1.5 million Londoners have already started their Christmas shopping

Ah, summer in London – it's all drinking in parks, swimming in lidos, and even occasionally basking in some actual sun. But apparently not everyone is feeling summery, because – brace yourselves – more than 1.5 million Londoners have already started their Christmas shopping. No, you haven't missed something – it's still July. In fact, it's 151 days until Christmas. 

Still, that's not stopping some exceptionally organised Londoners from making a list, checking it twice and hitting the shops. According to a survey by shopping channel QVC, more than 1.5 million Londoners have started the process, while 350,000 have already finished. But if they're buying presents that far in advance, they must surely be getting some pretty impressive gifts – the kind of things that would sell out in the run up to Christmas, right? Er, no. The research found that Londoners were most likely to buy socks for friends and family, followed closely by underwear and a winter coat. 

But it gets worse. The study also showed that 434,000 Londoners have already wrapped all of their Christmas presents. If you're not asking yourself 'who the hell are these people?!', then you're probably one of them. And we're both appalled and impressed. But mostly appalled.

In other festive news, there's a Christmas market headed to Leicester Square later this year