A moment that the whole family is looking forward to is fast approaching: the Christmas holiday. For children, Christmas is one of the most eagerly awaited and magical times of the year, and one of the biggest attractions of Christmas is the presents the little ones receive from Santa Claus.
For parents, it’s the start of an hectic shopping season as they try to balance finding the perfect gifts for their little ones with the realities of family finances and budgets.
So, Clubul Copiilor conducted a survey to find out how much do Romanian parents spend on gifts this year, how their budget changed since last year, what children want most and whether these expectations are being met by the grown-ups. 432 parents took part in the survey, the wide majority living in Romania’s big urban centers.
Below are the most important findings of our study, which we will detail later:
- The average holiday gift budget per child is 195 lei in 2023;
- The average holiday gift budget per child is strongly influenced by the family size. Families with one child spend an average of 217 lei per child on presents, compared to 182 lei per child for those with two children and 137 lei per child for those with three children;
- Compared to 2022, the holiday gift budget remains unchanged for most Romanians (60%) in urban areas. In contrast, a quarter say this year’s budget is lower than the previous year;
- The most popular gifts that parents intend to buy this year are toys (64%), books (50%), games (48%), clothes and clothing accessories (42%) and sweets (38%);
- Children want largely the same things, with some notable differences: 13% want a pet and 8% want money.
Holiday Gift Budget
Despite rising prices and higher cost of living, the budget allocated to holiday gifts in 2023 remains unchanged from last year for most Romanians in urban areas. In contrast, a quarter of parents surveyed said they would reduce their gift budget this year and 14% said they would increase it. A significant proportion, around 60%, of parents maintain a budget similar to last year for Christmas presents.
The average budget allocated for all Christmas presents is around 1000 lei per family, for about 6-7 presents.
Budget per child
The average budget per child is around 195 lei, indicating a balanced concern between giving quality gifts and keeping the budget reasonable.
Families with one child allocate a more generous budget, on average 217 lei, reflecting the desire to provide special attention and gifts on an individual basis.
In families with two children, the budget per child drops to 182 lei, and in families with three or more children, it reaches 139 lei. This phenomenon suggests an adjustment of the budget according to the number of family members.
There is a progressive budget increase in the budget as children get older. Children under the age of 2 receive a budget of around 170 lei, while later age groups, such as 2-4 years, 4-6 years and over 15 years, receive increasing budgets, even reaching 255 lei for children aged 4-6 years.
Parents with children aged 6-9 and 9-12 pay special attention to budgets, allocating 194 and 195 lei respectively, indicating careful consideration of the specific preferences and needs of these age groups.
Parents’ favorite vs children’s favorite gifts
The data from our study shows clear preferences according to the age group of the children, but also the fact that sometimes children get something else than they really want.
Parents start gifting books to children at a very early age, so the youngest children under 2 get toys, books and games. Toys remain the preferred gift option for parents, with a significant 64% share, reflecting their importance in the culture of Christmas presents for children, but it is important that parents familiarize their little ones with reading and books.
Toys are preferred gifts for children of all age groups, with a significant prevalence of almost 90%, especially among 2-9 year olds. Books, games and clothes are also popular choices, with shares of 50%, 49% and 42% respectively. It is worth noting that sweets and electronic gadgets are also at the top, but with a lower presence, at 38% and 14% respectively, in this age group.
There is a shift in preferences by age, with a shift from toys and games to electronic gadgets, activities or experiences and sports items as children get older. Books remain at the top of preferences, with 6 out of 10 parents choosing to give books to children in the 6-12 age group. For teens aged 12-15, clothes, books and gadgets become top gifts, followed by toys and sweets, indicating increased interest in fashion and personal style.
What do children want from Santa Claus in 2023?
Children under 2 years: In this age group, main wants include toys, books and dolls, highlighting an interest in stimulating creativity and interaction with play objects.
Children aged 2-6 years: They want creative toys, games and books, indicating a need for diverse play experiences and imaginative development.
Children aged 6-12: Creative, role-playing toys remain a priority, reflecting an interest in building, imaginative play and interactive experiences. From this age children would like to receive a mobile phone, console or tablet, suggesting a diversification of interests towards technology.
Children over 12: Priorities shift towards phone/tablet/laptop, clothes and accessories, money and console/video games, reflecting changing interests towards technology, fashion and electronic games. In general, we see a transition from toys and books to technology, fashion and personal experiences as children get older.
The analysis was conducted between 15 November and 3 December 2023, in the online environment, with the questionnaire being published on the clubulcopiilor.ro website and distributed on social media in over 30 groups for parents. The respondents who took part in the questionnaire (432 parents) live in urban areas, and about 50% of them live in the 5 big cities in Romania: Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Brasov and Timisoara. The average monthly income of a family is 7132 lei/month. The target audience was mainly urban families.
