A new survey reveals that dads are doing without at Christmas even though we're all spending more. STEPHEN LEWIS reports

WE ARE in the middle of a terrorist alert, the firefighters are set to go on strike again, and there is gloomy talk of a recession around the corner.

But none of that is going to stop us splashing out on a good time this Christmas.

The latest annual survey from debit card company Switch indicates that we will be spending more than ever this festive season. More than £860 each, in fact (the adults among us, at least) with the bulk of that going on presents, cards, food and drink.

That, according to Switch, is £36 up on last year - and a whopping £150 more than when the survey began in 1997.

While you're still trying to digest that, hold on to your headaches, you dads out there. There is more bad news yet to come. The kids, of course, will be the biggest beneficiaries this Christmas, with most money being spent on them. But mums and wives do pretty well, too - leaving dads and husbands at the bottom of the pile.

Switch interviewed more than 1,000 people over 16. It's survey reveals that:

Over a third of those questioned said they would be spending £500 on gifts alone this Christmas, buying presents for between eight and 20 family members and friends

One in six people expected to spend between £100 and £124 on food

Christmas cards account for only a small amount of our outlay. Four in ten of those questioned said they would spend less than £10 on cards - including postage.

Surprisingly, a fifth of those questioned claimed they would spend nothing at all on alcohol over Christmas.

Those interviewed said they were more likely to buy their most expensive present for themselves than for their dad.

It is perhaps not surprising to find a debit card company predicting booming Christmas spending. But are we really going to be spending £860 each? Perhaps so, says Clair Million, manager of Warehouse women's clothing store in Coney Street, York.

"Our customers spend on average about £100 every time they come in," she says. "We've got some tops in at the moment that are embellished for Christmas, and they're costing £40 or £50 a time. If you buy a top like that and a pair of trousers - well, it's probably about right. Prices in the High Street increase over Christmas."

And what about the poor old dads. Is it true they are missing out? "I think men are quite hard to buy for, going from my experience," grins Clair, 27. She will certainly be expecting a good present from her partner, Jamie, she says. "I think I know what I'm getting. I'm not telling you - but it's expensive!"

Helen Guy, manager of the Virgin Megastore in Coney Street, also reckons the £860 figure is probably about right. The top items she expects to sell this Christmas are things like PlayStation 2 and DVD films - and none of them come cheap. Playstations themselves are £200 a pop, she points out - and computer games are pretty expensive too. She too is unsurprised that dads will be missing out. "My dad always says don't bother buying anything for me," she says. "Mum gets a bit more attention." It's a bit like Mothers' and Fathers' Days, she says - where Fathers' Day is largely ignored. "Poor old dad is expected to just get on with it," she says.

That's probably not far wrong, agrees Andy Danson, manager of Borders bookshop in Davygate. It certainly looks set to be a big spending Christmas, with customers already coming in with special Christmas lists, he says. It is children's books that are really flying off the shelves - the Harry Potters are popular, as are Philip Pullman and Tolkien - and there are plenty of books for women, too. But when it comes to men.... "The things that we're selling are geared towards women and the family," he admits. "Dad is left with the sports books. He will get the Roy Keane autobiography and that's it!"

Father-of-two Terry Williams, manager of The Puzzle Store that has opened for the Christmas period in Parliament Street, thinks fathers are probably perceived more as providers than receivers. "And I speak from experience!" he jokes.

He too thinks we are all going to be spending a lot this Christmas. "Most kids would probably expect to have £250 spent on them," he says. "And if you look at £200 for the wife..."

How the Switch Christmas spending forecasts have grown year on year:

1997 £710

1998 £725 (up £15)

1999 £819 (up £94)

2000 £833 (up £14)

2001 £826 (down £7)

2002 £862 (up £36 - more then 20 per cent up on 1997)

Updated: 10:27 Thursday, November 21, 2002