Planning a Christmas meet-up with your friends? Well, BLOOM Gin have the ultimate festive party package up for grabs.
The gin brand is running a huge competition which gives six lucky friends the chance to throw a Christmas bash at Bridget Jones' iconic London pad.
Branded the 'ultimate festive girls' night-in', the apartment will be given a festive makeover for the occasion, with plenty of delicious snacks, board games, music, and of course, BLOOM Gin.
The stay will also include complimentary cocktails, an on-hand mixologist, pre-loaded Netflix account and matching pyjamas, for you and five friends to enjoy.
The competition comes as the iconic movie turns 20 years old, alongside new studies that have shown that young people are starting to favour spending Christmas time with friends.
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The unofficial celebration, dubbed 'Friendsmas', has grown in popularity over recent years. Studies in 2018 revealed that 1 in 5 UK adults aged between 21 and 28 were even planning on spending 25 December with their friends instead of family members.
It has now became a tradition for many, who choose a day in the festive calendar to meet up with friends to share drinks, food, and swap Secret Santa gifts.
The pandemic saw the trend become more popular, with many people unable to travel home to spend the Christmas period with family, therefore opting to celebrate with their close friends instead.
Behaviour psychologist Jo Hemmings analysed the new trend, saying: “Where would we be without our closest friends? Especially in the last difficult couple of years, and never more so when we can celebrate together at Christmas.
“Friendsmas is something to be anticipated, cherished and enjoyed. It gives us freedom, relaxation and joy to be with the friends that we love the most – without the pressure, formality and expectations of a traditional Christmas dinner.
"We don’t care if we can’t find pigs in blankets in the shops, or whether the turkey is cooked through, we’ll just create something appropriately festive with whatever we’ve got to hand – or our friends bring with them – in our own or a gal pal’s home – and wash it down with a drink and a lot of giggles.”
She continued by explaining how the occasion can trigger 'warm and fuzzy' hormones, adding: “Friendship releases all the best feel-good hormones – oxytocin, the bonding neurotransmitter, which connects us creates that warm feeling of togetherness; serotonin which is a real mood booster and dopamine which is our reward hormone, leaving us feeling fulfilled and happy.
"We even get a top up of endorphins – the pleasure we feel from laughing with our friends.
“Dress up or down – it’s your choice. With good friends around and no one to impress, people who celebrate Friendsmas feel free of judgement to just enjoy the day rather than stress out about keeping everyone else happy. After all, that unadulterated feeling of joy at Christmas isn’t just for kids, right?”
BLOOM Gin will offer a group of six friends the chance to takeover Bridget Jones' legendary flat in Central London this December, if they submit their funniest and most frank, Christmas-themed anecdotes.
You must be age 21 or over, and you can enter the competition here.
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