The people in western Finland will spend the most on Christmas presents, 303 euros, whereas residents in northern Finland will only spend 230 euros. Food, decorations and other Christmas-related shopping are the most popular spending objects in southern Finland outside the Greater Helsinki area, with spending amounting to 229 euros, and the least popular in the north, with spending of 180 euros per person.
Finns’ spending on Christmas is still considerably lower than in 2007 when the survey was made for the first time. Then the intended Christmas budget was 630 euros per person. This year the budget is over 20 per cent smaller than the total sum in the peak year.
- We have made this survey according to the same pattern for the past five years, and it has been interesting to follow the development of the Christmas budget. Now families with kids are the least inclined to cut down on Christmas shopping, says Anu Numminen, Nordea’s Private Economist.
This year the Christmas present budget of households with kids will be 351 euros, ie 14 per cent less than in 2007. But even households with kids are ready to spend about 20 per cent less on food, decorations and other seasonal expenses compared to 2007. The amount that will be spent on these is a little over 250 euros per person. Traditionally, Christmas purchases are largely financed with tax returns, which will amount to 2.14 billion euros this year.
- The survey shows us how important a holiday Christmas is for a family with kids. The parents want to build the Christmas spirit for their children and buy presents as usual this Christmas as well. They rather cut on the presents of adults and buy cheaper food, says Numminen.
This information is based on a survey commissioned by Nordea from Synovate, for which 1,165 Finns aged 16–65 years were interviewed. The sample reflects the consumption intentions in Christmas 2011 of more than 3.5 million Finns when proportioned to the entire population.