A decade ago, the average family spent more than $1,000 on Christmas. Not anymore.
The average American family will spend a whopping $6 more on Christmas gifts this year, which isn’t even enough to get you a decent pair of socks.
So this holiday season will look pretty much like the last one, which hardly compares to the glorious pre-recession years of Christmases past.
In 2008, Americans cut their holiday spending in half. And the yuletide hasn’t been quite as cheerful ever since.
Still, even with stretched pocketbooks, roughly 80 percent of shoppers will buy at least one gift before the end of Thanksgiving weekend, according to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation.
The rest of us will still be trying to figure out how to pay for stuff.
What the average American household will spend on Christmas this year, according to the Retail Federation’s survey:
$749.51 on all expenses, including gifts, food and decorations.
$548.56 on all gifts, up from $542 and some odd cents last year.
$421.82 on gifts to family members.
$75.13 on gifts for friends.
$23.13 on gifts for acquaintances.
$139.92 on ‘gifts’ for themselves while shopping for others.
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