Christmas dinner at home for nine out of 10 Italians

Almost nine in 10 Italians ate Christmas dinner or lunch at home, spending an average of 109 euros on the festive meal, agricultural group Coldiretti.
    Based on a survey conducted for Coldiretti by IXE, the group said that 87% of those polled said they would spend Christmas Day with family and friends, enjoying traditional dishes.
    Just 8% of those surveyed said they would eat out and about 3% said they wanted to dine on Christmas Day at a rural restaurant or agriturismo.
    For those spending the holiday at home, the average preparation time for their meal was about 3.5 hours.
    Only 10% said they intended to focus on food products drawn from within less than one kilometer of their homes, and 27% said they would specifically look for Made In Italy products. Some 18% said they would spend less than 50 euros on their home-cooked Christmas meal, another 27% said they would spend more than 100 euros, and 43% planned to spend between 50 euros and 100 euros.
    Although favourite recipes vary from region to region, most respondents said they would include sparkling wine and panettone on their holiday table.