Millions of Brits are planning a festive getaway this Christmas โ to escape the in-laws.
A study of 2,000 adults found two fifths are planning to spend the big day away from home, with 17 per cent even choosing to go abroad.
One in five admit their main reason for taking a break is to avoid seeing the in-laws, with another three in 10 choosing to spend the Christmas season away from home to get away from normality.
And more than a quarter are chasing the sun by choosing sunnier climates โ including Spain, Portugal and Italy.
Nigel Wolstenholme, head of Rentalcars.com, which commissioned the research, said: โChristmas is the perfect time of year to plan a trip away, and it doesnโt just have to be about escaping whatโs happening at home.
โHolidays are about making memories, and when better than by doing something different at Christmas?
“Everyoneโs in a good mood and work tends to be quiet, so you donโt have to worry about coming back to floods of emails.
โAlthough discovering somewhere new in the UK remains popular, our research has found many Brits are now exploring international trips for Christmas, from a short hop to France and Spain, to longer-haul destinations like Thailand and the USA.โ
The study also found a fifth are going abroad to visit friends, while more than a third are going away to spend time with distant family.
Nearly a quarter will take a trip to another country to experience a different cultureโs festive celebrations, with more than a fifth quite simply wanting to see somewhere new.
It also emerged 29 per cent are fed up of British Christmases because itโs cold but never snows, and a fifth are tired of it being โalways the sameโ.
And one in 10 donโt enjoy being at home for Christmas because they donโt like hosting the celebratory dinner with all the trimmings.
A further 14 per cent donโt feel like they are actually on holiday when spending the festive period in the UK โ even though they are off work โ with an equal percentage admitting theyโre not fans of our โtacky traditionsโ.
With an average of seven days to spend putting their feet up, a third feel time spent away from the UK during Christmas feels more like a โproperโ holiday.
The average adult will spend ยฃ402 for their festive flights, hotels and car hire, but more than one in 10 will splash out ยฃ1,000 or more.
More than a third of respondents will hire a car during Christmas โ whether thatโs at home or abroad โ because they have more driving to do, more things to shift from place to place and so they can discover and do as much as possible.
The research, conducted via OnePoll, also found 68 per cent would like to go abroad for Christmas in the future, and one in three would consider a trip to another country this time of year to spend time with family and friends.
But even when staying put in the UK, more than nine in 10 admitted they still enjoy the holidays at home.
