Ask a Scotsman to buy your Christmas present

To receive an expensive gift this year, ask a male from north of the border, a survey has discovered.

Close family members benefit the most from festive generosity – children and partners especially, yet children spend less than half as much, in return, on their parents. The family pet also receives quite a few treats.

Steve Shore, head of banking at Abbey, notes: "Not surprisingly, children top the bill as parents splash out at Christmas, but interestingly there were also quite significant regional differences.

"Scotland in particular broke their stereotype and those with Scottish relatives look set to have a very merry festive season indeed."

Credit-crunched southerners seem to be the least generous, with pre-occupations about higher utility bills, fuel prices and predicted higher home insurance premiums following the summer floods, influencing spending.

24/11/2007 14:38:08