The amount allocated for gifts has increased further

This holiday season, 85 percent of young people plan to give some kind of Christmas gift to their loved ones. This proportion has remained unchanged for years, and since 2018, young people have always planned to give gifts in almost exactly the same proportion. Meanwhile, the increase seen in recent years has continued in terms of the amount spent on gifts. Young gift-givers would spend an average of 51,000 forints on Christmas gifts this year, according to the latest data from the K&H Youth Index, which describes the gift-giving habits of 19-29 year-olds.

A growing amount is being spent on gifts

Although the 51,000 forints amount is only a slight increase compared to last year’s 49,000 forints, it continues the upward trend that has been observed for years. For comparison: ten years ago, in 2014, young people spent an average of only 20,000 forints on Christmas, while in 2020, young people were already at an average of 29,000 forints, and since 2023, they have also crossed the 40,000 forint threshold.

The detailed data shows that men plan to spend a much larger amount on gifts, an average of 63,000 forints, while women mentioned an average of 40,000 forints. Filtering out the extremely high amounts yields different figures: according to the adjusted result, the average spending of young people is 39 thousand forints. The median value is 31 thousand forints this year, meaning that half of the young people planning to give gifts would spend more than this, and the other half less than this, on surprises.

More gifts, but of lower value

According to the research, the gift-giving habits of young people are also changing. 57 percent of those surveyed plan to buy more gifts this year, but of lower value. Only 33 percent of young people are thinking about buying fewer, but of higher value, surprises. The latter proportion was 43 percent last year, so the proportion of gifts involving higher expenses has visibly decreased.

The range of those receiving gifts is also changing. 25 percent of young people are surprising fewer people this year than last year – a significant decrease compared to 39 percent in 2023. At the same time, 35 percent reported that they would buy gifts for more close friends this year. Three out of ten young people will have a friend for whom they can no longer buy a gift this year, even though they bought for them last year; this proportion has not changed significantly since last year.

How are Christmas expenses developing?

Young people continue to perceive the increase in costs of the holiday season as significant, but the rate of price increases seems to be stabilizing. They believe that this year’s Christmas will cost an average of 18 percent more at the same level as a year ago. This is very similar to last year’s data, while young people still experienced a 37 percent increase in costs at the end of 2022. So it is good news that the rate of increase has slowed significantly since then.

Interestingly, more than a fifth of young people, 22 percent to be exact, feel that Christmas will not cost more this year than last year – this is exactly the same as the proportion measured in 2024. This is more true for women, with the research showing a result of 28 percent. Based on the data from the K&H Youth Index, it is clear that the financial situation and sense of security of young people are directly reflected in how they prepare for the holidays. Spending has been rising slowly for years, while perceived inflation is much more subdued than two years ago. The move towards more gifts but of lower value suggests that young people are planning their December spending more consciously.