Christmas

What does it really mean to people?

More and more this year, we’ve been reaching out to some of our ongoing always-on panels and asking them their opinions on various subjects.

We have our Behind the Flag panel (made up of those who support flag waving in the UK and/or attended the Unite the Kingdom marches), our Heartland panel (made up of a range of middle class homes across the UK) and our Youth panel (made up for 13 year-olds to those in their early 20s). They’re only handfuls of people, but they’re rich in texture and depth, and powerful truths from the realities of people’s lives all over the UK.

We work with them for our clients (to offer quick, cost-effective turnarounds and quick dips into specific subjects) but we also work with them on things we find interesting ourselves - areas we self-fund for our own interest. (One of the bonuses of running your own company!)

So we thought we’d ask a handful of people from across all the panels, about Christmas, to close the year out.

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Christmas 2025

We wanted to know how they were feeling about the festive season, what traditions they were looking forward to, and how they reacted to the barrage of festive advertising that accompanies each year.

What we found was a reminder that while the calendar date is the same for everyone, every year, the experience people have is radically different depending on who you are and what phase of life you’re in.

Christmas by Martin Parr - RIP.

The magic of the past vs The reality of now

For brands, Christmas is often painted as a universal moment of connection. It’s the Christmas of the movies, of our memories. But when you listen to the voices on our panels, you hear variations on the theme.

For our Youth participants, the magic is still very much alive, even if the reality of adulthood is starting to creep in.

One participant told us about the sheer physical excitement that still lingers:

“I love the memories of that... waking up and being like, Oh my gosh. Santa’s been! And then running downstairs...”

But even for them, the “real world” is intruding. It’s not just about Santa anymore; it’s about the pressure of the school system:

“But this year it’s a bit different ‘cause I’m doing my mock exams, so it’s a bit more stressful this year... So it’s kind of taken the fun out of it.”

Contrast that with a retiree from our Heartland panel. Here, the feeling wasn’t about magic or stress, but a quiet sense of loss. A transition. The kids have grown up, the house is quieter, and the traditions are slipping away.

“We had a group of friends that we always, um, went around on Christmas Eve... but, um, now it’s, um, we, we, I say we’re not so much family around... A lot of these, uh, traditions are dying out.”

For him, the fight is to keep the flame alive for the next generation, even when things are changing:

“You’ve gotta keep the memories going just for the grandchildren’s sake.”

Other powers at play at Christmas?

Then we move to our Behind the Flag participants. And this is where the disconnect with the “joyful” marketing narrative is most obvious.

For some, Christmas isn’t just a holiday; it’s a reminder of financial struggle and what they perceive as cultural erasure happening in the country.

One participant didn’t mince his words about how the “elites” are ruining the season:

“The elites are obsessed with consumerism... They can’t take Christmas away but they can dilute it.”

There is a profound sense that the “traditional” Christmas is being stolen or diluted:

“Once upon a time, Christmas was real Christmas... they’re just trying to… take away the Christian element... [because] it’s not inclusive, you know. Well, unfortunately it’s a Christian country.”

As you could see by Tommy Robinson in London at the weekend...

Of course, it’s not all doom. One of our Behind the Flag participants still loves the party:

“Love Christmas. Always have done. I’m a big kid. Love the run up to it... Christmas markets… drinking, mulled wine.”

These traditions come through loud and clear - especially for those Heartlanders active in their community, and with kids:

 “Christmas Eve is a tradition. Our village do a walk to the pub and everybody gets together and kids just some crisps… and it’s a quick drink and a dog walk and… really lovely. And we always have a Chinese takeaway on Christmas Eve night. Fire on… films on… sprinkle all our reindeer dust.”

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Christmas Advertising

We asked them to watch three ads that we picked at random (because we like them!): Tesco, EE, and John Lewis.

Overall, one of the views we hear a bit from people when we travel around - not just our Behind the Flag participants - is how ‘box ticky’ Christmas ads seem to be. How much people see and feel that seem to feel that the ads need to represent (or over-represent depending on what you believe) many ethnicities, ages, genders etc.

One of our Behind the Flag participants mentions it here, alluding to the fact that in his mind maybe we’ve gone past ‘peak woke’:

“ It’s gammon bait and I don’t sign up to it… it’s not as bad as it was at the start…”

Which brings us onto…

EE

The ad was liked by all participants, but one of the Youth panel missed the nuance around the ‘double’ element of the idea:

 “It felt really disjointed. It felt like there was one part that was about the sign language, and then there was another part that was about spending time with your family, and they didn’t really mesh together well enough.”

Tesco

Tesco resonated with all the participants too, the authenticity, the ‘not perfect’ elements of Christmas resonating with people:

“The Tesco advert is just so true. It is just so real. Is just so refreshing... I think adverts have been so culled over the last few years because of all this nonsense that goes in the world…”

John Lewis

Lastly, whilst some of the nuance of the John Lewis ad seemed a little lost on some of the Youth panel, it hit the Heartland and Behind the Flag participants right in their nostalgic hearts:

“John Lewis, I absolutely love because it’s me. That was my generation. I danced in those nightclubs to those tracks... It absolutely resonated with me. In fact, the first time watched it, it did bring me to tears.”

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That’s your lot for 2025

This is our final newsletter of 2025, and we’d like to say a big thank you to the thousands of people who receive this email every time we send it out.

We get quite a few of you replying, sharing thoughts, sharing praise - and it’s always welcome.

2025 has been a hard one for lots of people and that’s not been lost on us.

For us it’s been another good year - another year of growth - but beyond that a really fulfilling year. We’ve worked with some brilliant clients on some really interesting briefs of different sizes and durations. From one-year studies that span the entire UK, to quick turnaround 1-week projects. To you all: Thank you.

We’d like to wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a peaceful break. 🎄

Keep your eyes peeled in the first week of January. We’ve asked a bunch of our panels what they think 2026 will bring… and it’s a bit different to the ‘trends’ you’ll all be drowning in…