Christmas shopping in one hour? That's snow joke...

The average person spends 41 hours prepping for the big day and more than six hours choosing gifts. Will a frantic yet determined Charlotte Cripps win her race against the clock?

- Charlotte Cripps

I've set a timer. I am going to try to do all my Christmas shopping in a record-breaking 60 minutes. Is it possible? I haven't really had any ideas for presents yet. I know it's the trend, but I'm not using ChatGPT. I don't think an algorithm would have the personal connection required with the person I'm buying the present for.

I need to work out a few things first. Am I going to include the stocking fillers for my children in the big shop? Or will that push me over the edge? It might sound like a tight deadline, and it is. If it's the thought that counts, should I exclude thinking time - or is that cheating?

Interestingly, of the 41 hours the average person spends preparing for Christmas, six hours and 42 minutes are spent browsing and thinking about the perfect present, according to OnePoll research from 2022. Once everything has been purchased, it takes an average of two hours, 41 minutes to wrap it all up.

Around one in eight people say they shop throughout the year to spread the cost - and to be organised. These people are not my people. I function better under stress and pressure. But while the heat of a deadline is a good motivator, it also means I am prone to panic-shopping at great expense, and hyperventilating about the amount of cash I'm spending.

Like a third of Brits, I'm worried about the impact of Christmas on my finances. Every year, I swear it's time to change the rules - like picking one name for one gift out of a hat. The only upside of falling out with all my half-siblings this year, after my dad died, is that it keeps the grownups' present list to a minimum. I'm still buying for their children, though. At the top of my list are my two daughters, Lola, nine, and Liberty, seven. Then there's a little gift for my golden retriever, Muggles, who is 11. I need to buy something for my children's grandmother, their two aunts and uncle, a nephew, and six teenage nieces.