As the weather turns cold and the leaves start to fall from the trees one does get the sense that Christmas is just round the corner. And with the Christmas lights of Oxford Street in full blaze one hopes that there will be more Christmas cheer than last year. So one year on and things are certainly looking up across Europe as the Eurozone heads out of recession but what is in store for the UK?

Well the news could be better. According to the latest report by the National Office of Statistics Britain’s economy has endured six consecutive quarters of no growth and has fallen behind the rest of the Eurozone. In addition, unemployment has now touched 2.45 million people in the UK according to the latest reports. Not a great start to Christmas cheer but perhaps we can look beyond the economy for the holiday season.

What is certainly encouraging is the fact that, according to a report published in the Press Association, more than half of Londoners surveyed said that they were going to spend more on Christmas shopping this year then they spent last year. In addition, a survey by Kelkoo found that the average cost of Christmas was almost £800 with over half going on presents. This trend can also be seen in the Retail Prices Index where an increase of 0.9% can be seen in the three months from July to September than the previous three months. Can this be early Christmas shoppers pushing these figures Northwards?

And finally, for all you mums out there a recent survey by TK Maxx in the North of the country found that many sons are more likely to splash out more cash to buy to a present for you than their partners. Certainly, something to celebrate there!