What is the Average Budget for Christmas in Australia?

As we plan for the upcoming Christmas season, you might be wondering: what is the average Christmas budget? Especially when it comes to children, parents worry whether they are spending enough on presents compared to other parents. But that number may not always be realistic. Not everyone pays for Christmas out of their savings. People who use different loan systems, like credit cards, Buy Now Pay Later services, and Christmas loans, take up a total of 53% of Christmas spenders. So let’s dive into Australia’s average Christmas budget and our attitudes towards this pricey time of year.

Summary

Even during the cost of living crisis, the average Christmas budget is predicted to increase in 2025 compared to previous years, with gifts taking up most of the spending. Australian parents also have upwards of $400 in the average Christmas budget per child. Even parents in vastly different situations or mindsets will still spend a similar amount on each other. Older Gen Z and younger Millennials spend the most at Christmas, while older Gen X and younger Baby Boomers spend the least. In general, Australians struggle to stick to a budget and prioritise snagging a deal at Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Australia has a similar average family Christmas budget to the UK and US, but spends more on food.

Overview:

• What is the average Christmas budget for 2025?
• What is the average Christmas budget per child?
  • Teenagers vs younger children
  • Average Christmas budget per child in 2025
  • Average Christmas budget per child 10 years ago
• Does the average Christmas budget change depending on demographics?
  • Christmas budget per generation
  • Christmas spending depending on relationship
• Are Australians spending less this Christmas?
  • Christmas budget expectations vs reality
  • Bigger focus on sales events
• What is the average Australian Christmas budget vs the rest of the world?
  • Australia vs UK vs USA vs Canada
  • Christmas food budget and Australian culture
  • Other interesting statistics from around the world
• How can you do a frugal Christmas this year?
• FAQs

What is the average Christmas budget for 2025?

According to 9 News, the average Christmas budget was $1,479 in 2023 and went down to $1,357 in 2024 due to financial stressors. However, surveys show conflicting results. For example, a 2024 ASIC report found that the average Australian estimated that they would spend $783 on Christmas. It should also be noted that 45% of respondents admitted that they overspend on their budget. So, the issue may not be the average Christmas budget amount, but the ability to stick to it!

It’s hard to say what exactly the average Christmas budget will look like this year. Australians are stuck in a Christmas Catch-22, where the cost of living pressures influence and reduce holiday spending but higher prices end up causing overspending. Deloitte’s 2025 Retail Holiday Report predicts a 14% increase in average Christmas spending this year.

What is the average Christmas budget per child?

Teenagers vs younger children

It’s very common for most of the Christmas budget to be taken up by gifts—especially when you have kids.

In 2021, Australians with teenage children spent $336 per child. Those with children aged between 5 and 12 had an average Christmas budget per child of $277 and $250 for parents with children under 5. While children may argue the youngest is always spoiled, it turns out that parents spend more on children as they get older.

Average Christmas budget per child in 2025

Similar to the statistics on average Christmas budgets, the average Christmas budget per child also varies. One source found that festive season budgets per child were $582 and another stated an average Christmas budget per child in 2023 was $419. The previously mentioned 2021 survey averages to $287.

No matter what the true value is, it looks like that parents in 2025 with multiple children will have an average budget for Christmas gifts of the mid-hundreds—to even over a thousand dollars.

Average Christmas budget per child 10 years ago

While inflation has played a big part in the increasing average Christmas budget over the decade, we can still learn from buying habits over time. A casual survey by a parenting blogger in 2013, showed that the difference between types of parents and situations doesn’t seem to heavily influence the average Christmas budget.

It didn’t matter whether people had higher income, set budgets, had older or younger children, or even had different values for budget per child, the spending differences are not overly drastic. With the overall average budget for Christmas gifts per child at $143, the lowest average in any given category was $117, which were parents who only bought their children what they needed. However, all the other attitudes towards amount per child (overall value the same, same number of gifts, strictly spending the same amount, or loosely spending the same amount) spent between $140 and $148.

The highest average budget for Christmas per child in any given category was $175, which were families with two full time incomes. Families with two incomes also showed the biggest disparity, spending $175 per child compared to $129 for those without two incomes.

Does the average Christmas budget change depending on demographics?

Christmas budget per generation

We often presume that older generations spend more on Christmas due to having fewer expenses and more disposable income. However, the data is a little more complicated.

According to Deloitte’s 2025 Retail Holiday Report, expected holiday budgets by age are as follows:*

To help you visualise this data more easily, we’ve also included a quick infographic below:

25–34-year-olds, which are the older Generation Z and younger Millennials, have a much higher average Christmas budget than other age groups. While they may be hit harder with cost of living, mortgages and other expenses, it looks like they aren’t willing to give up the joys of the holiday season. This idea persists as 25–34 year olds spend the most on experiences like travel, entertainment and socialising—$247 more than the second biggest spender on experiences (65–99 year olds).

Christmas spending depending on relationship

Australians rarely dedicate an equal amount of their average budget for Christmas gifts to each person. Christmas is much more family oriented for us.

