The Christmas Party Index – The Best UK Cities Ranked for Christmas Spirit & More

As December approaches, so do the forthcoming Christmas parties, whether for family, friends or work. The default Christmas party format has become a staple event in the UK but it may not be for everyone. For those who don’t drink or want to save money on drinks and taxis this December it might not always be the most convenient option to go for the classic party template.

We’re here to help with our guide to the best cities for different types of Christmas parties. We used data to reveal the best cities for Christmas parties in five key areas. Data was researched to find the best cities for

• Sober parties
• Christmas spirit
• Introverts
• Cheap nights out
• Personal safety

Take a look at the cities which ranked highest below to take into account when accommodating Christmas parties for work colleagues or family and friends.

With the rise in wellness, it is becoming more common for young people not to drink alcohol in the UK#. Research across all age groups shows 30,000 people each month are searching for help online to stop drinking.

For our research we looked at the percentage of non-drinkers in every main UK city, cross-referenced with the average cost of a bottle of water in a bar or restaurant, this was used to create an index scoring each location out of 100.

Birmingham came out as the top Christmas party destination for a sober night out, with 36% of the population abstaining from alcohol and water being at a moderately more affordable rate than other big cites. St. Albans scored lowest with just 15 out of 100 index points. Aberdeen had the highest percentage of population who do drink, with 87.5% drinking alcohol. Take a look at the highest and lowest scoring cities below.

If you love Christmas, it’s always nice to be around like-minded people in a location which truly captures the magic of the season. We looked at the cities with the most Christmas spirit so you can rest assured if your party is located here you’re sure to have the most festive atmosphere.

We compared chance of snow this December, cold temperatures and the number of people on average googling Christmas already to inform which locations had the most Christmas spirit.

Carlisle was ranked top with a score of 67/100, promising high chances of snow versus other locations. Relative to the population, Carlisle also saw some keen Christmas enthusiasts already planning their festivities. In general, the North West of England and Scotland consistently ranked highly for festive spirit.

The South of England had most of the lowest scores, with less chances of snow and less Christmas enthusiasts in general. Truro had the lowest score of all at just 6/100 points. Ripon in Yorkshire had the lowest scores of all for festive Google searches, just 50 people per month are getting a head start on planning Christmas per month currently. Take a look at the highest and lowest ranking below.

For some people, a quiet night in beats a wild night out and in the Christmas season it’s important to accommodate all tastes, especially if you’re planning a work party. We took data on the cities with the least noise complaints per 1,000 people, lowest population and highest chance of bad weather (for when you need a convenient excuse to stay home) to list the highest and lowest scoring locations for introverts.

Our data found that Carlisle scored the highest, with 85/100 points in our index. Also top for festive spirit, Carlisle seems the perfect place to stay home and get into the Christmas groove. The North West of England and Scotland all scored highly for introvert-friendly cities.

Unsurprisingly, London scored lowest with an index score of 15/100. The cities sheer high population alone isn’t ideal for introverts, couple this with high volumes of noise complaints and slightly better weather than up north and you have a recipe for a very sociable city. Southampton had the second most noise complaints at 243 complaints per 1,000 residents and Chester scored lowest with just 1 complaint per 1,000 people. Take a look at the top lists below.

This year has hit us all financially and striking the balance between enjoying life, especially at Christmas, and being responsible with our money is all the more important. We’ve outlined the cheapest cities for a Christmas party, using data to analyse the average costs of water, a beer and a taxi home.

Dunfermline in Scotland ranked top as the cheapest city for a night out across the UK, with a beer costing an average of just £2 according to data. The city proved to be affordable across all three fronts of beer, taxis and water, accommodating both drinkers and non-drinkers for a cheap night out. Other affordable cities include Kingston upon Hull, Bradford and Wolverhampton.

It should come as no surprise that London scored lowest for affordability for a night out, with an index score of 23/100. The average cost for a beer in London is three times that of the cheapest city Dunfermline, at £6.18 on average. The cost of water average was double that of Dunfermline and taxi rates predictably at a considerably higher rate too. On taxi fares alone, Wakefield had the cheapest taxis in the UK. Take a look at the top and lowest scoring cities below.

Feeling safe on a night out is the most important priority for any person, so we took public safety index data sources to compile and list the cities with the lowest risk of crime. Our data included crime and safety indexes based on publicly input data, crimes per 1,000 people by October 2023 and reports of antisocial behaviour in the past year.

Ripon in Yorkshire scored the safest city to party in, with a high index score of 95/100. High safety index and low crimes per 1,000 people make this city top of the list. The top 10 safest cities list saw a mix of cities from most UK regions. Of all cities Aberdeen had the lowest overall crimes at 30 per 1,000 people and Milton Keynes had the least antisocial behaviour reports at 246.

Chichester scored lowest for public safety overall at 34/100 for cities at the other end of the spectrum. Contributing factors included high number of overall crimes for the fairly small population. London came second scoring 35 out of 100, with a high volume of antisocial behaviour reports playing a part in the ranking.

Of all cities, Leeds had the highest number of crimes per 1,000 people at 172, but did not make the lowest scoring list as it scored better across other public safety metrics. Take a look at the listed cities below.

Whatever your preference, you can be sure to find the right location to suit your guests and ensure all have the best time at your festive event.

If you’re looking to book the perfect party entertainment over the festive season, please get in touch and speak to one of our experts.

Data was sourced for each of the party city lists, gathered for all major cities across the UK. An index was created for each list, scoring points out of 100 evenly split across the number of data columns each category list had. The scores were scored higher = more points or lower = more points where relevant to the category to give an accurate indication of score for this category. These were then listed highest to lowest to provide the top 10 cities for each category. Data was collected and analysed in October 2023.

Data sources used for index points:

https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/

https://noise.environment.gov....

https://www.cieh.org/media/631...

https://lginform.local.gov.uk/...

https://www.gov.scot/publicati...

https://lginform.local.gov.uk/...

https://statswales.gov.wales/C...

https://worldpopulationreview....

https://www.weather25.com/euro...

https://www.gov.scot/publicati...

https://crimerate.co.uk/