Nearly A Quarter Of Christmas Eve Diners Opt For Breakfast

Christmas Eve breakfast is proving a surprising hit this December with new insight from leading hospitality tech firm Zonal, showing that bookings for the occasion account for 23% of all reservations made for that day.

Overall, festive bookings for 2025 are up 8% year-on-year, with a strong number of reservations already made for key holiday dates including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day, compared to the same point in 2024.

Of these, the number of Christmas Eve breakfast bookings has emerged as one of the most surprising trends, although dinner on this day still takes the top spot accounting for 41% of bookings made to date

With just nine weeks to go, Christmas Day continues to lead the season, however with an increase of 9% compared to this time last year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, almost all of these (99%) are for Christmas lunch.

Planning ahead is clearly a priority, with August emerging as the peak month for securing Christmas lunch reservations:

• August: 36%
• September: 28%
• July: 16%

This early surge in bookings reflects the growing culture of booking in advance, while the emergence of Christmas Eve breakfast as a key occasion demonstrates the growing popularity of earlier day parts for eating out. Recent data from Kantar has found breakfast outings seeing a notable 14% year-on-year increase, making it the fasted-growing dining occasion in the UK. There is also a growing number of operators offering experiences such as “Breakfast with Santa” over the festive period, which may account for some of the growth.

Tim Chapman, Chief Commercial Officer, Zonal, commented:
“It’s clear that festive dining is evolving, with breakfast emerging as a surprising new favourite. This shift, combined with the surge in early bookings, highlights how important Christmas is for hospitality operators. Venues that plan ahead and adapt to changing consumer habits will be best placed to maximise the opportunity this season.