Ireland is dreaming of a green Christmas this year with over half of the country changing their traditional celebrations to positively impact climate change – The CPL Christmas FM Survey 2021
- 75% say they will opt for a fake tree over a real one due to climate action
- 38% say they will do all their Christmas shopping with local businesses this year
- Liam Neeson is voted as the number one celebrity Christmas guest
- Home Alone is declared the most Iconic Christmas movie in Ireland for 2021
- 30% of Irish shoppers are looking to spend between €250 and €500 on Christmas presents this year
- Nearly a quarter (23%) are looking to change job in 2022
A new survey conducted by Cpl and Christmas FM, the hugely popular festive radio station which raises hundreds of thousands of euros for charity each year, has revealed that 53% of Irish people say climate action will affect their Christmas celebrations this year, with some reducing the number of lights and decorations as a result of climate worries and rising electricity bills.
Although 60% of the nation say rising electricity bills won’t affect their Christmas lights and decorations this year, just under a quarter (24%) say they will reduce the number of lights due to rising costs.
A massive 75% of people are opting for a fake tree this year due to climate worries compared to just a quarter (25%) who say they need that traditional smell at home!
Supporting local will also be high on the Irish agenda this year with over half (53%) saying they will continue to support local business and 38% saying ALL their Christmas shopping will be done locally this year!
Irish people have also revealed that Liam Neeson would be their choice for a celebrity Christmas dinner guest, from the past or present, with the Love Actually star winning 24% of the public vote. Singer Niall Horan was number two at 20% while Sean Connery, who sadly passed away last year, was number three on the list at 17%.
The full list of most wanted Christmas dinner guest from the past or present was as follows:
- Liam Neeson – 24%
- Niall Horan – 20%
- Sean Connery – 17%
- Amy Winehouse – 12%
- Colin Farrell – 10%
- Saoirse Ronan – 10%
- Pele – 5%
- Miriam O’Callaghan – 3%
Irish shoppers are also planning to spend big this year with nearly a third (30%) saying they will spend between €250 and €500 on presents while over a quarter (26%) will spend between €500 and €1,000!
Home Alone, meanwhile, has won the battle of most iconic Christmas movies with the classic getting 39% of the vote while Miracle on 34th Street is the favourite of 16% of people and Elf came in third with 15%.
However, Die Hard still remains in the Christmas market according to 44% of people who say it is a Christmas classic compared to 30% who say – no way!
Further interesting insights from the Cpl and Christmas FM survey include:
- 21% of people plan to change career in 2022 while 55.5% are happy with their employment
- Some 23% say they will be looking to move job sometime soon
- Nearly half of Irish workers (45%) are where they hoped to be at this stage of their career with 18% say they need to evaluate their next step compared to 38% who say they aren’t exactly where they hoped, but hold excitement for the future
- More than half (51%) of Irish people are most looking forward to having their loved ones around the dinner table this Christmas while just 2% of people say the pub or restaurant is most important to them this year
- A total of 46% say they will not attend a mass service, virtual or non-virtual, this year with 42% saying they will attend in-person if restrictions allow!
- Just over half of the survey’s respondents said they will do their shopping online this year while 53% said they will split it half and half, with 21% saying they will be visiting stores for their Christmas shopping
Christmas FM is celebrating its 14th year on air this year and, since it began broadcasting, has raised over €2.7 million for a range of charities.
This year, Christmas FM wants to “Give the Gift of Childhood” by raising over €250,000 for Barnardos, the Christmas FM charity partner for 2021. The funds will provide targeted and intensive support for over 5,000 children most in need – including nutritious food, support with education, and therapeutic services with their trained support teams – because childhood lasts a lifetime.
Christmas FM is this year being generously supported by premier FM sponsors An Post, Cadbury, and Coca-Cola – this ensures that all on-air fundraising and listener donations will go directly to Barnardos. Christmas FM is broadcasting from the offices of askpaul.ie who have kindly donated the studio space this year. The station is run each year by a core management team, assisted by more than 100 volunteers who devote hundreds of hours of their time.
The main FM radio frequencies for Christmas FM are Bray 99.5, Cavan 99.4, Clare 105.2, Cork City, part county 106.7, Cork North, part county 87.7, Dublin City & County 105.2, Dundalk/Drogheda 104.2, Galway City, part County 87.9, Kildare North 88.1, Kilkenny City 104.3, Letterkenny 105.7, Limerick City 105.5, Longford 94.2, Sligo Town 95, South East 103.8, Tralee/Killarney 105, Waterford City 105.9, Wicklow Town 106.6FM.
Christmas FM is also available on Virgin Media Channel 900. Find out all the ways to listen at https://christmasfm.com/listenin/
Christmas FM also has a number of sister stations that are available globally, helping to sprinkle Christmas cheer right across the globe!
- Christmas FM Classical plays ‘Classical and Carols’. The station brings you the best in Classical Christmas music mixed with a wide range of festive carols.
- Christmas FM Classics plays ‘Classics and Crooners’. It’s a mix of classic, pre-1970s Christmas songs from Bing to Frank and Nat to Eartha.
Just log onto www.christmasfm.com or listen on the app, your smart speaker, or connected device at any time of the day or night!
Christmas FM is also available online at
You can follow the station on social at
@christmasfm
Christmas FM – Bringing You the Magic of Christmas
