Christmas? But it's July! One million Brits have finished their Christmas shopping with 153 days to spare

We might still be 153 days from Christmas, but already more than 1 million Brits have polished off their entire festive shopping list, new research shows.

Those getting ahead of the game – all 1,377,000 of them – say they hope to bag bargains by starting early, as well as avoid the Christmas rush.

Last year one-off discounting days like Black Friday saw huge queues and even physical tussles for the most-sought after goods.

But if you haven’t started even thinking about crackers and Christmas trees, you’re not alone – only one in five have begun their planning for Santa’s arrival, the research, based on a survey of 2,000 people by shopping channel QVC, revealed.

Brits are also expected to spend big this year, with QVC projecting a whopping £29 billion total spend, up by £4.5 billion on the £24.5 billion splashed out last year, according to YouGov estimates.

That equates to an average spend of £650 each, taking into account gifts, festive food and drink, travel and party wear, QVC said.

Geordies are among the biggest spenders – forking out £686 each - while the Welsh are the most eager to snap up a bargain.

Like other retailers, QVC is hoping to appeal to the most organised of shoppers.

It starts special Christmas broadcasts from today, while Argos showcased its Christmas offering to journalists on July 15.