The most wonderful time of the year is upon us and everyone’s getting into the festive spirit, houses are decorated, holiday music is playing, and millions of Americans are rushing around gift shopping hoping to snag that perfect gift – but how do we Americans compare to our UK cousins across the pond when it comes to gift giving?
Luckily the team at Snapfish has analyzed gift giving etiquette in the United States and the UK to draw some interesting differences and similarities.
Hey big spender! Overall, the US spends more on gifts than our UK cousins, go big or go home right? Surprisingly though, it seems that the US is also more frugal than the the UK with 20% of Americans saving their money and not buying any gifts this holiday season.
It’s good to see that Chivalry isn’t dead with both US and UK men spending a lot more on gifts for their partners than women.
It seems our UK cousins are still polite with the UK saying its not ok to return a gift, we Americans on the other hand think it’s fine to return an unwanted gift (no-one really wants to keep that ugly sweater right?). Politeness isn’t dead in the US yet however with Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming saying it’s not ok to return a gift.
Well there you have it, we Americans spend big, the UK is still super polite and keeps unwanted gifts, and men in both the US and UK spend the most on their partners, often buying luxury gifts.
Happy Holidays!