One in Five (21%) Canadians are Too Busy Preparing and Organizing Holiday Festivities to Fully Enjoy This Holiday Season
Being too busy preparing for the holidays often means less time for friends and family. A majority (54%) of Canadians `agree' (14% strongly/40% somewhat) that `I would rather spend time with friends and families than preparing for the holidays, but I am responsible for making the holiday special'. A minority (46%) `disagree' (11% strongly/35% somewhat) that they would rather spend time with friends and family than prepare for the holidays.
For a majority though, the holidays are a special time that can be used to bond with friends and family, which makes the holidays more festive. Four in five (83%) `agree' (30% strongly/53% somewhat) that `I don't mind spending time and effort to prepare for the holidays as long as I am doing these activities with friends and family', while only one in five (17%) `disagree' (5% strongly/12% somewhat). Seven in ten (71%) `agree' (25% strongly/46% somewhat) that `I enjoy holiday preparation activities before the holidays because they enhance my holiday spirit', compared to three in ten (29%) who `disagree' (9% strongly/20% somewhat).
Although Canadians can be too busy to enjoy the holiday season or like the time spent preparing for a number of reasons, there are still some that don't do anything special for the holidays. Four in ten (36%) Canadians `agree' (10% strongly/25% somewhat) that they `don't do anything special to prepare for the holidays', while two-thirds (64%) `disagree' (31% strongly/33% somewhat).
When thinking about all that goes into holiday planning, it's easy to see how one in five Canadians are too busy to fully enjoy their holidays. Four in ten (43%) feel that shopping for gifts is the activity that takes up most of their time when it comes to preparing for the holidays, followed by preparing meals (13%), communicating with loved ones (13%), and decorating (12%). One in ten say making do-it-yourself gifts (6%), wrapping gifts (5%), or some other reason (7%) takes up most of their time when it comes to preparing for the holidays.
Canadians Still Prefer Traditional Greetings
New modes of communication have allowed Canadians to give and receive holiday greetings in a number of ways. Despite access to new ways of giving and receiving holiday greetings, Canadians still prefer traditional and conventional methods.
When it comes to how they will most likely express their holiday wishes this year, three in ten Canadians plan to use in-person greetings (31%) or written cards and letters (29%), while one in five (22%) will express their holiday wishes via phone call. Only one in ten will use social media channels, like Facebook or Twitter, (9%) or E-cards (6%), while 1% will express holiday wishes by video chat, like Skype, and 2% will use some other method.
Canadians are just as likely, if not more so, to prefer receiving these forms of traditional greetings. Two in five (39%) prefer to receive in-person greetings, while three in ten (30%) prefer written cards or letters. One in five (18%) prefer to receive phone calls from friends, families, or other loved ones. Canadians are also less likely to prefer receiving new ways of delivering holiday greetings. 5% prefer to receive greetings via social media channels, while only 4% prefer to receive E-cards. 2% prefer video chats or some other form of greeting.
Important Holiday Experiences
For many, the holidays are an important time for spending time with friends and family to taking a short break before the New Year. Three-quarters (74%) of Canadians believe `spending time with friends/families/loved ones' is `very important', while another one in five (22%) believe it to be `somewhat important'. Only 4% believe spending time with loved ones this holiday season is `not important' (2% not at all/2% not very). Three in five (61%) believe `hearing from friends/families/loved ones' is `very important, while one in three (33%) believe this to be `somewhat important'. One in ten (7%), however, believe hearing from loved ones is `not important' (1% not at all/5% not very).
Half (45%) of Canadians see `giving gifts that I know my family/friends/loved ones will enjoy' as `very important', while nearly the same number (40%) think this is `somewhat important'. One in five (15%) see giving gifts they know their loved ones will enjoy as `not important' (4% not at all/11% not very). One-quarter (24%) of Canadians also believe `spending time and effort to prepare for the holiday celebration' is `very important', while nearly twice as many (47%) think this is `somewhat important'. Three in ten (29%) believe this holiday preparation is `not important' (7% not at all/22% not very important).
Receiving desired gifts, however, is of much lower importance to Canadians in terms of importance than these other actions. Only 5% of Canadians believe `receiving the gift I want' is `very important', while one in five (22%) say it's `somewhat important'. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of Canadians believe receiving the gift they want is `not important' (29% not at all/44% not very).
While most Canadians state that receiving the gift they want isn't important them during the holiday season, there are still gifts that are seen as meaningful and thoughtful that they appreciate receiving. Two in five (39%) consider `purchased items that I wanted but didn't expect to receive' as the most meaningful type of gift, while one-quarter (23%) consider `something made for me that cannot be purchased (such as a do-it-yourself craft, photo book, etc.) to be the most meaningful. One in ten say the most meaningful holiday gift is a donation to a charity (7%), items on my wish list purchased from a merchant (6%), or some other type of gift (6%). One in five (20%) Canadians say they don't want a gift this holiday season.
Interesting Demographics
- Middle-aged Canadians (26%), aged 35-54, are most likely to `agree' that they're too busy preparing and organizing holiday festivities to fully enjoy the holiday season, compared to young Canadians (20%), aged 18-34, and Canadian seniors (16%), aged 55+.
- Ontarians (31%) are most likely to use in-person greetings to give holiday wishes this year, residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (45%) are most likely to use written letters or cards, while Albertans (32%) are most likely to use phone calls. Residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (39%) and Alberta (28%) are most likely to prefer receiving holiday wishes in the way they prefer to give them, while Quebecers (48%) are most likely to prefer in-person greetings.
- Men (43%) are more likely to not do anything special to prepare for holidays than women (29%), and also more likely to not want a gift (27% vs. 14% women).
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between November 30th to December 3rd, 2012, on behalf of Hewlett-Packard. For this survey, a sample of 1,020 Canadians from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/- 3.5 percentage points had all Canadians been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Sean Simpson
Associate Vice President
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
416.572.4474
[email protected]
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