Last year 41 per cent of consumers used their credit card to fund their Christmas spending and 17 per cent of them have not yet paid the full sum back, new research had shown.
A study by price comparison site Savebuckets.com revealed only 29 per cent of last year’s Christmas borrowers managed to clear their debt when the bill arrived in January.
Marc Ames, marketing manager of Savebuckets.com warned: "With rising costs of living and interest rate hikes curbing spending power this year, it is likely that many will have to make cutbacks this Christmas."
The survey discovered that people on lower incomes were the most likely to still be paying for Christmas.
Earlier this month financial advice website Fool.co.uk reported Britons spend an average of £419 on presents for an average ten people.
It warned that Christmas could cause families "financial pressure" and reported that many people spent a whole two per cent of their annual income on one day’s festivities.