GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- A recent Gallup Panel survey found Americans have mixed views about Christmas shopping, but they are clear about what they enjoy about the holiday season. For most Americans, the greatest gift is not what comes adorned with ribbons, but time spent with loved ones.
Asked in the Nov. 27-29, 2006, survey to name what they enjoy most about the holiday season, 6 in 10 Americans (61%) cite time with friends and family. The second most frequent response is the holiday spirit and that people seem to be friendlier at this time of year. Religious observances, lights, gift-giving, time off from work, and good food are the highlights for smaller percentages of Americans.
What do you, personally, enjoy most about the holiday season?
|
2006 Nov 27-29 |
|
|
% |
|
|
Time spent with family/friends |
61 |
|
Holiday spirit/People are friendlier |
13 |
|
Religious services/Celebrate birth of Christ |
8 |
|
Time off from work |
6 |
|
Giving gifts |
5 |
|
Lights/Decorations |
5 |
|
Good food |
3 |
|
Music |
2 |
|
Shopping |
2 |
|
When it's over |
2 |
|
Festivities/Parties/Programs |
1 |
Shopping Is a Double-Edged Sword
The space that holiday shopping takes up in people's lives is apparent in Americans' responses to what they least enjoy about the season. The top three answers are the commercialization of the holiday (28%), buying gifts (18%), and the financial costs (12%).
Holiday-induced tension, perhaps some of it shopping-related, is also evident in the 8% who cite holiday crowds, the 7% who mention hectic schedules, the 6% who mention general stress or anxiety, and the 4% mentioning traffic. Much smaller percentages (2% to 3% each) cite other seasonal issues such as religion, traveling, dealing with family, overeating, or loneliness.
And what do you, personally, enjoy the least about the holiday season?
|
2006 Nov 27-29 |
|
|
% |
|
|
Commercialization of the holiday |
28 |
|
Buying gifts/Shopping |
18 |
|
Financial costs associated with it |
12 |
|
Crowds |
8 |
|
Hectic schedules/Hustle and bustle |
7 |
|
Stress/Anxiety |
6 |
|
Traffic |
4 |
|
Winter weather |
4 |
|
Religious reasons |
3 |
|
Too much work |
3 |
|
Traveling |
2 |
|
Dealing with family |
2 |
|
Overeating |
2 |
|
Loneliness/Missing loved ones |
2 |
|
Having to go to work |
1 |
Despite the number of unprompted gripes about shopping as a holiday detraction, the same poll shows that, by a 15-point margin -- 55% vs. 40% -- more Americans consider holiday shopping a "joyful experience" that they look forward to rather than a "chore" they have to put up with.
A majority of women (60%), compared with half of men, give a ringing endorsement to Christmas shopping.
Survey Methods
Results for this panel study are based on telephone interviews with 1,003 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted Nov. 27-29, 2006. Respondents were randomly drawn from Gallup's nationally representative household panel, which was originally recruited through random selection methods. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points.
The Gallup World Poll gives you the power to know - and act on - what the world is thinking.