Christmas, although we love it, is without a doubt the most hectic time of the year.
We have to remember everything from which social events we have coming up, the various Christmas presents we need to buy for friends and family members, to how we're going to decorate our tree, right down to every little detail of Christmas dinner prep.
It's no wonder that in the midst of all the festive frenzy, we sometimes forget the little things like buying batteries for Christmas toys or filling ice tube trays in preparation for Christmas party drinks.
Some of us even forget the big things, like taking Christmas presents with us when visiting family and friends, or switching on the oven altogether for the turkey to cook...
If you've been guilty of committing one of these offences at least once, don't let yourself feel bad, because a survey of 2,000 adults carried out by Argos reveals that, actually, many of us struggle to remember such details in the lead up to Christmas.
In fact, apparently one in 20 have been known to forget to switch the oven on, so you certainly are not alone if you've made that mistake.
The study also found that more than half of those surveyed had make an emergency trip to the garage on 25th December to pick up some forgotten basics, like milk and bread.
Unsurprisingly, more than half feel their stress levels rising as the big day approaches. Four in 10 admit to worrying about the stress and expense of Christmas, to the extent that over half avoid hosting the event at their own places altogether.
60 per cent of women in the survey claim that they're simply too busy in the run up to Christmas to remember everything, with 32 per cent attributing their forgetfulness to working long hours
Argos, which carried out the study, has used its findings to compile a list of the top 20 items Brits are most likely to forget and those they'll need to make a last minute dash for over Christmas, just in time to help us prepare for the big day:
Top 20 things Brits are most likely to forget
- Buying batteries
- Buying sellotape
- To fill the ice cube trays
- Wrapping paper for last minute gifts
- Tinfoil for the turkey
- Napkins for the dinner table
- Christmas crackers
- Buying presents for extended relatives
- Forgetting to buy the turkey trimmings - cranberry, apple, mint, bread sauce
- Matches
- Toilet roll to cater for the extra guests
- To buy / put on the Christmas jumper
- To take the Christmas presents with you when visiting family / friends
- The gravy
- Relative’s favourite tipple
- To leave a mince pie out for Father Christmas
- A vegetarian option
- Getting a card for the mother-in-law
- Forgetting to turn the oven on
- Forgetting to put the vegetables on
Things you're most likely to make a last-minute dash for
- Batteries
- Milk
- Bread
- A bottle of wine
- A box of chocolates
- Sellotape
- Gravy
- A Christmas present
- Wrapping paper
- Bread sauce
Argos is also giving away £15,000 worth of vouchers to 600 families to give them the opportunity to fool-proof their own Christmases.
They will send out 600 of their Fools' - replicas of the mischievous elves featured in this year's Argos Christmas advert - across the high streets of the UK wearing £15,000 work of vouchers. All you need to do is look out and try to find a fool while you're out and about shopping.
Once you have, tweet a photo of them and you'll be rewarded with a voucher to spend on any of the thousands of amazing products available at Argos!
Argos' Twitter and Instagram will be giving out clues about where to find them, so take a look on these sites if you want to be in with a chance of winning.
Merry Christmas one and all, may you never forget again!!
