Christmas shame for dads

The survey of British mums by shopping site NetVoucherCodes.co.uk found they get little festive help from their husbands and boyfriends.

It seems most men are happy to put their feet up in front of the telly while their other halves do all the hard work to make sure Christmas is perfect for all the family.

Almost three quarters of dads, 73 per cent, don’t even bother to buy their own parents a present – instead trusting their wife or girlfriend to do it for them.

But more than one fifth of men, 22 per cent, do roll up their sleeves to assist their wives with cooking the Christmas dinner – although only 15 per cent do it alone.

The vast majority of Christmas dinners, 63 per cent, are cooked by women – presumably while their partners are setting the table very slowly.

It’s a similar picture for many other key Christmas tasks with the mums surveyed painting a picture of a nation of lazy Bar Humbug men.

Seven in ten mums get the big food shop in alone while just over a quarter, 26 per cent, get help from their partners.

Only a tiny number of dads, four percent, bother with the food shop but almost a fifth, 18 per cent, get the drinks in and do a booze run.

Dad’s favourite festive chore seems to be picking and collecting the Christmas tree, as 34 per cent of women said that this was a job solely for their other halves.

Four in ten women get the Christmas tree alone, 40 per cent, while more than a quarter of them, 26 per cent, go with their partners to collect it.

But it appears that dads tend to make their excuses when it comes to tinsel and baubles, as only a tiny three percent bother to decorate the tree once it’s home.

More than two thirds of mums, 67 per cent, decorate their trees alone while three in ten make it a joint task with their partners.

When it comes to getting the presents to place beneath it mum comes out on top again, as more than three quarters, 76 per cent, buy their kids presents and even more, 82 per cent, wrap them.

Most dads don’t find out what ‘they’ have bought for their children until Christmas morning as less than a quarter play any part at all in buying the presents.

Just 24 per cent of dads shop with their other halves for the kids presents – and the number of dads buying kids gifts without any input at all from mum is less than one percent.

But a massive 76 per cent of mums said they got the kids presents all by themselves – meaning a lot of dads are surprised on Christmas morning.

Wrapping the pressies is a massively female dominated task too with more than eight in ten, 82 per cent, of mums doing it alone.

One in six couples wrap the gifts together while hardly any dads do it on their own – just three percent of those asked.

Only one in five couples choose their in laws a gift together, while almost three quarters of mums, 72 per cent, buy her partner’s parents a gift without his input.

A spokesman from NetVoucherCodes.co.uk said: “Christmas is our favourite time of the year but it can be stressful for families.

“We wanted to investigate exactly how couples divide the workload and our survey revealed that Mum is definitely the Queen of Christmas.

“The majority of mums tackle the essential Christmas chores and prep alone, such as shopping, wrapping, baking and decorating.

“The data shows mums to be master gift-buyers and wrappers, and it even reveals that almost three quarters of mums buy their in-laws gifts.

“We’re sure dads are very handy to have around over the festive season, but our survey offers a resounding conclusion that mums are the star of the show when it comes to Christmas.”