The stress of Christmas shopping

Crowded streets make Christmas shopping stressful

Many Christmas shoppers would prefer a trip to the dentist to the stress of hunting for presents, a survey has found.

Only one in five adults actually enjoys the experience, according to the poll of 2,000 adults by MORI.

Three out of 10 people find Christmas shopping in crowded streets more stressful than looking after a young baby.

It takes at least two days for six out of 10 people in the UK to complete their gift lists, and the survey found that women spend the longest time shopping for presents.

I'd rather be at the dentist

But one in six men admitted they spent less than an hour and, in some cases, no time at all shopping for Christmas gifts.

The survey was commissioned by the Internet shopping site DealTime.co.uk.

Its managing director Ehud Furman said: "We were very surprised to see that it was thought to be a more traumatic experience than working, visiting the dentist or looking after a crying baby, things which usually have people pulling their hair out."

The survey found that the best way to avoid stress was to finish your Christmas shopping before the busy month of December.

However shoppers aged between 15 and 24, were found to be the least likely to follow that advice.

People aged over 55 were the most likely to shop early to avoid the crowds.

Scotland is the most stress-free shopping zone, while shoppers in the East Midlands and Wales admitted the highest levels of stress.

The survey results have been published on the same day that the Consumer Association has revealed that Christmas shopping in London is more expensive than in 12 major cities in Europe and the US.

Items like a Britney Spears CD, a Barbie doll and the new Gameboy were all consistently more expensive in London than anywhere else, according to the CA survey