Instead, ACC data from the past five years shows the Christmas ham, Christmas lights and even Christmas gifts are among the most common sources of injury.
Lacerations and puncture wounds from cutting the Christmas ham caused 516 injuries between 2020 and 2024, costing the taxpayer $280,736; soft-tissue injuries from Christmas gifts caused 254 injuries (costing $126,274); and Christmas lights caused 367 injuries (costing $459,087).
But the most common injuries were caused by the simplest things, such as chairs, stools and ladders which injured 24,789 people, costing $51.3 million to help people recover.
During the festive season in Otago and Southland, there were 1513 injury claims for Christmas Eve incidents; 1337 for injuries on Christmas Day; 1519 on Boxing Day; 1911 on New Year’s Eve; and 2079 on New Year’s Day — a total of 8359 injuries.
Nationally, there have been 779,000 injuries that relate to Christmas and the holiday period, costing more than $1.3 billion in recovery support.
ACC injury prevention leader James Whitaker said the Christmas rush could create situations where people were more likely to get hurt, so he encouraged New Zealanders to take a moment, slow down and stay mindful during the busy Christmas period.
