Fed Up With Holiday Commercialism, Americans are Starting to Simplify. Poll Shows that 58% Have Taken Steps to Simplify the Holidays.
Takoma Park, MD - It's not a particularly new story. Each year, we all seem to register the same complaint - the holidays have become too commercialized. We spend too much money, get way too stressed out, go further into debt, don't spend enough time with the people we love, and the meaning of the holiday season is lost in a frenzy of TV commercials and newspaper ads.
In fact, according to a new poll by the Center for a New American Dream, a non-profit organization that promotes responsible consumption, Americans are nearly unanimous in their dismay with holiday commercialism. According to the poll, a staggering 91% of Americans feel that the holidays are too commercialized and that the idea of "peace on earth" has been forgotten by too many people. The difference is, according to the study, that people are finally starting to do something about it. According to the survey, almost three out of five Americans report that they have begun taking steps to buy fewer gifts and otherwise simplify their holiday celebration.
"People are learning to reconnect with the joyfulness of the holiday," said the Center for a New American Dream's executive Director Betsy Taylor. "A third of the people we surveyed told us that they were simplifying their holidays to have a celebration that is more in keeping with their family's values. And almost one in four said that they made changes to reduce stress or have more time with their friends and family."
The poll also showed that more than one in four Americans feel pressure to have a more elaborate or expensive holiday than they would like. "Many Americans feel that they've failed their family if their holiday table doesn't look like Martha Stewart's, or if they don't go into debt buying expensive gifts," said Taylor. "By setting some limits, we can reduce stress and debt, and give the environment a break."
Website Offers Practical Tips to Simplify the Holidays
To help the growing number of Americans who are making changes this holiday season, the Center for a New American Dream's website (www.newdream.org) is loaded with free suggestions for a simpler, more joyful holiday celebration. Some of the categories include:
- Gifts for Children
- Homemade Gifts
- Gifts of Time
- Environmentally Friendly Gift Ideas
- Ideas for Donations in the Name of a Loved One
Visitors to newdream.org can even download the Center's free brochure, Simplify the Holidays, or post their own suggestions for creative, inexpensive ways to celebrate the holidays.
Note to media - families from across the country who have made changes in their holiday celebrations are available for interviews by contacting the Center for a New American Dream.
Poll Highlights*
A Growing Movement to Simplify
- 58% of Americans surveyed said that they had taken steps to buy fewer gifts or otherwise simplify their holiday celebration in the last three years.
Dismay with Holiday Commercialism Nearly Unanimous
- 91% feel that the holidays are too commercial and the idea of "peace on earth" has been forgotten by too many people.
Pressure to Have a "Martha Stewart" Holiday
- More than one in four (27%) feel pressured to have a more elaborate or more expensive holiday than they would like.
People Would Rather Save than Spend
- If there were no pressures to give gifts, 39% would either save the money or pay off debts, while only 35% would give gifts as planned.
Reasons for Simplifying
- Of those respondents who have begun simplifying the holidays, one third did so to have a celebration more in keeping with their family's values.
- Almost one in four simplified to either reduce stress (12%) or to have more time with friends and family (11%).
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* Poll Commissioned by the Center for a New American Dream and conducted on November 18-21, 1999 by Opinion Research Corporation International. The survey was administered by phone to 1015 adults nationwide. Findings from the survey have a margin of error of +/- 2% with a 95% level of confidence.