Hungarians will spend more this Christmas

Hungarians are planning their Christmas budget this year at an average of 129 thousand forints, from which they would like to spend on 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 thinking about taking out a loan. At the end of the year, 18 percent of workers expect to receive a workplace allowance, i.e. turkey money. By their own admission, nearly half of Hungarians tend to overspend during the holidays, with 14 percent having to cut back on their spending in January.

Of all the Christmas traditions, the big holiday 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 45,000 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.

Graphics: Cofidis Hitel Monitor

More people would give gifts this year and more consciously

According to research by Cofidis Hitel Monitor, three-quarters of households plan to give gifts this year at Christmas – this proportion has been increasing continuously since 2022. At the same time, about half of Hungarians experience gift-giving as a kind of mandatory expectation that they would like to give up. Those who surprise their family and friends think in terms of an average budget of 46 thousand forints, and the majority buy for up to six people. The fact that 85 percent of them try to reduce their gift expenses in some way, for example, browsing price comparison sites, choosing smaller surprises than in previous years, or specifically looking for discounted, discounted products, is indicative of prudent 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 think in terms of both types. The list of material surprises continues to be led by beauty products and perfumes (43%), while the popularity of clothing has increased by 8 percent compared to last year, moving to second place with 41 percent. Toys are on the third step of the podium (37%). 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.

Graphics: Cofidis Hitel Monitor

Two-thirds of gift buyers also order gifts online. The majority still prefer domestic webshops, but 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.

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 unmissable offers. Despite this, a third of the population (34%) plan to shop this year as well