A PUB company is offering adults who have to work on Christmas Day the chance to celebrate early – with a free meal.
Thousands of workers including nurses and carers to chefs, servers, delivery drivers, emergency crews and more will be able to enjoy a special day – ‘The Big Christmas Shift’ – on December 1 at one of more than 700 Greene King pubs across the UK.
They’ll be given a complimentary dinner, with an estimated 30,000 meals expected to be served as part of the occasion.
To raise awareness of the initiative, the pub chain has launched a new advert featuring “original shift worker” Santa dressed in the green – which he originally wore before red became the norm.
A spokesperson for Greene King said: “We see first-hand the hard work that goes into making Christmas happen.
“While most of us are sitting down for Christmas lunch, millions of people are working hard to keep things running.
“The Big Christmas Shift is our way of saying thank you, giving thousands of those working on December 25 their own chance to celebrate, relax and enjoy a proper roast before the festive rush kicks in.”
The offering follows research of 1,000 adults who’ve previously worked on Christmas Day which revealed what they missed most when doing so.
Top of the list was not being with family, but other notable moments include boardgame arguments, relatives falling asleep post-meal, and corny cracker jokes.
Those polled also missed the smell of the festive dinner wafting through the house, wearing matching pyjamas, and the kids waking up much too early.
Other longed for things include watching Christmas movies on the day itself, carving the turkey, and the annual family photo, with singing carols badly but enthusiastically, wearing paper crowns all day, and popping down the local for a festive drink with loved ones are also in the top 30.
But despite missing so much about the big day, the number one emotion about working on Christmas Day is ‘happy’ (19.8%) – although ‘tired’ (19.7%) was close behind in second spot.
Some (24%) have even been brought to tears – although 54% who’ve done this have cried tears of happiness.
And to avoid missing out entirely, 40% have had video calls with their family while at work so they can experience some of the festivities, even if from afar.
While one in 10 (10%) will celebrate Christmas on another day entirely – with Boxing Day the most popular alternative date
Others (90%) try and make their day at work as Christmassy as possible – by playing festive songs (46%), indulging in mince pies and chocolate (41%), and putting up decorations (40%).
Carried out through OnePoll, the study found 47 per cent think the public appreciates those who work on the 25th.
Top 30 things employees working miss about Christmas Day
1. Being with my family
2. The feeling of family
3. Christmas TV
4. Opening presents with family/watching my family open their presents
5. The joy of giving presents
6. The smell of roast dinner wafting through the house
7. Watching Christmas movies
8. Not leaving the house
9. The feeling of doing absolutely nothing
10. The family walk
11. A lunchtime tipple (e.g. Bucks Fizz)
12. Seeing all the presents under the tree
13. Eating Quality Street chocolates
14. A trip to the pub for a drink with friends/family
15. Carving the turkey
16. Kids waking up way too early
17. The annual family photo
18. Wearing matching pyjamas
19. The stress of cooking for lots of people
20. The quiet after everyone leaves
21. The sound of wrapping paper being torn open
22. Mulled wine
23. Relatives falling asleep after Christmas dinner
24. Singing carols badly but enthusiastically
25. Boardgame arguments
26. The Queen’s (or now King’s) speech
27. Corny cracker jokes
28. Wearing paper crowns all day
29. Trying to figure out how to play with new tech gifts
30. The chaos of last-minute gift wrapping
