Last-minute Christmas shoppers aren't disorganised, they're in love, gift-message study finds

SHAFTESBURY, U.K. - Oct. 1, 2026 - PRLog -- Britain's last-minute Christmas gift senders aren't disorganised, they're in love. That's the finding of the Christmas Love Curve, a new study by Christmas hamper co. Virginia Hayward, which analysed 163,527 personal messages written by customers over the past two Christmases.

Every hamper leaves VH's Dorset packing rooms with a message written by the person who ordered it. Analysed anonymously and in aggregate, the messages show affection rising steadily as Christmas approaches.

The later the gift, the more loving the message

In Oct, fewer than one message in five (17.8%) mentions love and 13.9% are signed with a kiss.
By the final days before Christmas, 56.5% of messages say "love", more than three times the October rate, and 41.4% are signed with kisses. Average spend falls, gifts get smaller, but feelings get bigger.

Nothing says love like cheese

Cheese hampers are Britain's most affectionate gift: 61.3% of their messages contain "love", & nearly half are signed with kisses, double the rate for wine hampers. Tea & coffee hampers run a close second (57.6%).

Champagne and prosecco are the currency of gratitude, carrying the season's highest rate of thank-yous (37.8%) & its longest messages (115 characters on average). Wine is the dependable thank-you gift, while spirits hampers get the shortest messages of all, at 77 characters.

Personal messaging is thriving in the age of AI

At a time when machines can write anything for us, Britons are writing more to each other, not less. 83.1% of hampers were sent with a personal message in 2025, up from 79.0% in 2024. Kiss rates rose from 16.8% to 20.1%, & the corporate sign-off "kind regards" halved year on year.

And some things to love

• The two-year record for kisses in a single message is 25, and 145 senders signed off with ten or more.
• 44% of October senders were already writing "Merry Christmas" with nearly three months to spare.
• 60 hampers were sent by "Santa" himself: "Merry Christmas to you all, Love Santa xx".

Gavin Paye, Head of Marketing at VH, said:

"We've hand-packed hampers in Dorset for over forty years, and the message is the part people agonise over most. What this data shows is quite lovely: the last-minute rush isn't about forgetting, it's about the people we love most, where finding the right words takes longest. And clearly, nothing says love like cheese."

The full study is at www.virginiahayward.com/christmas-love-curve.