Tis the season most commonly associated with family time but some of us may end up spending more time wrestling the turkey into the oven than sitting down with loved ones.

That is if the results of a new survey by restaurant booking website Toptable are anything to go by. According to their research, Brits spend on average two days planning and delivering their perfect Christmas celebration.

Just over half the 342 adults surveyed (51%) said they would spend around five hours planning the Christmas dinner. Forty-two per cent expect to spend three or four hours preparing and cooking the family meal, and 46% think it will take another two hours to do the cleaning up.

Forget Santa’s Grotto or that rather charming open air ice rink. Like it or not, it’s supermarkets that are going to be the popular haunt this Christmas, with over a third of respondents (36%) trawling the shops for four hours to ensure they have everything they need for the perfect Christmas Day meal.

One in five unlucky souls (19%) expect to be so busy with the festive chores that they will miss the arrival of loved ones to their home for Christmas.

It is little wonder that the to-do list threatens to squeeze out precious family time, with over a third of hosts (35%) having to cater for eight people over the Christmas period.

Perhaps eating out is a better option, suggest Lucy Taylor, head of restaurant relations at Toptable.

“We know that Christmas can be an extremely busy time for families and sometimes you forget what the holiday is all about – spending time with them. Families can save hours of stress by taking time out and booking a local restaurant over the festive period.”