And now, Part Two of our Christmas Traditions posts, where we’ll highlight many interesting ways Americans are planning to celebrate the last holiday of the year. In Part Two we will look at how people plan to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, how many people will be traveling, and if people are going to be working over the holidays.
First let’s take a look at Christmas Eve plans:
Almost half (45%) of all people will be staying home and spending Christmas Eve with their family, while one out of five will host or attend a Christmas Eve gathering, which is 17% less likely than last year (when 24% of people planned to host or attend a Christmas Eve gathering). About 20% of people have nothing planned, 6% of people will be working while 3% will be traveling, and a small 1% will be finishing up with some last minute shopping.
People in the Northeast are more likely than other regions to say they will be hosting or attending a Christmas Eve party, followed by those in the Midwest. Those in the South are more likely to stay home with family, along with those in the West. People 65+ years old are more likely than other age groups to have nothing planned while those aged 18 and under are more likely to say they are staying home with family. People 25-34 years old are more likely to be working on Christmas Eve.
Next is when people open their gifts:
No surprise, but the majority of people (52%) open their presents on Christmas Day, and the next-largest group opens gifts on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (22%). Of the people who celebrate Christmas, only 13% open all their gifts Christmas Eve.
People 65+ years old are the largest age group who plan on opening gifts on Christmas Eve, while 18-24 year olds are the largest age group to open gifts on Christmas Day. Those who open some on each day are more likely to be 35-44 years old. People in the Northeast are more likely than other regions to open gifts Christmas Day, while those in the West are the least likely to answer “Christmas Day.”
The holidays are about spending time with family, let’s take a look at who celebrates with others:
Of the people who attend a Christmas gathering, 45% have 5-10 people, 42% have more than 10 people, and 13% celebrate with 4 people or less. 17% of people do not attend a Christmas gathering.
People in the Midwest are the most likely to have gatherings of 10+ people. Those who celebrate with 10+ people are more likely to have an income of $100K- $150K. People in the West are the least likely to attend a Christmas gathering or they plan to have 4 people or less at their party.
It looks like many people still cook their own Christmas dinner:
42% of the population will be going to a family member’s house for their Christmas dinner, while 38% will stay home and cook themselves. 4% are planning to eat at a restaurant on Christmas, 3% will eat at a friend’s house, and 2% will have it catered at home. People who will eat at home and cook themselves are more likely to be 55-64 followed by 45-54 years old, those eating at a family member’s house are more likely to be 18-24 followed by 25-34 years old.
Some people will use up their extra vacation days over the holidays:
Of the people employed, 62% of people will be working most of the time between Christmas and New Year’s. Only 26% of people will be taking the whole week off and 12% may go into the office a couple times.
Lastly, if you’re traveling this Christmas, you’re probably wondering how busy the roads will be and how long the security lines. Well, it looks like it will be pretty much the same as last year:
A total of 21% of people will travel over 100 miles for the Christmas holiday. Among those traveling 66% of which will be traveling by car, 24% traveling by plane, and only 5% traveling by train and 5% traveling by bus.
Enjoy the holidays!