It’s Christmas Eve today so it might be a good idea to take a quick look at this year’s Christmas spending forecast in Britain.

Merry Christmas!

Check out: Brits ‘to spend more on Christmas presents this year with average gift costing £28.70’

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Glossary

• till – a cash register or drawer for money in a shop, bank, or restaurant
• splash out – spend money freely
• upturn – an improvement or upward trend, especially in economic conditions or someone’s fortunes
• indulge – allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of
• lavish – sumptuously rich, elaborate, or luxurious
• festive – relating to a festival, especially Christmas

Think about it

Look at the numbers below, find them in the article and say what they refer to.

• 28.70
• 13
• 27
• 2,500
• 16
• 23
• 14
• 63
• 7,000

Practice makes perfect

Fill in the blank spaces with the words/phrases in bold.

do   –   splash the cash   –   due to   –   smash   –   forked out   –   chiming   –   set for   –   upturn   –   in style

• Tills across Britain will be ________ more this year with us spending an average of £28.70 pounds on each Christmas present [. . .]
• [T]he economy is ________ a 13 billion pound boost , with consumers set to _______ last year’s spending.
• [H]alf the nation’s households are more confident to ________ this year as the economy takes an ________ direction.
• [T]he average spending on a present this year will be 28.70 pounds – compared with last year when Brits ________ 27 pounds a time.
• [. . .] 12 per cent of consumers will also ________ all their Christmas shopping using apps [. . .]
• [T]he Travelodge survey is proof consumers are planning to celebrate ________.
• [O]ne in ten adults will eat a monumental 7,000 calories ________ eating two Christmas dinners on December 25 [. . .]

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