Many consumers who overextended themselves during Christmas may unload their debts onto the public by declaring bankruptcy. Sadly, many people continue to ignore the warning signs of debt and push their bills off during the holiday season. These bills will begin to surface again during the first three months of the year when many of them will become due. Unfortunately, many of these people will face insolvency as their only way out of debt. This is particlarly true given the issues faced in the credit and housing markets, which has substantially limited consumers' ability to repay their debts.

From Reuters:
Excessive spending over Christmas will fuel personal bankruptcies in the first three months of the year, a report says. Chartered accountant Grant Thornton predicts that 28,000 people will become insolvent in the first quarter of 2008, a third of whom are expected to file for bankruptcy as a direct result of debt racked up over the festive period.