Expensive Christmas on the Costa del Sol as Malaga residents break the bank

Malaga will see residents spend over €500 during the Christmas celebrations. Malaga is the second province in Andalucia that plans to spend the most during the holidays, just behind Seville.

Households in the province will spend an average of €526 on purchases, above the Andalucian average of €498 in Christmas expenses. The figures are the results of a survey on spending habits, carried out by the Union of Consumers of Andalucia.

Spending habits in the community in general have gone up 4 per cent since 2018, with the Union of Consumers reporting that Christmas is becoming less traditional and more consumerist.

The increase in expenses is due to online shopping and the fact that Christmas Shopping now kicks off in November, with campaigns such as Black Friday. Traditionally, food represented the largest expenditure, but now continues to lose importance in the spectrum of Christmas spending. The biggest amount is spent on gifts and toys and people in Malaga will be the most generous in gift giving, spending an average of €175. 

Finally, for the all-important Christmas lottery, residents in the province will allocate €56 towards buying their ticket, hopeful that they can land the big win.