Researchers who polled a selection of UK adults found 32 per cent expect to be interrogated by relatives – and aren’t looking forward to it.
Other eye-rolling topics include ‘when are you going to have a baby?’, ‘have you found yourself a nice partner yet?’, and ‘why aren’t you married?’ And those polled aren’t looking forward to these questions with good reason as 57 per cent said they get asked them every year.
The research was commissioned by Samsung KX after the tech brand partnered with comedian and TikTok star Abi Clarke to bring the awkward Christmas conversations to life through a series of sketches.
Abi Clarke said:
“I always like to make sketches that people can share and tag each other in, and the festive season is a time where we can all relate to similar observations and annoyances.
“There’s at least one character we can all recognise, whether it’s an old school friend trying to find the perfect baby picture – that you never asked to see, or the fitness fanatic showing off their running routes.”
The study also found that almost a quarter don’t enjoy small talk over the festive period – with 41 per cent feeling ‘awkward’ and ‘embarrassed’ when being quizzed on their love life. For 39 per cent, sex is the topic they’d most want to avoid, followed by their love life (31 per cent), politics (29 per cent) and money (28 per cent). While 21 per cent would rather leave Covid-19 chats behind over the festive season, too. A further 15 per cent get uncomfortable when answering questions about their career.
Top 15 Awks Questions at Christmas…
1. Have you put on weight?
2. What’s happening in your love life?
3. Have you found a partner/boyfriend/girlfriend yet?
4. When are you going to have a baby?
5. Why are you still single?
6. Why aren’t you married yet?
7. When are you going to get married?
8. Do you still see/hear from your ex?
9. When are you going to get a proper job?
10. When are you going to buy a house?
11. Would you like children one day?
12. When are we going to meet your new boyfriend/girlfriend?
13. Why did you do that to your hair?
14. What happened to that nice person you were dating?
15. When are you going to move out?
