Santa Claus is coming to town, but his reindeer may have a lighter load to carry on Christmas Eve than in previous years.
According to a Gallup poll released Nov. 15, 34 percent of Americans say they will be spending less on Christmas gifts this year than last year, about 50 percent plan to spend roughly the same and only 12 percent plan to spend more.
Chris Taylor, a senior at U. Nebraska, thinks the economy will have a big effect on his Christmas this year.
“I definitely think so. I work full-time and I’m still having problems saving the money,” he said.
Taylor works in construction, a field he said hasn’t been very lucrative lately. He said there is less construction work available because a bad economy means fewer new buildings go up.
He usually saves up throughout the year to buy presents for many of his friends and acquaintances. However, this year he said he hasn’t been able to save up as much. As a result, he’ll only be giving presents to family and close friends.
The economy has also affected his shopping habits.
“I’m taking more advantage of sales when I see them. I think my family has been too,” he said.
Matthew Harrison, a U. Nebraska sophomore, doesn’t think the economy will affect his Christmas plans very much at all. He said that since he lives with his parents and pays for few of his own expenses, he doesn’t have to worry about scaling back on Christmas gift costs.
He said he doesn’t expect his family to be strongly affected by the bad economy either. When asked if the economy would change their plans at all, Harrison said, “Not a whole lot.”
Laura Judd, a Nebraska junior, said her family will be doing Christmas differently this year. Instead of each family member giving and receiving gifts from every other family member, each person will bring one gift to be randomly chosen by another. There will be a limit to how much each gift costs and recipients can trade gifts with one another.
Judd said her family’s revamp of their Christmas traditions may stem partly from the bad economy, but that the new way of exchanging presents will also make gift-giving more interactive and enjoyable for the group.
“I think it’ll be fun,” Judd said.