Hungarians are spending 26 percent more on Christmas this year

Hungarians are planning an average Christmas budget of 129 thousand forints this year, from which they would like to spend both gifts and ingredients for the menu – this is a 26 percent increase, well above inflation, compared to last year. To cover expenses, one third of the population uses their savings set aside for this purpose, the majority rely on their current monthly income, and 11 percent are considering loans. At the end of the year, 18 percent of workers expect to receive workplace benefits, i.e. turkey money. By their own admission, nearly half of Hungarians tend to overspend during the holidays, with 14 percent of them having to cut back on their spending in January.

The soul of Christmas: baking and cooking and a decorated tree

Among the Christmas customs, the big festive baking and cooking is the one that Hungarians would least forgo – even in the face of financial difficulties. The average budget for the Christmas menu this year is 45 thousand forints. Of course, the Christmas tree is also part of creating the atmosphere: seven out of ten people put up a tree, and as in previous years, this year too, the artificial fir tree (55%) prevails, ahead of the cut (30%) and the live fir tree (9%) – those who choose a Christmas tree spend an average of 13,700 forints on it.

More people would give gifts more consciously this year

According to the Cofidis Hitel Monitor research, three-quarters of households plan to give gifts at Christmas this year – this proportion has been continuously increasing since 2022. At the same time, about half of Hungarians experience gift-giving as a kind of mandatory expectation that they would like to abandon. Those who surprise their family and friends spend an average of 46,000 forints, and the majority buy for up to 6 people. The fact that 85 percent of them try to reduce their gift spending in some way, for example, browsing price comparison sites, choosing smaller surprises than in previous years, or specifically looking for discounted products, is indicative of their careful spending.

What and how does it go under the tree?

For Christmas, half of Hungarians prefer to give material gifts, 11 percent would like to give experiences, and 39 percent are thinking about both types. The list of material surprises still includes beauty products and perfumes (43%), while the popularity of clothing increased by 8 percent compared to last year, reaching 41 percent in second place. Toys (37%) are on the third step of the podium. Many people give premium food at this time, and although reading is less popular, books have made it into the TOP 5 gifts. Streaming subscriptions are also becoming increasingly popular: nearly a tenth of those under 30 would give one for Christmas.

Two-thirds of gift buyers also order gifts online. The majority still prefer domestic webshops, while every third gift buyer is already planning to order from foreign webshops. The rise of digital tools is also shown by the fact that a fifth of respondents do not rule out using artificial intelligence during holiday preparations – for example, for decoration ideas, searching for recipes or compiling a shopping list.

Black Friday is no longer the same

Three quarters of Hungarians start buying Christmas gifts before December – a fifth of them do so specifically because of the Black Friday sales. At the same time, the magic of discounts is fading: seven out of ten believe that this period now lasts for weeks, so they feel less compelled to miss the offers. Despite this, a third of the population (34%) plan to shop in November this year as well.

V