Ho-Ho-Oh-No: four in ten admit they’ve experienced these Christmas mishaps
New research reveals the most common festive flubs, including drinks spillages - and experts warn your home insurance might not cover them
Christmas is a time to eat, drink and be merry - but new research from Go.Compare reveals that festive celebrations often come with a side of stained furniture, broken presents and property damage.
The research, which asked approximately 2,000 Brits about the side effects of their Christmas and New Year celebrations, found that four in ten (40%) have suffered some kind of Christmas mishap - with stains from drink spillages being the most common. Nearly a quarter of respondents (23%) said that their furniture has been stained by festive tipples accidentally tipping over.*
Other common Christmas errors include damage at home - with more than one in ten (12%) saying their guests caused some destruction during the celebrations. Additionally, 11% said they had experienced broken Christmas presents, and 7% revealed that valuables had gone missing from their home.
Younger revellers seem the most accident prone - two-thirds (65%) admitted they’d suffered a Christmas mishap, including 38% who had spilt drinks and left stains. Meanwhile, those aged over 55 seem most likely to enjoy a stress-free Christmas - only one in five (20%) admitted to experiencing one of these issues.
Meanwhile, men appear significantly more likely to run into trouble this Christmas - nearly half (46%) have experienced a Christmas mishap, compared to 34% of women.
Issues like stains from spilt drinks and broken furniture are classed as ‘accidental damage’ with your insurer - and not all home insurance policies cover them. In fact, the latest figures show that only 22% of home contents policies include accidental damage as standard.**
Nathan Blackler, Go.Compare home insurance expert, said: “Everyone looks forward to the festivities around Christmas and New Year. Opening up your home to family and friends is a big part of that, but parties and merriment at home can sometimes be a bit of a headache to clean up.
“It’s important to know whether your home insurance will cover you for any damage, such as stained or broken furniture. Some policies include accidental damage as standard, but many don’t - though it can often be added as an extra. If you’re worried about anything going awry over Christmas, it could be an idea to review your policy and add some additional cover.”
To learn more about accidental damage insurance and what it covers, visit: https://www.gocompare.com/home-insurance/guide/accidental-damage-cover/.
Contact Information
Rubie Barker
Notes to editors
*The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2,001 UK Nationally Representative Consumers. The data was collected between 04.11.2025 – 07.11.2025. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.
**Insurance data based on Defaqto Matrix 12 December 2025), reviewing 259 contents insurance policies, of which 57 provide Accidental Damage cover as standard, 197 offer it as an optional extra, and five do not offer it.
For further information please contact:
knock.knock@fdcomms.co.uk
Keep up-to-date with GoCompare on X (Twitter); @GoCompare
About Go.Compare
Go.Compare is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and energy tariffs.
It does not charge people to use its services and does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. Go.Compare makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site.
When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. It is this approach to comparing products that secured the company an invitation to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) in 2008, and it is still the only comparison site to be a member of this organisation.
Go.Compare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest and works with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.
Go.Compare is part of Future Plc and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
More information can be found here www.gocompare.com or here https://www.futureplc.com/brands/.