YORK has been relegated to just FIFTH in a list of the UK's most festive cities.

York, which has regularly topped the charts for festive hotspots - was beaten in the Yuletide rankings by Birmingham, which claimed the top spot.

The midlands city was followed by Bristol, Cardiff and London - with York managing just fifth place in the list of cities with the most festive people in the country.

The study, which quizzed 2,000 adults, found the people of Birmingham love Christmas more than those in any other part of the country, with more than three quarters declaring it the best time of the year.

And 35 per cent of those who live in 'Brum' said their street tends to go ‘all out’ when it comes to decorating the outside of their homes.

York Press:

Three in 10 Londoners will have their Christmas decorations up before the end of November, while a fifth of Bristolians start looking forward to the festive period months early.

At the other end of the scale, less than two thirds of Norwich residents consider Christmas to be a highlight of their year.

More than one in five even went as far as to say they don’t look forward to it at all.

The study, commissioned by Next, found that despite half feeling Covid had put a dampener on this year’s celebrations, 46 per cent are planning to make more of an effort to ensure a good end to 2020.

One in seven will even be spending more money to make this festive period one to remember, with that extra cash going on Christmas presents, decorations and even the tree itself.

A spokesperson for Next said: “It’s generally considered that everywhere gets pretty excited for Christmas, but apparently not as much as Birmingham.

“This Christmas looks likely to be different, but it seems that one thing that won’t change is the festive spirit in many cities across the country.

“In fact, many are planning to go bigger and better than ever on presents and decorations this year to make sure they end a less than perfect 2020 with a brilliant Christmas.”

Last week the Press revealed that two York mums were in the running to be declared the city’s most festive neighbours.

Adele Dixon and Tracey Thompson, who live next door to one another in Fossway, York, and are in a childcare bubble together, have covered their homes in Christmas decorations.

Tracey said that after a year which has seen such hardship because of the pandemic: “There are no rules anymore!”

The Next study, carried out via OnePoll, also revealed one in five adults admitted to being ‘competitive’ when it comes to having the most lavish decorations, giving the best gifts or cooking the most delicious dinner.

York Press:

The Next spokesperson added: “This Christmas is going to be different from any other in living memory.

“It’s still unclear what restrictions will be in place come the big day, which could lead to much less contact than we’re used to.

“For that reason, people seem to be planning to spend more time decorating their homes than usual, which makes sense as it’s likely they’ll be spending much longer in them.”