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According to a survey by the Flemish Hotel/restaurant organisation Horeca Vlaanderen, 10 percent more people have already ordered catering service for Christmas Eve than last year. For New Year's Eve 15 percent more people have ordered takeaway or catered food.
The reason people gave for staying at home this year were: the stricter alcohol controls, the economic situation, and the smoking ban in restaurants and cafés. Many restaurant owners have decided to stay closed during part of the holidays. They say that it costs them more to stay open sometimes, than to just stay close their doors.
More money to spend at home
Because so many people have decided to stay home, they want to spend more time, effort, energy and money decorating their homes. The rush for Christmas trees, decorations, and trimmings is early this year, and people are spending more money. The 'in' colours this year are: snow white, oyster white and lilac.
