Mecenat Insights: Students plan a low-key Christmas with distance in both celebration and shopping

We have asked the students about Christmas and the Christmas celebration and they seem well prepared that this year’s holiday will not be as it usually is. They are planning a small-scale celebration with the family and the majority will shop online for Christmas. A lot of them started last week by shopping bargain gifts during Black Week.

The authority’s message of restrained Christmas celebration when it comes to socializing seems to have reached the student group. 70 percent of those who responded to our survey state that they plan to celebrate Christmas in a small group with only the immediate family. Just under 20 percent have a somewhat wider interpretation and plan to celebrate with a slightly larger part of the family. A few will stay at home themselves and watch TV, some will hang out with a friend while 5 percent say that they will not celebrate Christmas at all.

Despite low key celebrations, Christmas presents seem to remain in the planning and 66 percent started shopping them last week during Black Week. The students own wish list for Christmas presents is similar to the one from last year when we asked the same question in Mecenat Insight. Clothes and shoes are by far the most common and after a big jump down to the next on the list, furnishings, gift cards, make-up & accessories, followed by computers and home electronics, a bit further down.

At the bottom of the list, it is not a surprise to find treat or events such as travel and restaurant visits, i.e., things that are limited by the pandemic. Nor is it a sensation that a large majority of students plan to avoid possible crowds in the city and instead do most of their Christmas shopping online.

At last, we can state that this year’s Christmas present, according to the retail organization HUI, the storm kitchen, is not something that students in general hope to find under the Christmas tree. Only 8 percent say they will have it on their wish list.

The survey was conducted during week 47 and was answered by 1,931 students.