According to the Pew Research Center, most Americans like giving and receiving gifts as part of celebrating the holiday season.


 

feelings_about_gift_giving

(See chart) More than eight in ten U.S. adults (83 percent) say thinking about buying and receiving holiday gifts makes them feel joyful, and nearly as many (78 percent) say the prospect of exchanging gifts makes them feel generous. Still, 46 percent say exchanging gifts makes them feel stretched thin financially and 36 percent say it makes them feel stressed out. About a quarter (23 percent) say the thought of exchanging gifts makes them feel wasteful.

Household income is closely connected to whether people feel financially burdened by exchanging holiday gifts. Nearly six in ten of those with an annual household income of less than $30,000 (58 percent) say gift-giving makes them feel stretched thin financially, compared with a third of those with an income of $75,000 or more. But while most lower-income Americans feel financially strained by the prospect of December gift-giving, most do not report feeling “stressed out” about buying and receiving gifts.

U.S. adults under the age of 30 are more likely than older adults to say gift-giving makes them feel generous. And Americans ages 65 and older are somewhat less likely than younger adults to say exchanging gifts makes them feel stretched thin financially or stressed out.

Related Articles