• New research reveals people here spend 33 hours on Christmas preparations, with wrapping presents (28%), shopping (50%) and deciding what presents to buy (53%), among the biggest pressures

• Almost three-quarters of people (70%) say Christmas has become more stressful and less about connection

• In response, Milano launches its first-ever Christmas Concierge service on 13th and 20th December, at select restaurants across Cork and Dublin

Monday 8th December: It might be “the most wonderful time of the year”, but new research reveals that almost three-quarters (70%) of Irish adults agree that Christmas has become more stressful and less about connection than ever before.

In response, Milano is launching the Christmas Concierge - a free service designed to save people from last minute panic and give families back precious time over the festive period. Pizza fans can drop off their Christmas shopping, settle in for Dough Balls and their favourite pizza and pick up their beautifully wrapped gifts, complete with black and white Milano-themed wrapping paper, for free.

According to the survey, commissioned by Milano, which polled 1,000 adults on Christmas stress, the average adult spends 33 hours preparing for Christmas each year, with deciding what gifts to buy loved ones as the most stressful festive task (53%).

Because the festive panic is real, with:

- 53% find deciding what to buy the biggest struggle

- 63% reveal they often forget a gift until the last minute

- 25% leave ALL their shopping until the final days

- Almost nine in ten (88%) say they would outsource festive chores if they could.

Enter Milano’s Christmas Concierge… which will also include a Christmas card-writing station stocked with ready-to-sign pizza and Dough Ball inspired cards - ideal for anyone who’s ever remembered they “haven’t done the cards” at 10pm on 20 December, just before the looming ‘last post’.

And while the to-do lists get longer, what people really want is simple: time. A third (29%) wish they had more time to relax, 37% crave more time with family and friends, and 41% say their number-one Christmas wish would be more quality time with loved ones. It’s therefore no surprise then that ‘sharing a meal’ remains the Irish favourite way to connect (63%)..

Paula MacKenzie, Milano CEO, said: “Christmas should be about connection, but our research shows just how many hours get swallowed up by festive prep. With Christmas Concierge, we want to take some of that pressure off people’s plates. Settle in for Dough Balls and a proper catch-up, and we’ll take care of the wrapping… even the cards! One less thing to think about this December..”

The Christmas Concierge service will be available on 13th and 20th December at Cork Mahon Point and Dundrum, between 12 – 6pm. For more information, please head to https://www.milano.ie/christmas/concierge