Festive feasts are top of the wish list this season in the Highlands as locals favour grub over gifts

A survey has found that three in five people living in the Highlands are willing to forgo presents in place of feasting this year.

With the cost-of-living crisis taking grip, new research from Make it Scotch, conducted by Censuswide, quizzed 1000 Scots on their attitude towards the festive season.

In the Highlands and Islands results revealed that three in five (68 per cent) of adults were preferring to cut back on the amount spent on presents compared to just a third (33 per cent) open to cutting back on the amount spent on Christmas dinner and food over the holiday season.

The census highlighted that almost all (92 per cent) people rated festive food as an important part of the festive season while two-fifths (44 per cent) of people said gifts weren’t important at all.

For those in Inverness, Christmas is all about spending time with family and enjoying a festive dinner. Over half (53 per cent) of adults stated that family time is what they look forward, with Christmas day dinner specifically being a firm favourite.

In comparison, only four per cent of those in the Highlands and Islands are most looking forward to gifts, even behind watching Christmas movies (seven per cent). Almost half (46 per cent) are open to cutting back on the amount of presents they buy.

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