A quarter of Brits use Christmas cards to kindle romance
New research out today reveals that one in four Brits (26 per cent) have rekindled a friendship through sending or receiving a Christmas card, while nearly a quarter (23 per cent) said it had helped them get in touch with a friend or family member they had not spoken to in over a decade.
The study(¹), which was conducted by Heathrow as it handed out 15,000 Christmas cards for passengers to freely send anywhere in the world, also found that more than a quarter of Brits (28 per cent) will use a card as part of an attempt to attract the other half. The findings suggest that they could be in luck with almost one in ten (9 per cent) Brits admitting that a Christmas card had led to a date in the past.
The life-changing potential of Christmas cards’ may explain why the tradition shows no signs of dying out. Print cards still outnumber digital e-cards by 2:1 with the average Brit planning to send 28 by post and 14 cards digitally this December. The study shows that people send their cards far and wide, with the average card travelling 80 miles to reach its destination. 31 per cent of Brits will post cards to Europe, while many more will be writing cards bound for Australasia and North America (19 per cent and 18 per cent respectively).
Despite this, not all Christmas cards reach their intended recipient with 48 per cent of Brits admitting to writing a card that they never ended up sending. 34 per cent of Brits said they had been left disappointed by someone not sending them a Christmas card.
The Heathrow Christmas cards were handed out to passengers between the 2nd and 5th December and are also now available heathrowairport.com/holiday to send as an e-card. A donation from each card was given to Heathrow’s charity of the year, Macmillan Cancer Support. Heathrow is expecting more than 3.5 million passengers to pass through its doors between 15 Dec and 3 January alone – that’s lots of families and friends getting together for Christmas.
The design, by acclaimed artist Rob Ryan, features two passengers connecting from across the world and includes the words “days became hours until hours eventually became minutes and then finally it was merely seconds until all of the time that I had been away from you had dissolved and I was back safe with you again.”
Normand Boivin, Chief Operating Officer at Heathrow, said: “We’re delighted to be offering passengers the chance to connect with their loved ones wherever they may be this Christmas.”
Rob Ryan said: “Holding a card in your hands that someone has taken the time and effort to send to you, whether they see you every day or live on the other side of the planet, is one of the great joys of Christmas. I hope the passengers enjoyed sending their cards as much as I enjoyed creating them.”
According to the study, Brits fall into five distinct card-giving groups categories with the majority of Brits (49 per cent) falling into “the minimalist” group for choosing to write little more than their signature. Seven per cent of Brits will put a family photo on the front of their card, despite the fact that 41 per cent consider this cringe-worthy.
What your cards say about you:
The minimalist (49 per cent)
The card sender who keeps things simple and to the point, writing little more than their signature
The sentimentalist (32 per cent)
Those who painstakingly write individual messages for each recipient.These people often send less cards but typically only send to their nearest and dearest
The crafter (five per cent)
The card sender who knows their arts from their craft. These individuals spend considerable time and effort creating homemade cards that evoke the spirit of the season. In most cases the sender has studied art at one point in their lives and secretly wishes they had a more creative vocation
The proud parent (five per cent)
The sender who likes to keep friends and family informed of the highs and lows of their last year. Cards typically contain a family newsletter or extensive family news written inside the card. Some will also create custom-made cards with photographs of families or pets on the front
The big spender (one per cent)
The sender who likes to splash out over Christmas purchasing lavish cards from stores which we all wished we spent more time in. These people often send bespoke, extra large and novelty cards to their loved ones
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For more information please contact the Heathrow consumer press office at Mischief on
020 3128 6571 or baa@mischiefpr.com
Notes to Editor:
(1) Heathrow used the independent online research company FlyResearch who surveyed 1,009 British adults from a nationally representative sample between 16 and 20 November 2011. FlyResearch is an online market research company. Its researches are members of the MRS, PRCA, BPC and Esomar, and abide by their guidelines. Further information is available at FlyResearch.com
