How much are Americans spending this holiday season?

Gifts. Decorations. Travel. There are many fun things to spend money on this time of year. But just how much are Americans spending this holiday season? Let’s unwrap this year's trends.

What you'll learn

• Is holiday spending up or down this year? 
• Holiday gifts, self-spending and more
• Drivers dominate holiday travel

Is holiday spending up or down this year? 

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the average holiday season spending per person was around $902 in 2024 and is expected to fall just 1.3% to around $890 in 2025. This amount is the second-highest in the NRF survey’s 23-year history after last year’s record amount.

Online shopping continues to be a popular choice for consumers during the holiday shopping season. 55% of people say they plan to make their holiday purchases digitally, and 44% of people say they plan to shop at department stores.

NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen said. “With more consumers planning to seek out sale events this year, retailers are prepared to deliver on deals and value to ensure consumers have everything they need to make the holiday special.”

(In case you’re wondering what the holiday shopping season includes, it covers all of November and December, including four major holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.)

PRO TIP: Start looking ahead. Avoid impulse purchases by planning your purchases ahead of time. Take advantage of after-Christmas sales to grab birthday presents, anniversary gifts, etc.

Holiday gifts, self-spending and more

Those who plan to celebrate this holiday season (91% of U.S. adults) say that a majority of their holiday spending will go to buying gifts for their family and friends. Like previous years, gift cards remain the most popular gift option due to their convenience and flexibility. 

After gift cards, the most popular holiday gifts for this season include, in order, clothing or accessories, books and other media, personal care or beauty items, and electronics.

While gifts account for about 73% of the approximate spend during the holiday season, the remaining is spent on food, candy, decorations and holiday cards.

PRO TIP: Set a holiday spending budget. Start the holiday season by creating a budget and deciding what you will spend on gifts, decorations, etc. Avoid splurging on something not on your list because it’s a good deal. Also, follow these tips to protect yourself from fraud this holiday season.

Drivers dominate holiday travel

So we’ve covered the gifts and the decorations, what about travelling to grandmother’s house (or a cruise ship port)?  In a typical year, according to the U.S. Travel Association, the top leisure activity for U.S. domestic travelers is – surprise! – visiting relatives. Travel is predicted to be significantly up this winter season.

In 2025, AAA predicts that a whopping 81.8 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home for Thanksgiving, which is a 1.6 million increase compared to last year, setting a new record.

Of those travelers, 73 million were expected to drive, 6 million will fly, and the remaining 2.5 million will travel on cruises, buses and trains.

The top domestic destinations this Thanksgiving will be Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, New York City, Anaheim/Los Angeles, San Francisco and Honolulu.