How Much to Spend on Gifts: What the Surveys Say

What people actually plan to spend

The best public numbers come from annual holiday surveys run by retail trade groups and consultancies. They measure what people plan to spend, not what they end up spending, and each one draws the line around gifts a little differently. Treat them as a sense of scale, not a target.

In the US, the National Retail Federation surveyed 8,247 adults from October 1 to 7, 2025. Respondents planned to spend an average of $890.49 on the season, of which $627.93 was for gifts for family and friends and $262.56 for food, decorations, cards and other seasonal items. NRF called it the second-highest figure in the survey's history.

In Canada, the Retail Council of Canada and Leger polled more than 2,500 adults in August 2025. Average planned gift spending was C$975, with a wide spread by province: about C$620 in Quebec and C$1,193 in Alberta.

In the UK, PwC's festive forecast published in December 2025 put average Christmas spending at £461 per adult. That figure covers gifts and the rest of the season, with food and drink near the top of the list, so the gift share is lower than the headline.

In Australia, the Australian Retailers Association and Roy Morgan forecast that people buying gifts would spend an average of A$757 each in 2025, up 7.1 percent, while the share of adults planning to buy gifts fell to 68 percent.

• US: US$627.93 on gifts, US$890.49 all-in (NRF, October 2025)
• Canada: C$975 on gifts (RCC and Leger, August 2025)
• UK: £461 per adult all-in (PwC, December 2025)
• Australia: A$757 per gift buyer (ARA and Roy Morgan, 2025)

Turning a season budget into per-person amounts

A season total only helps once you divide it. Write down everyone you plan to buy for, then split the total in rough tiers. Most people end up with one or two large gifts, a handful of medium ones and a longer tail of small ones.

The ranges below are our suggestions for a household spending near the survey averages, not survey findings. Scale them up or down with your own total. They work in US, Canadian or Australian dollars; in the UK, knock roughly a quarter off.

• Partner or spouse: 100 to 250
• Children in the household: 75 to 200 each
• Parents and siblings: 40 to 100 each
• Grandparents: 25 to 60
• Close friends: 20 to 50
• Nieces, nephews, godchildren: 20 to 40
• Coworkers, Secret Santa, hosts: 10 to 25
• Teachers, coaches, service providers: 10 to 25, and check the school's rules

Occasions outside December

Birthdays usually track one tier below a holiday gift for the same person, since there is no expectation of a pile. Weddings run higher: many guests set the amount by how close they are to the couple and what they can afford, not by the cost of the meal. Housewarming and thank-you gifts sit in the small tier, usually a bottle, a plant or something edible.

Graduations, retirements and baby showers depend heavily on the relationship. A coworker's retirement collection might be 10 to 20 from each person; a godchild's graduation might be the biggest gift you give that year. None of the surveys above measure these occasions in a way we could verify, so use your own tiers.

How to agree a budget in a family

Most gift stress comes from mismatched amounts, not low ones. The fix is to say a number early, before anyone starts shopping. Someone has to go first, and it is easier if it is framed as a plan rather than a complaint about money.

Options that tend to hold up: a flat cap per adult gift; a family draw where each adult buys for one other adult; gifts for children only; or a joint experience instead of individual presents. Agree it in October or early November so nobody has already bought something above the line.

• Pick one number per gift, not a range, so nobody has to guess
• Say whether shipping, wrapping and gift cards count toward it
• Decide what happens with partners and new in-laws before the day
• Revisit the rule each year rather than assuming last year's still holds

How to agree a budget at work

Office gifting has its own pressure. A Harris Poll survey for Express Employment Professionals, run in Canada in June 2025, found 47 percent of hiring managers said employees felt pressured to spend a specific amount on gifts, and 73 percent of job seekers said that pressure falls harder on people who earn less.

Keep workplace amounts small and the same for everyone: 10 to 25 in local currency is common. Gifts should flow across or down, not up to a manager. If a group wants to give a boss something, make it a card or a small shared gift with an optional, anonymous contribution.

When the budget is tight

The averages are just that, and the same surveys show many people cutting back or hunting for deals. A smaller list beats a long list of thin gifts. Tell people early that you are scaling back, give consumables or time instead of objects, and drop the reciprocal exchanges that nobody enjoys. Nobody remembers the price of a gift as long as they remember feeling obliged.