A new survey on our Christmas eating habits found that most people will be enjoying a turkey and ham dinner on Christmas Day.

Some 86% of us will be having a traditional meal, with 55.2% sitting down to eat in their own homes - compared to 43.4% who will go to family and friends.

The most popular times to serve Christmas dinner is between 2-3pm (36%) followed by 3-4pm (26.5%).

The questionnaire also showed that 78% of people will be eating Brussels sprouts, and almost half are predicting some sort of family squabble on Christmas day.

It also found that our enthusiasm for choosing different desserts on Christmas day could be attributed to a new generation of home cooks, who like to experiment more.

But asked if there are family arguments on Christmas day, the answers were split almost in two - with 49.9% saying 'never', 44.2% saying they quarrel 'a little' and 5.9% said that there is always squabbling.

As for the cause of these rows, 15.9% said it is over toys and presents, 6.2% said it is about food, 26% said it involves arguments over what to watch on TV while 40.9% said it has to do with helping out with the Christmas dinner.

Marketing manager with Avonmore Food, Eithne O'Hara, says their study found that slightly more people choose to celebrate at home.