One in five UK adults borrowed to cover Christmas holiday spending in 2025

Key Findings

• One in five UK adults (19%) borrowed money to cover Christmas 2025 expenses, with gifts, food, and bills among the most common reasons for taking on debt.
• Most borrowers kept their debt below £500, with 38% borrowing under £250 and 28% between £250 and £499.
• Credit cards were the most common borrowing method, used by 68% of borrowers, followed by Buy Now, Pay Later services at 29%.
• Long-term debt is more common among users of payday loans, personal loans, and borrowing from friends or family, with many expecting repayments to take over six months or more.

With cost of living remaining a key concern for many households, a new survey conducted using YouGov Surveys: Serviced explores how many UK adults turned to borrowing to make ends meet during the 2025 Christmas season.

According to the research, nearly one in five UK adults (19%) report using some form of borrowing or credit to cover Christmas-related expenses, including gifts, travel, food, and socialising. The vast majority (79%) say they did not borrow, while 2% preferred not to say.

What people borrowed for

Among those who did rely on borrowing, gifts topped the list of expenses. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of borrowers say they took on debt to pay for presents. Food and drink is the next most common spending category (39%), followed by covering everyday bills during the holiday period (21%), highlighting how some households may have used holiday borrowing to manage general financial pressure.

Social events and celebrations (16%), travel or transport (14%), and clothing or appearance-related costs (11%) also drove borrowing for some, with smaller proportions citing spending on days out (11%) or accommodation (6%).

How much debt was taken on

The majority of those who borrowed did so at relatively modest levels. Nearly two in five (38%) say they borrowed less than £250, while a further 28% borrowed between £250 and £499. About one in six (16%) borrowed between £500 and £999, while 11% reported taking on £1,000 or more in Christmas-related debt.

Popular borrowing methods

Credit cards were by far the most common borrowing method, used by over two-thirds (68%) of those who borrowed. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services such as Klarna or Clearpay were used by nearly a third (29%), while 14% tapped into a bank overdraft or personal line of credit. Other forms of borrowing included money from friends or family (9%), personal loans (2%), and payday or high-cost short-term credit (2%).

Debt duration varies by borrowing method

Debt repayment timelines vary notably by borrowing method. Among credit card users, 24% have repaid their debt, 29% expect to do so within a month, and 19% estimate two to three months. Smaller shares anticipate repayment taking four months or longer.

For Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) users, 26% expect to repay within a month, 40% within two to three months, and 20% in over four months, while 6% anticipate it taking more than a year.

Overdraft users show similar variability: 19% have repaid, 14% expect to repay within a month, and 25% in two to three months. Meanwhile, 14% expect repayment to take up to a year or more.

Payday loan and Personal loan users are more concentrated in longer repayment periods with majority expecting to repay in four to twelve months.

Borrowing from friends or family also tends toward longer repayment. Only 16% have repaid, 26% expect to do so in one to three months, and 22% anticipate taking over seven months.

Lingering debt into the new year

While many borrowers appear to be on track to clear their holiday debt within a few months, a significant portion are carrying balances well into 2026. Those using payday loans, personal loans, or borrowing from family and friends show the highest likelihood of holding debt past the six-month mark. As the data shows, Christmas 2025 may be over, but for many UK adults, the financial effects are still ongoing long after the festivities have ended.

Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online between 6-7 January 2026, with a nationally representative sample of 2,093 adults (aged 18+ years) in Great Britain, using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by age, gender, education, region and social grade to be representative of all adults in Great Britain (18 years or older) and reflect the latest ONS population estimates.

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