The holiday season is here and what better way to get into the festive spirit than by exploring the trends and traditions that make this time of year so magical?
Our recent survey uncovered fascinating insights into how Americans celebrate Christmas in 2024. From spending habits and shopping trends to cherished traditions and holiday entertainment, these stats paint a vivid picture of the modern Christmas experience.
Key Christmas Statistics for 2024
- Most consumers (66%) will spend at least $400 on holiday shopping in 2024
- People most commonly start their holiday shopping in November (44%)
- 75% of Americans will participate in online Black Friday shopping, while only 29% will shop in person on Black Friday
- 88% of Americans celebrate Christmas and 71% celebrate Christmas Eve
- Over 3 in 4 people (77%) put up a Christmas tree and decorations
- 39% of people most prefer an artificial Christmas tree with colored lights
- A majority of people (60%) start playing or listening to Christmas music before December
For more festive findings, we've broken down the results in the following categories:
Spending | Shopping | Traditions | Decorations | Entertainment
- Most consumers (66%) will spend at least $400 on holiday shopping in 2024
- 1 in 5 Americans (20%) plan on spending $1,000 or more on holiday shopping this year
- Only 2% of consumers don’t plan on spending any money on holiday shopping in 2024
- In 2024, nearly 3 in 4 Americans will spend the same or less money on holiday shopping compared to last year
- Rising costs of living (80%), rising costs of groceries (66%), and high inflation (59%) are the top reasons Americans will spend less on holiday shopping in 2024
- 27% of consumers plan to spend more on holiday shopping in 2024 compared to 2023
- 36% of Americans believe stores should start selling Christmas decorations immediately after Halloween
- People most commonly start their holiday shopping in November (44%)
- 42% of people finish their Christmas shopping by early to mid-December
- Over 1 in 5 Americans complete their holiday shopping the week leading up to Christmas (22%)
- Nearly 1 in 10 Americans complete their Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving (9%)
- 75% of Americans will participate in online Black Friday shopping, while only 29% will shop in person on Black Friday
- 68% of Americans will shop on Cyber Monday in 2024
- Most consumers (87%) participate in Cyber Week shopping to take advantage of special discounts and deals
- 46% of people participate in Cyber Week to avoid the holiday shopping rush closer to the end of the year
- Walmart (71%) and Target (67%) are the most popular stores for in-store Black Friday holiday shopping
- Amazon (85%) is the most popular store for online holiday shopping
Download Our 2024 Black Friday Consumer Report
Christmas Traditions Statistics
- 88% of Americans celebrate Christmas
- 71% of Americans celebrate Christmas Eve
- 81% of people exchange Christmas gifts with friends and families
- 47% of people attend holiday parties
- 42% of people send holiday cards
- 1 in 6 Americans participate in the ‘Elf on the Shelf’ tradition
- Only 4% of people go Christmas caroling
Christmas Decorations Statistics
- Over 3 in 4 people (77%) put up a Christmas tree and decorations
- Just under half of Americans (48%) hang Christmas lights outside their homes
- 39% of people most prefer an artificial Christmas tree with colored lights, while others prefer an artificial tree with white lights (25%)
- 21% of people prefer a real Christmas tree with colored lights, while others prefer a real tree with white lights
Christmas Entertainment Statistics
- 89% of people play or listen to Christmas music
- 68% of Americans start playing or listening to Christmas music after Thanksgiving
- A majority of people (60%) start playing or listening to Christmas music before December
- 11% of people don’t play or listen to Christmas music
- 69% of people watch holiday movies or specials
- Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is the most streamed Christmas song of all time with 1.91 billion streams on Spotify alone (Source)
- The Grinch is the highest grossing Christmas movie followed by Home Alone and Alvin and The Chipmunks (Source)
Frequently Asked Questions
What percent of the US celebrates Christmas?
According to a survey by Drive Research, 88% of Americans celebrate Christmas and 71% celebrate Christmas Eve.
What is the most popular day for Christmas shopping?
Black Friday is the most popular holiday Christmas shopping day with 75% of Americans shopping online and 29% of Americans shopping in-person. Additionally, 68% of consumers plan to shop on Cyber Monday in 2024.
What percentage of people like Christmas music?
89% of people play or listen to Christmas music. Most commonly, people start listening to Christmas music immediately after Thanksgiving (20%) and the first week of December (18%).
What percentage of people put up a Christmas tree?
According to a Drive Research survey 77% of people put up a Christmas tree and decorations. 39% of people most prefer an artificial Christmas tree with colored lights, while others prefer an artificial tree with white lights (25%). Additionally, 21% of people prefer a real Christmas tree with colored lights, while others prefer a real tree with white lights.
Survey Methodology
The Drive Research survey took an average of 8 minutes to complete and included 25 questions. The survey received 1,020 responses from people across the United States. Fieldwork for the survey ended in November 2024.
About Drive Research
Drive Research is a national market research company specializing in custom-built, quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Our market research firm takes pride in making organizations more successful by extracting insights from the data we collect to accelerate business strategy.