How much does the average American spend on Christmas?

About $890.49 per person in 2025, per the National Retail Federation: $627.93 on gifts for family and friends, and $262.56 on seasonal items like food, decorations, and cards.

How much should I budget for Christmas gifts?

Gifts average about 70% of total holiday spending, so a $890 holiday budget means roughly $627 for gifts. A workable split: partner $100–$200, kids $75–$150 each, parents $50–$100 each, everyone else $25–$50.

How many weeks are left until Christmas?

From mid-October there are about 68 days, or just under 10 weeks, until December 25. The tool computes the exact days from today's date and turns your remaining budget into a per-week savings number.

How much do I need to save per week for Christmas?

It depends on the budget and the start date. $890 saved over the 9.7 weeks from mid-October is $91.62 a week; the same $890 started on December 1 needs $259.58 a week. Starting early is the whole trick.

Is it cheaper to save for Christmas or put it on a credit card?

Saving wins by the interest. Financing $890 at 24% APR over 6 months costs $63.33 in interest ($158.89 a month). Saving $91.62 a week from October costs nothing extra.

Home › Holiday Gift Budget Calculator

Form HG-30 · The Holiday Ledger

Holiday Gift Budget Calculator

Christmas has a way of costing whatever it costs — which is why it should cost what you decide. List every gift, cap the budget, and the ledger keeps the total honest. Then flip to the savings plan and it tells you exactly what to set aside each week from now until the 25th.

The caps

Total holiday budget ($) The NRF 2025 average: $890.49 per person. Gift budget ($) Gifts run about 70% of holiday spend ($627.93 of $890.49).

The gift list

Your gift list totals $627 of a $627 gift budget · $62.70 a name · 10 names

Right on the List

Every dollar accounted for. This is what a planned Christmas looks like.

The list is the budget. If a name is not on the list, it is not in the budget — that is the entire discipline, and it is worth more than any single cut.

The plan

Total holiday budget ($) Already saved ($) Be honest. The ledger does not judge; it divides.

Set aside each week $91.62 68 days to Christmas · $13.09 a day

A Steady Climb

Under a hundred a week. Automate it on payday and forget it until December.

Wait until December 1 to start and the same budget needs $259.58 a week — nearly three times the weekly number. Starting early is the whole trick.

Put the budget on a card at 24% APR instead and pay it over 6 months: $63.33 in interest on top of the gifts. Saving costs nothing extra.

Weeks are counted from today to December 25. After Christmas the counter rolls to next year's December 25, because the plan works just as well started in January.

Where the benchmarks come from

The National Retail Federation's 2025 holiday survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, found consumers planned to spend $890.49 per person on holiday gifts, food, decorations, and seasonal items — the second-highest figure in the survey's 23-year history. Of that, $627.93 went to gifts for family, friends, and coworkers, and $262.56 to seasonal items. Other surveys bracket it: Gallup found gift-only spending of $778 per person in November 2025, Deloitte measured $1,595 per household across the whole holiday, and PwC put per-person holiday outlay at $1,552 including travel and entertainment. The ledger's defaults use the NRF figures because they split gifts from everything else, which is exactly the split a budget needs.

Five related tallies

How much do people spend on Christmas?The editorial ledger desk.
How much should I spend on Christmas gifts?The editorial ledger desk.
The Christmas budget savings planThe editorial ledger desk.
Average holiday spending statisticsThe editorial ledger desk.
How to save on Christmas shoppingThe editorial ledger desk.

Questions from the gift table

How much does the average American spend on Christmas?: About $890.49 per person in 2025, per the National Retail Federation: $627.93 on gifts for family and friends, and $262.56 on seasonal items like food, decorations, and cards.
How much should I budget for Christmas gifts?: Gifts average about 70% of total holiday spending, so a $890 holiday budget means roughly $627 for gifts. A workable split: partner $100–$200, kids $75–$150 each, parents $50–$100 each, everyone else $25–$50.
How many weeks are left until Christmas?: From mid-October there are about 68 days, or just under 10 weeks, until December 25. The tool computes the exact days from today's date and turns your remaining budget into a per-week savings number.
How much do I need to save per week for Christmas?: It depends on the budget and the start date. $890 saved over the 9.7 weeks from mid-October is $91.62 a week; the same $890 started on December 1 needs $259.58 a week. Starting early is the whole trick.
Is it cheaper to save for Christmas or put it on a credit card?: Saving wins by the interest. Financing $890 at 24% APR over 6 months costs $63.33 in interest ($158.89 a month). Saving $91.62 a week from October costs nothing extra.