Money 
Holiday spending in the U.S. is under more scrutiny than ever, with rising costs and shifting habits changing what a typical Christmas or Thanksgiving actually looks like. But how much are Americans really spending this season? And how many are going into debt to cover it?
This article combines national data with a survey of 1,456 adults to understand how Americans budget, shop, and pay for the winter holidays from gifts and travel to food, hosting, and holiday debt.
Key survey statistics
- The average person spends $316 in total on holiday gifts, buying for 8 people at an average of $43 per person.
- Large online retailers like Amazon are the most popular place to shop for holiday gifts, used by 83.4% of respondents, ahead of small online businesses (79.7%) and department stores (74.5%).
- Nearly a quarter of shoppers (24.3%) say they start their holiday shopping as early as January to March, well ahead of the season.
- A quarter of respondents (25.4%) pay for holiday gifts using credit cards they pay off in full, while 21.3% use credit cards but carry a balance.
- Among people who host holiday events, the average spend is $328, catering for 10 people on average.
- Two-thirds of respondents (66.1%) say they've gone into debt to cover holiday costs at least some of the time, with 35.3% saying this happens regularly.
- Among those who took on holiday debt, the average amount was $1,126, and 16.6% said they took on more than $2,500.
- Over a third of people in debt from the holidays (37.5%) say it caused them a lot of stress, and 54% say they regret taking on the debt.
Other key statistics
- In 2025, Americans spent a total of $1.63 trillion during the winter holiday season, and this is expected to increase to at least $1.7 trillion in 2026.
- Among those who celebrate Thanksgiving, the average spend per person on the holiday was $952 in 2025, with the biggest portion being spent on travel ($293).
- One study found that people in the U.S. spent an estimated $127 billion in total over Thanksgiving weekend in 2025.
How much do Americans spend on the holiday season?
During the 2025 winter holiday season (November 2025 - January 2026), Americans spent $1.63 trillion, an increase of 4.1% from the previous year, according to Census data. This figure is projected to reach between $1.7 and $1.71 trillion in the 2026 holiday season. [1] Deloitte. “Deloitte Forecasts Holiday Retail Sales to Reach $1.7 Trillion” https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/about/press-room/deloitte-forecasts-holiday-retail-sales.html
How much respondents spent on last year’s holiday season
Data from the survey on behalf of Self found that the average amount respondents spent on last year’s holiday season was $616. This includes spending on things like gifts, food, drinks and hosting holiday-related events.
The most common amount people spent on the 2025 winter holiday season was $251-$500 (20.4%), closely followed by $1,001-$1,500 (20.3%).
| How much people spent on last year’s holiday season | |
|---|---|
| Amount spent | % of respondents |
| Less than $100 | 16.3% |
| $100-$250 | 19.3% |
| $251-$500 | 20.4% |
| $501-$1,000 | 19.5% |
| $1,001-$1,500 | 20.3% |
| $1,501-$2,000 | 1.9% |
| $2,001-$3,000 | 1.8% |
| More than $3,000 | 0.5% |
How much respondents expect to spend on this year’s holiday season
When asked how much they expect to spend on this year’s holiday season, the average amount among respondents was $656. This means, on average, people expect to spend $40 more on the holidays this year than last year. Alongside this, 36.5% of respondents confirmed that they did expect to spend more on this year’s holiday season than last year.
| How much people expect to spend on this year’s holiday season | |
|---|---|
| Expected spend | % of respondents |
| Less than $100 | 17.5% |
| $100-$250 | 19.7% |
| $251-$500 | 20.1% |
| $501-$1,000 | 19.0% |
| $1,001-$2,000 | 20.4% |
| $2,001-$3,000 | 2.5% |
| More than $3,000 | 0.8% |
Most people expect to spend more because of rising costs
Of those who said they expect to spend more on the holidays this year, 91.6% said that this was due to inflation and rising costs. 86.7% said they would be spending more because they will be hosting holiday events this year and they didn’t last year. All other reasons made up 12.6% of responses in total.
| Main reasons people expect to spend more on the holidays this year than last year | |
|---|---|
| Reason | % of respondents |
| Inflation/increased costs | 91.6% |
| I am hosting events this year but didn’t last year | 86.7% |
| I have more people to buy for/cater for | 4.3% |
| I am attending more events this year | 3.4% |
| I am traveling more during the holidays this year | 3.3% |
| I have more money to spend this year | 1.6% |
Data note: Respondents could select more than one answer.
How much do Americans spend on Thanksgiving?
