By Shailoh Lefeiloal, Staff Writer | December 14, 2022
Even Christmas trees have felt the price of inflation.
Photo by author
As the Christmas season comes upon us, inflation and its prices come by even quicker. A slight glimpse at Thanksgiving prices showed an increase of 20% for turkey alone. Looking at those statistics, imagine the price raises for one of the biggest holiday seasons that everyone looks forward to.
Analysis shows that consumers are buying less this year.
A WalletHub survey reports that “50% of consumers said Santa will be less generous and 40% of Americans are foregoing holiday gifts due to inflation.”
Many people will replace expensive options with cheaper ones.
Experts say that “it’s a year to be careful, more so than ever... A year to be more organized and thoughtful.”
Shoppers are seen to be shopping in a more strategic way than ever in order to get more than they paid for.
Carson High School junior Chayla Banks stated, “I think I’ll have fewer gifts this year because the prices are just increasing, because of the holidays, and [this] makes it hard for people in need.”
Some at CHS even consider inflation to be “evil” or “unnecessary” and most interviewees claimed that they would spend less with the exception of one.
The spirit of Christmas, satisfying a love language of gift giving, and spending quality time with friends and family can be valid reasons to celebrate the holiday in a big way.
Seeing how inflation hit Thanksgiving with people still buying, Christmas spending might have the same outcome.
Reports claim that Americans will spend an estimated $932 this Christmas, more than last year when asked the same question. There is an incline for Christmas budgets year after year, with it increasing by an average of $100.
To break down these Americans’ Christmas shopping, there are reports that 64% of the estimated spending on gifts for family, friends, and coworkers, following non-gift items such as food and decorations with 23%, and 11.8% for non-gift purchases for friends and family; US Christmas gift spending was a whopping $886.7 billion dollars reported from 2002 to now.
With only 16 days until Christmas, we are all trying to get our shopping done and prepare for this holiday season.
Ask yourself, should I spend more or less this Christmas? If you have enough money to spend, go ahead and do it to your heart's content-it’s part of the joy of the season. On the other hand, we can spend less this Christmas because it isn’t just about materialistic things; it’s about the thought. So, instead of sulking over a possible lack of presents under the tree, spend more time with your friends and family because memories are worth more than any gift ever could be.
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