Pubs across the country should enjoy a busy Christmas and New Year after a consumer survey revealed people are optimistic about the state of the economy.
Respondents said they were optimistic about their own financial position in a survey for the European Commission's monthly barometer of consumer confidence.
This could see pubs packed full of customers eager to spend their cash over the festive period.
The licensee of the Dog and Bull in Croydon, Alan Arrowsmith, said he was expecting Christmas to be as busy as it always is.
"Hopefully we'll be very busy," he said. "I can't see there being any problems."
Patrick Moroney of the Fountain Pub in New Malden, Surrey, agreed.
He said: "I can't foresee there being a problem. People always spend money at Christmas anyway."
The European Commission's monthly barometer of consumer confidence went up a notch last month, as respondents said they were feeling confident about the state of the economy.
It also seems the Chancellor's warnings about the state of the global economy in his Budget announcement last week did little to put people off spending their money on leisure activities.
"This does not sound like a consumer that is on the verge of panicking about their debt levels," said John Butler of bank HSBC.
"Indeed, the consumer appears far more confident than this time last year."
Economists said the buoyant consumer confidence figures suggested there was little sign of a slowdown.
With interest rates at 40-year lows, consumers said now was a good time to spend money on major purchases, rather than save for a rainy day.