As the survey authors told RG, more than a quarter of respondents (29%) believe their spending will increase by 30%. One in seven plans to spend between 10% and 20% more than last year, and between 13% and 50% more. On the eve of 2022, spending a quarter of respondents on a festive party, gifts and travel amounted to 30-50 thousand rubles. One of the highest spending items are gifts. However, Muscovites remain true to themselves and are going to give as many gifts as on the last holiday. Only 16% of those surveyed are not going to give gifts.
City dwellers often buy gifts in classic stores: 39% of those surveyed in Moscow do so. The rest buy souvenirs in multi-category markets (33%) or online stores (27%). Most of the respondents say that gifts, as a rule, are bought at the last moment: 27% start thinking about it only in December, and 16% even a couple of days before the holiday. About a quarter (23%) buy gifts in November, the season of big sales.
By December 31, 18% are decorating artificial fir trees, which are now more popular than live ones. The most popular are snow-covered Christmas trees with cones 150, 180 and 210 cm high, as well as miniature tabletop Christmas trees. Every year, every ninth survey respondent renews all or part of the Christmas tree decorations, and every fourth also takes New Year’s decorations for the house. The ones they most want to buy right now are garlands for windows, rain for the photo zone, golden bows, decorative cones and colored flags for the Christmas tree.
A year ago, Muscovites preferred to spend their holidays in large companies. Half of the respondents did this: 33% received guests at home on New Year’s Eve, and 18% went to a restaurant or club. Only 5% of those surveyed celebrated the holiday only under the Christmas tree. Now many people are not ready for noisy festivities: almost four times more Muscovites than a year ago go to celebrate the New Year alone at home or in a narrow circle (18%), and one in five will not celebrate it at all. Options at the dacha with a company or visiting friends are considered by 17%, but almost none of the respondents go to a restaurant or club.
