One in five (20%) Australian online daters would invite someone they've been seeing for a matter of days or weeks to Christmas with the family.
Two thirds (61%) of surveyed Aussies feel that the three-month mark or beyond is an appropriate length of time to be dating before spending the festive season together.
The majority (82%) of surveyed couples want to split the holidays between families, while 12% believe they should choose one family to spend their time, and 6% play Scrooge and opt to avoid both.
Only 35% of coupled up Aussies would be upset at the prospect of not spending Christmas Day with their partner.
11% of people would rather spending Christmas Day alone to avoid family politics.
There's still time for singles to secure a date to bring to Christmas lunch, with new research commissioned by online dating app and compatibility matching specialists eharmony revealing 20% of online daters are happy to take someone they've recently begun dating to their family festivities.
According to eharmony's latest research findings, one in five survey participants felt dating for a matter of days or weeks was as an acceptable time span in a relationship to spend the holidays together.
The research also showed very few Aussies believe it is 'single all the way', with a further two thirds (61%) believing that three months of dating or longer is an appropriate timeframe to spend Christmas with the family.
If two people who have recently entered a relationship find they are compatible quickly, many believe there is no such thing as 'too soon' to spend the festive period together.
After several COVID-interrupted Christmases, there is one thing everyone agrees on – the holidays are family time. The majority of respondents in every age category, from baby boomers through to Gen Z, concur that spending Christmas with family is important.
Splitting your presence (and dispensing presents) on Christmas is the way to go for 82% of surveyed Aussies, who like to spend time with both their own and their partner's families on December 25th.
Fifteen percent of survey participants said they would sacrifice seeing their own family to spend Christmas with their partner's relatives, with the men in relationships often being more willing to give up seeing their family on Christmas Day (57%) than females (43%), should it come to picking between the two.
However, only one third (35%) of couples surveyed indicated that they'd be genuinely upset at the prospect of not spending Christmas Day with their partner, so splitting for the holidays may be a reality for many if family demands come into play.
While it may be the most wonderful time of the year, surveyed Aussies admit there are a few things on their naughty list this Christmas. More than a third (36%) dread buying presents for those they are not close with; 29% are disheartened by family fights that occur on the big day; and nearly a quarter (23%) are concerned about not wanting to share political views and opinions while carving the turkey this festive season.
eharmony relationship expert and psychologist Sharon Draper says that Christmas should be a time of happiness and compromise within relationships.
"The holidays can be a difficult time to navigate in relationships – there is often a lot of joy and happiness to be shared, but happy, healthy relationships cannot be achieved without some compromise," she said.
"eharmony values the importance of clearly communicating wants and needs in a relationship to create lasting love. Make sure you talk with your partner and take into consideration the importance of family and how your partner values the holidays and traditions.
"Couples should try to embrace each other's festive customs as well as share what is important to them with their partner – try not to let chores, events and expectations associated with Christmas time become a stress and be sure to communicate what you need from each other. Sharing the holidays with a loved one will ultimately make it a special time if you respect and value what your partner wants as well as your own desires."
