Revealed: Top Party Cities in the UK
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So far in 2025, Brits have celebrated Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter and plenty more calendar highlights, but which is the most celebrated occasion in the UK, and which city likes to pull out all the stops?
New research from greetings card marketplace, thortful, has found the nation’s favourite days to party, after analysing internal sales data to pinpoint the key knees-up dates.
Overall, there’s a firm favourite – with 52% of the UK’s popularity, birthdays are top of the list, followed closely by Mother’s Day (10%) and Valentine’s Day (10%).
Interestingly, the top three are favoured over Father’s Day (7%) and even Christmas (6%). The full rankings can be found below:
| Rank | Occasion | Percentage of Popularity |
| 1 | Birthday | 52% |
| 2 | Mother’s Day | 10% |
| 3 | Valentine’s Day | 10% |
| 4 | Father’s Day | 7% |
| 5 | Christmas | 6% |
| 6 | Anniversary | 6% |
| 7 | New Home | 1% |
| 8 | New Baby | 1% |
| 9 | Thank You | 1% |
| 10 | Love & Friendship | 1% |
| 11 | Engagement & Wedding | 1% |
| 12 | Congratulations | 1% |
| 13 | Get Well | 1% |
| 14 | Leaving | 1% |
| 15 | Just Because | 1% |
| 16 | New Job | 1% |
Which occasions are most popular amongst UK cities?
The people of Brighton love to go all-out for a birthday, topping the rankings with 57% of the popularity, followed closely by Sheffield (54%).
Belfast celebrates Valentine’s Day the most, with a higher percentage of people buying cards there (16%) than any other UK region. In fact, Belfast also top the charts for Anniversaries (7%), Christmas (9%) and Mother’s Day (10%), making it the biggest party-city in the UK.
Currently, Middlesbrough and Stoke celebrate Father’s Day the most, with the occasion having 11% of their popularity, but this could change as we approach the big day on the 15th June.
See the full city breakdowns below:
| Anniversary | Birthday | Christmas | Father’s Day | Mothers Day | Valentines Day | |
| Belfast | 7% | 44% | 9% | 9% | 10% | 16% |
| Birmingham | 6% | 53% | 8% | 9% | 9% | 10% |
| Bradford | 6% | 52% | 8% | 10% | 9% | 10% |
| Brighton | 6% | 57% | 7% | 8% | 9% | 9% |
| Bristol | 6% | 54% | 7% | 9% | 9% | 10% |
| Cardiff | 6% | 53% | 6% | 9% | 10% | 10% |
| Edinburgh | 6% | 51% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% |
| Coventry | 6% | 50% | 9% | 10% | 9% | 11% |
| Glasgow | 6% | 47% | 9% | 9% | 10% | 13% |
| Leeds | 6% | 53% | 8% | 9% | 9% | 9% |
| Leicester | 6% | 53% | 7% | 8% | 10% | 11% |
| Liverpool | 6% | 47% | 9% | 9% | 10% | 14% |
| London | 6% | 55% | 7% | 8% | 9% | 9% |
| Manchester | 6% | 53% | 8% | 8% | 10% | 10% |
| Middlesbrough | 7% | 47% | 8% | 11% | 10% | 12% |
| Newcastle | 6% | 51% | 8% | 9% | 10% | 11% |
| Nottingham | 6% | 53% | 7% | 9% | 9% | 11% |
| Portsmouth | 7% | 51% | 8% | 10% | 9% | 11% |
| Sheffield | 6% | 54% | 8% | 9% | 9% | 10% |
| Southampton | 7% | 53% | 7% | 9% | 9% | 11% |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 7% | 47% | 9% | 11% | 10% | 13% |
Choosing the perfect card
Ensure plenty of thought has been put into picking out the perfect design. Start by thinking about the recipient’s personality. Would they prefer something tongue-in-cheek? Or is sentimental messaging more up their street? Once you’ve got the category nailed, it’s time to make it even more personal. Whether you pick a design featuring an inside joke or an illustration of their favourite place, choose something that’s unique to them. Include a heartfelt message jotted inside for a card they’ll treasure forever.
Planning the perfect event
Finally, why not go all out by planning an iconic party? Whether it’s a thoughtful surprise for a friend’s birthday, or an engagement do for the happy couple, a gathering is an ideal way to celebrate. Start brainstorming food, drinks, themes, and decorations, then all that’s left to do is set a date and send out your invites!
