From gobblers to tub-huggers, how Britain eats its Christmas treats revealed – what happens where YOU live?

IS it time to call a sweet treaty in your house? A fifth of us secretly nab extra sweets behind our loved ones’ backs at ­Christmas — a phenomenon now dubbed “tub-hugging”. And new research has revealed that as a nation we will wolf down a billion mince pies this month — in one of four ways. A poll of 2,000 people by Sainsbury’s has found 40 per cent of mince pie-lovers nibble them, 30 per cent chop them up, 12 per cent gobble them whole while ten per cent break them into pieces.

The breakers even have a sub-group, as five per cent eat the pastry first, followed by the mincemeat, while the other five per cent scoff the filling as their “starter”. Meanwhile, chocolate brand Celebrations has found 17 per cent of us are “tub-huggers” and grab our favourite sweets first. READ MORE ON FESTIVE FOOD A typical tub of Celebrations, Quality Street , Roses or Heroes contains around 60 chocolates, which means a family of four should have around 15 each.



But tub-huggers typically sneak in an extra five or six for themselves when no one is looking — meaning everyone else only gets around 13 each. Research has found the biggest culprits can end up having as many as 20 chocolates in total — a THIRD of the tub — before they are rumbled. Women are the worst offenders, with 18 per cent owning up compared with 16 per cent of men.

Most read in Fabulous The nation’s biggest tub- huggers live in Manchester and Cardiff , the survey of 4,000 UK adults found. A spokesman for Sainsbury’s, which is donating a portion of mince pie ­proceeds to Comic Relief , said: “We found that 40 per cent of our customers prefer to nibble their way through a mince pie, while 12 per cent like eating them in one bite.” Laura O’Neill, head of Christmas at Celebrations, said: “It’s a time for debates, traditions and a little festive chaos.

“May your top pick always make it to the top of the tub!”.