Data from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) as of 2025 showed that across the U.S., people were expected to spend an estimated $127 billion in total over Thanksgiving weekend. [2] ICSC. “Consumer Expected to Spend $127 Billion Over Thanksgiving Weekend 2025” https://www.icsc.com/news-and-views/icsc-exchange/consumers-expected-to-spend-127-billion-over-thanksgiving-weekend-2025
Americans who celebrate Thanksgiving spent an average of $952 per person on the holiday in 2025. This included averages of $175 on food, $110 on drinks, $83 on decor and $293 on travel. [3] Talker Research. “How the Holidays Stretch American Budgets” https://talkerresearch.com/how-the-holidays-stretch-americans-budgets/
2026 research on behalf of Self found that a Thanksgiving meal for 10 people costs $137.93 on average. This has increased by 782.3% from 1960 when the average cost was $15.63, though the 2026 figure shows a decrease compared to 2025’s cost ($166.69).
Spending on holiday gifts
According to the survey, respondents buy holiday gifts for 8 people on average, typically spending $43 per person. Across all respondents, the average total spend on holiday gifts was $316.
The most common amount people said they usually spend on holiday gifts in total was $251-$500 (20.9%), followed by $101-$250 (20.5%). Almost one in five (18.3%) said they spend $50 or less in total, and only 0.4% said they spend more than $2,000 on holiday gifts.
| How much people spend in total on holiday gifts | |
|---|---|
| Total spend on holiday gifts | % of respondents |
| $50 or less | 18.3% |
| $51-$100 | 19.5% |
| $101-$250 | 20.5% |
| $251-$500 | 20.9% |
| $501-$1,000 | 18.0% |
| $1,000-$2,000 | 2.5% |
| More than $2,000 | 0.4% |
Where people usually shop for holiday gifts
The most common places people shop for holiday gifts are large online retailers like Amazon (83.4%), followed by small online businesses (79.7%) and shopping malls (75%). Only 3.2% said they shop at local or independent stores for holiday gifts.
| Where people usually shop for holiday gifts | |
|---|---|
| Type of store | % of respondents |
| Large online retailers (Amazon, etc.) | 83.4% |
| Small online businesses | 79.7% |
| Shopping malls | 75.0% |
| Department stores | 74.5% |
| Secondhand/thrift stores | 62.7% |
| Local/independent stores | 3.2% |
Data note: Respondents could select more than one answer.
The most common time of year people start shopping for holiday gifts is between October and December (30.4%), though 24.3% of respondents said they started holiday shopping as early as January - March.
Most people make use of sales events for holiday shopping
The majority of respondents said they specifically shop during sales events in the holiday season, including Cyber Monday (84.7%), Black Friday (81.7%), and Amazon Prime Day (78.4%).
In 2025, U.S. shoppers spent $11.8 billion on Black Friday, setting a new record, while Shopify merchants generated $14.6 billion in Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, making another record. [4] Forbes. “Black Friday Sets New Online Spending Record With $118 Billion in Sales” https://www.forbes.com/sites/claraludmir/2025/12/02/black-friday-sets-new-online-spending-record-with-118-billion-in-sales/
How people pay for holiday gifts
Among those who said they do purchase holiday gifts for people, 25.4% of respondents said they use credit cards to buy them and pay them off in full, making this the most common payment method. Following this, 21.3% said they usually use credit cards, but they carry a balance, and 18.3% use savings that they’ve set aside in advance.
Alongside this, more than half (54.6%) say they set up sinking funds to cover holiday costs – these are savings accounts or pots set up for a particular expense that you put money into throughout the year.
| How people usually pay for holiday gifts | |
|---|---|
| Payment type | % of respondents |
| Credit cards paid in full | 25.4% |
| Credit cards carrying a balance | 21.3% |
| Savings set aside in advance | 18.3% |
| Debit card/cash | 17.8% |
| Buy Now Pay Later (eg. Klarna, Afterpay) | 17.3% |
Alongside this data, 19.4% of respondents say they use credit cards or BNPL loans for more than 75% of their holiday gift shopping, and 39.8% said they use these methods for more than 50% of their holiday gift purchases.
Spending on hosting holiday events
Among respondents who said they host holiday events, the average number of people they cater for is 10, spending an average of $328 in total.
The most common amount people said they spend on hosting holiday events is $251-$500 (21.7%), closely followed by $101-$250 (21.5%). A small percentage of respondents (0.3%) said they spend more than $2,000 on hosting.
