Christmas spending looks set to increase in the UK despite talk of a recession and fears of war with Iraq.

According to the debit card Switch, people expect to spend an average of �862 ($1,373) each on presents, cards and Christmas food - �36 more than last year.

A survey of 1,001 adults found that 34% were planning to spend �500 or more just on gifts, buying for between eight and 20 relatives and friends.

Children, of course, will benefit most with more than a third saying their most expensive purchase will be for their children.

Wives can also expect to do well - they are the next biggest beneficiaries.

But dads are bottom of the list, with more people saying they would buy their most expensive present for themselves rather than for their fathers.

Cash is king

The survey found that a fifth of the population would not be spending any money on alcohol for the household over Christmas.

But more than 16% expected to spend between �100 and �124 on food.

As for decorating the house - getting out last year's baubles from the attic seems to be the favoured option.

Almost a third of those interviewed said they would spend nothing on decorations this year.

And 40% said they would spend less than �10 - including postage - on their Christmas cards.

More than half planned to use their normal savings to fund their Christmas spending and most said they preferred to pay with cash.

The �36 increase represents a rise of 4.1%, compared with average spending last Christmas.

This increase is in line with High Street spending rises identified in recent reports by economists and the Office for National Statistics.