Christmas is around the corner, and data from YPulse’s Winter Holiday Plans report shows the vast majority of young consumers in both North America and Western Europe plan to celebrate the holiday with family. But while they have this in common, there are cultural differences in the other ways young gens in these regions approach Christmas. Young Europeans prefer traditional activities (like pulling out the board games) while young consumers in North America are more often planning to see their friends for Christmas.
These three stats from YPulse’s Winter Holiday Plans report show how young North Americans and Western Europeans keep different traditions, and make new ones, when celebrating Christmas:
Young Europeans want to unplug and play board games this Christmas
When given the choice, three quarters of young Europeans would rather play board games than video games over their holiday. And while this is still the more popular choice in North America, it’s by a much slimmer margin. Board games are perfect for socializing and spending time with family and friends, especially during the cozy holidays. Board games are particularly popular in Western Europe, thanks to a post-pandemic environment where young consumers have been truly appreciating meaningful IRL get-togethers. YPulse has also seen that Gen Z is in search of their “third places,” where they can connect at a deeper level over a shared activity—and we predict we’ll see more brands invest in becoming this space in 2024. The fact that more board game cafés are opening in the region, too, highlights young Europeans’ excitement to gather for a tabletop game.
But, it’s worth mentioning that the bigger excitement for board games in this region is only a seasonal trend. Data from YPulse’s Hobbies and Passion report shows young people in both regions like playing board games in similar numbers. And data from YPulse’s recent Gaming report also shows that gaming is entirely part of Gen Z’s culture, regardless of where they live. So, it’s just for holidays celebrations and gatherings that young consumers in Western Europe are less likely to play video games than their North American peers; the rest of the time, they’re gaming with just as much energy.
Young North Americans are more likely to be celebrating Christmas with friends than Europeans
Over two in five young North Americans plan to celebrate Christmas with their friends, but less than a third of 13-39-year-old Europeans plan to do so. And when given the choice, a quarter of young North Americans would rather be spending time with their friends than their family over Christmas, whereas less than one in five would do so in Western Europe. This is not to say that young Europeans don’t love their friends (YPulse data shows it’s quite the contrary), but that holidays in the region are a more family-first time. However, it’s still a clear minority who would rather friends to family and YPulse data shows family is very much the primary plan in North American as well. In fact, over nine in ten 13-39-year-olds in both regions say they plan to celebrate Christmas with their families, meaning they’re seeing family just as much.
Young Americans are +8pts more likely than their Western European peers to agree with the statement “Spending time with friends at Christmas is as important as spending time with family,” though. These stats show it’s more common in North American culture to have friends around to celebrate Christmas, whereas young Europeans are sticking to the traditional family time. Which makes sense given North Americans show a bigger interest in changing up the traditions they grew up with…
Young Europeans like keeping things traditional at Christmas
Young people in the Old Continent aren’t ready to give up their Christmas traditions. Data from YPulse’s Winter Holiday Plans report shows three quarters would rather do traditional activities over non-traditional ones, +8pts more than in North America. Examples of such traditional activities include making a Christmas wreath, attending a carols concert, decorating a gingerbread house, going to a Christmas market, buying a Christmas tree, watching a tree lighting ceremony, and many others—which vary by local culture, as well. For example, YPulse data shows over half of young Europeans plan to buy an advent calendar this year, whereas only a quarter of young people in North America plan to do so.
Young North Americans are more open to doing non-traditional things this season—a big one being traveling somewhere other than home for the holidays. One in ten 13-39-year-old Europeans say travelling best describes their holiday plans, whereas it’s one in five in North America say so. Few young Europeans consider traveling away from friends or family over the winter holiday, preferring to stay close and do as many traditional activities as they can.