Around half (51.4%) of respondents said that they usually split the costs of hosting with other family members and friends attending the same holiday events.
| How much people usually spend on hosting holiday events | |
|---|---|
| Amount spent on hosting holiday events | % of respondents |
| $50 or less | 16.0% |
| $51-$100 | 18.9% |
| $101-$250 | 21.5% |
| $251-$500 | 21.7% |
| $501-$1,000 | 19.0% |
| $1,000-$2,000 | 2.7% |
| More than $2,000 | 0.3% |
Where people usually shop for holiday groceries
The most common places people shop for holiday-related groceries are regular grocery stores (82.2%) and warehouse club-type stores like Costco or Sam’s Club (81.2%). Many also use smaller, local options like farmers' markets (72.6%) or direct orders from butchers or bakeries (61%).
| Where people usually shop for holiday groceries | |
|---|---|
| Type of store | % of respondents |
| Regular grocery store | 82.2% |
| Warehouse club eg. Costco | 81.2% |
| Online grocery delivery | 77.4% |
| Farmers’ markets | 72.6% |
| Direct butcher/bakery orders | 61.0% |
Data note: Respondents could select more than one answer.
Similarly to paying for gifts, the highest proportion of respondents said they use credit cards and pay them off in full (23.6%), followed by 21.4% who use credit cards but carry a balance. 16.9% of people say they use BNPL services like Klarna or Afterpay to cover the cost of holiday groceries.
Going into debt for the holiday season
Two-thirds of survey respondents (66.1%) admit to going into debt to cover the cost of the holiday season at least some of the time, with 35.3% saying they do this regularly. One study by YouGov found that 21% of adults in the U.S. borrowed money for Christmas-related spending in 2025, with 77% of borrowers using credit to pay for presents. [5] YouGov. “How Many Americans Went Into Debt for Christmas 2025” https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/53885-how-many-americans-went-into-debt-for-christmas-2025
Reasons for going into holiday-related debt
The cost of gifts is the biggest reason people went into debt over the holidays, with 28.7% saying they had to borrow money because gifts cost more than they could afford to pay. Other reasons include unexpected expenses cropping up elsewhere (25.9%)
| Reasons people went into debt to cover holiday costs | |
|---|---|
| Reason | % of respondents |
| Gifts cost more than I could afford upfront | 28.7% |
| Unexpected expenses | 25.9% |
| Cultural/family expectations | 23.5% |
| Wanted to have a good holiday despite lack of funds | 21.9% |
How much debt people take on for the holidays
Of the respondents who said they had gone into debt to cover holiday costs, the average amount of debt they took on was $1,126. The most common amount of holiday debt people got into was between $251 and $500, but 16.6% said they took on more than $2,500 worth of debt related to holiday spending.
The impacts of holiday-related debt
For those who had gone into holiday-related debt at any time, 71.2% said it had caused them at least some stress, with 37.5% reporting a lot of stress as a result. More than half (54%) also said they regretted taking on this debt, leaving a considerable amount (46%) who had no regrets about it.
Moving forward, 36% of respondents who had borrowed money for the holidays said they would be spending less on future holidays because of it, though 34.6% said they would spend more, and 29.4% said they would spend the same amount despite the debt.
Methodology
A survey on behalf of Self was carried out in September 2026, asking 1,456 adults questions about their spending on the winter holiday season and associated events. This holiday season was defined as the time between November and January, covering events like Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Christmas. Average figures for the number of people catered for and amounts spent were rounded up to the nearest whole number.
The respondents to this survey self-identified as the following:
Gender:
- Female - 41.5%
- Male - 30.9%
- Non-binary - 27.6%
Age range:
- 18-29 - 30.8%
- 30-45 - 38.8%
- 46-61 - 29.3%
- 62-80 - 1.1%
Sources
- [1] Deloitte. “Deloitte Forecasts Holiday Retail Sales to Reach $1.7 Trillion” https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/about/press-room/deloitte-forecasts-holiday-retail-sales.html
- [2] ICSC. “Consumer Expected to Spend $127 Billion Over Thanksgiving Weekend 2025” https://www.icsc.com/news-and-views/icsc-exchange/consumers-expected-to-spend-127-billion-over-thanksgiving-weekend-2025
- [3] Talker Research. “How the Holidays Stretch American Budgets” https://talkerresearch.com/how-the-holidays-stretch-americans-budgets/
- [4] Forbes. “Black Friday Sets New Online Spending Record With $118 Billion in Sales” https://www.forbes.com/sites/claraludmir/2025/12/02/black-friday-sets-new-online-spending-record-with-118-billion-in-sales/
- [5] YouGov. “How Many Americans Went Into Debt for Christmas 2025” https://yougov.com/en-us/articles/53885-how-many-americans-went-into-debt-for-christmas-2025
