChristmasMarket.

Belfast residents also have plenty of Christmas cheer, according to the data, with one in six (17%) locals putting their Christmas decorations up as early as the first week of November.

The city will host 100 Christmas market stalls dotted around the bustling city centre, ranging from local traders to artisanal goods.

Keen to find out what puts us in the most festive mood, Hammonds also quizzed 2,000 Brits on the factors they believe make a place feel ‘Christmassy’ when visiting UK cities in the run up to the big day.

Three quarters agreed that festive lights (75%) were the aspect that filled them with the most Christmas cheer. Seeing festive decorations (74%) also scored highly as a key festive factor. Whilst half (50%) of those surveyed also said that Christmas markets get them into the festive spirit.

Only a quarter (25%) believe that snow is needed to get that festive feeling going, and less than a third (32%) say that carol singers are a seasonal necessity.

Despite top locations Edinburgh and York both boasting cobbled streets and medieval buildings, only one in seven (14%) responded that the architecture of the location can make it feel more festive.

Top 5 things that make a place feel festive

1. Festive lights (75%)
2. Festive decorations (74%)
3. Christmas markets (50%)
4. Carol singers (32%)
5. Snowfall (25%)

When it comes to putting up our own Christmas decorations, a third of UK consumers (34%) agreed that 1st December is the appropriate date to begin decking the halls.

Two thirds (69%) opt to put up their Christmas decorations in December, however, almost a third (28%) choose to do so as early as November. Five per cent even begin to decorate on 1st November, and one in ten (9%) do so on the first week of November.

Overall, most people put their decorations up in the first two weeks of December (58%).

And nearly one in ten (9%) even wait until nearer the big day to dust off their tinsel, putting them up in the third week of December.

Five most popular days to put up your Christmas decorations

1. 1st December (34%)
2. 10th December (7%)
3. 1st November (5%)
4. 12th December (4%)
5. 30th November (3%)

Melissa Denham, interior stylist at Hammonds Furniture added: “We’re lucky to have so many wonderful festive events all over the UK, and we hope these rankings encourage people to travel to some new places this Christmas to soak up the Yuletide atmosphere.

“There are some great options for festive days out across the country, and we hope people manage to get out and enjoy them this winter.”