All I Want for Christmas Costs a Fortune

Buying New Year and Christmas gifts for your family and friends is often quite expensive. Here are some tips on how to do it within your budget in 2022. The title is a reference to Mariah Carey’s single "All I Want for Christmas Is You"

Example of New year's gifts. Credit: freestocks (https://unsplash.com/@freestocks)

Сolorful garlands, fabulous decorations and fluffy Christmas trees have already begun to slowly bring magic back to the streets of St. Petersburg. It’s great, because soon we will be able to spend more time with our friends and relatives, celebrating the coming of the new year. However, it’s also a time for tiring shopping, including purchasing a huge number of goods along with endless queues — choosing gifts can be a real pain sometimes. You are looking for discounts of any type trying to meet the planned budget, but still want to make everyone happy with their presents. If all of this sounds familiar, then you are not alone with this holiday problem.

New year's budget in Russia

Deloitte, a multinational professional services network, has conducted research on consumer spending during the Christmas and New Year holidays in Russia for 14 years in a row. As you can see on the bar chart below, the average Russian budget from 2016 to 2020 was between ₽15,500 and ₽19,300, while the average actual expenses ranged from ₽16,500 to ₽24,600. Besides, in 2020 actual expenses significantly exceeded the planned amount by 27.5%. Deloitte considers that this fact was caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, which caused a significant decline in the global economy.

Bar chart describing the planned budget and the actual expenses of the average Russian for the New Year. Image courtesy of the author.
Bar chart describing the planned budget and the actual expenses of the average Russian for the New Year. Image courtesy of the author.

Moreover, the pie chart for 2021 demonstrates that 40% of the new year's budget was spent on presents. Over the past 5 years, this number has remained approximately at the same level with slight deviations.

Pie chart describing the percentage of basic expenses for the New Year. Image courtesy of the author.
Pie chart describing the percentage of basic expenses for the New Year. Image courtesy of the author.

Gift from the heart and done by hand

Presents are used to show people how important they are to us, and the best way to do it is to spend your time, not money. Try to remember if you were interested in something at school during art or technology classes. Even if you have never done any handwork, it doesn't matter: there is a wide variety of websites with free guides that a beginner can handle. It’s quite convenient to search for tutorials on Pinterest or YouTube. You just need to do everything step by step and not treat your work too strictly, because any flaws will make it unique. For inspiration you can check out these blogs:

If you don't want to do handicrafts at all, cooking or writing something is also an option: homemade cookies or a paper letter with kind words and wishes will be pleasant for anyone to receive.

Take a look at the charming fair

In case you feel insecure about making a gift by yourself, participating in a workshop or buying hand crafted things is worth trying. Lots of events are constantly held in our city, and one of them is the New year's Handmade and Design Festival, which will take place on 25−26 December 2021 in the Kirov Palace of Culture. It’s a part of the Saint Petersburg Fair, which has existed for 6 years now.

Various accessories, ceramics, sweets and even vintage products — you will definitely find a gift that will suit your loved one. It’s also a great opportunity to learn something new: with the help of masters, it will be much easier to create a glowing slime or dreamcatcher, florarium or christmas tree toy, mosaic or lavender bouquet. After a long walk around the market, you can drink a cup of fragrant mulled wine and try some new dishes there. Don’t forget to download the QR code and take your passport to enter.

The Saint Petersburg Fair on November 27-28, 2021. Photo courtesy of the author.
The Saint Petersburg Fair on November 27-28, 2021. Photo courtesy of the author.

Magical moments together

Presents are nice to receive, but spending time with each other is even nicer. You don't have to give anything, just arrange a short trip to a new place or a movie viewing. A simple walk around the city can become a game with everyone trying to find as many decorated Christmas trees as possible. Speaking of which, how many have you already seen this year?

Written by Alyona Belova