A study by Monash Business School in 2024 found that Australians estimated spending was:

• Immediate family: $474
• Extended family: $277
• Friends: $175

Not everyone planned to buy gifts for each person, with intentions to gift being:

• Immediate family: 88%
• Extended family: 30%
• Friends: 39%

However, the number of people intending to buy gifts for immediate family have slowly decreased since 2021.

Within families, parents spend the most on their children, while children will spend the least on parents. Immediate family average Christmas gift budgets are:

• Partner: $303
• Siblings: $224
• Parents: $185

These numbers only include people who have bought presents for their family members, as most will not buy presents for their parents.

Are Australians spending less this Christmas?

Christmas budget expectations vs reality

Of course, the rapid inflation in the last few years can lead to increased prices for all Christmas expenses – which means that it gets harder to budget. Only 29% of Australians properly stick to their Christmas budget.

It seems that Australians get swept up in the excitement and festivity of Christmas, boosting the average Christmas shopping budget. Australians have been feeling more emotionally positive towards Christmas every year, reaching 60% in 2024. According to a study by Choosi in 2023, parents spend an average of $582 per child for gifts in the festive season compared to $233 per child for birthday gifts. That means that parents are spending a whopping $349 more per child in the festive season.

According to the same study, parents did not expect to spend this much on their children before they started a family. 1 in 5 parents underestimated the costs of children for holidays.

Bigger focus on sales events

For a long time, Australians rushed to the Boxing Day sales after Christmas. However, in recent years, Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals have become popular, reaching their peak as Australia’s top sales event in 2024.

People are attempting to lower the average Christmas shopping budget by purchasing gifts in November. The Australian Retailers Association in 2022 found that 25% of all Christmas shopping is done over the Black Friday to Cyber Monday weekend (33% is done before). It seems that people are seeking more for less – but it doesn’t stop them from spending more.

Christmas is not the only reason why these sales are so popular. Plenty of shoppers are also using Black Friday for personal purchases and everyday needs. Aussie shoppers should also be careful not to double up on sales and focus on not spending too much on personal purchases after this Christmas.

What is the average Australian Christmas budget vs the rest of the world?

Australia vs UK vs USA vs Canada

In 2023, the World Remit investigated the average cost of Christmas around the world (24 countries), focussing on typical food, decorations and gifts. Unsurprisingly, most countries delegated the majority of their budget to gifts.

Compared to other major western first world countries, Australia’s Christmas habits differ. Australia, USA, and UK, Australia all had a similar average Christmas budget with $1.86k, $1.89k and $1.63 respectively. Australia had a fairly even spread between food, decorations and gifts with 32%, 24% and 44% respectively. The US and UK had almost the same average Christmas budget spread with 12%, 19% and ~69%. Both the UK and the USA had the highest percentage of their average Christmas budget for gifts across the countries studied.

Average Christmas Budget Spread Percentage (nearest %)

Here’s a simple visual breakdown of the stats above:

Average Christmas Budget Spread in Australian Dollars

To make things a little easier, we’ve turned the above table into a quick visual guide:

However, Canada sets itself apart from similar countries with an average Christmas budget of $2.69k, which was also the highest average budget recorded in the study. Considering that Christmas costs a significant42% of their monthly income, Canadians might also be the ones struggling to afford Christmas. Canadians still dedicated most of their average Christmas budget on gifts the most, but spent more on food and decorations than the USA and UK.

All four countries were in the top seven for average Christmas budget amount.

Christmas food budget and Australian culture

Australia has a bigger focus on food traditions than the other Western countries. This corresponds with the Australian Institute’s study on Christmas waste with only 11% of Australians not having a distinct Christmas meal and 75% keeping leftovers from Christmas meals. The study also found that 70% of people spend more on groceries over the festive season, suggesting that Australians have a culture that surrounds food more than the UK and USA do, who prioritise gift giving more.

Other interesting statistics from around the world

As discussed above, culture likely influences the spread of a country’s average Christmas budget. The average wealth of a country will also influence it.
Here are some fun facts gathered from the World Remit study:

• Guatemala had the highest food spending percentage: 64%
• The Dominican Republic had the highest decorations budget percentage: 80%
• Colombia had the lowest Christmas budget for food: 10%
• France, Guatemala and Dominican Republic tied for the second lowest food budget percentage at only 11%
• The countries with the most even spread of their budget were:
• India: 40% food, 27% decorations and 33% gifts
• South Africa: 26% food, 27% decorations and 38% gifts
• Uganda spent the least with an average of $101 spent on Christmas

How can you do a frugal Christmas this year?

Interestingly, according to a report by the Australia Institute, more than half of Australians (52%) would prefer not to get presents at Christmas. Plenty of presents are left unused and sometimes even returned. While this study does not include the opinions of children, it may be important to start discussions around expectations for Christmas gifts with family and friends before everyone starts buying gifts. If your family still enjoys giving presents, consider setting some rules for the Christmas budget for gifts.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all Christmas budget, the data shows that Australians continue to prioritise generosity despite cost-of-living challenges. Whether through careful planning or taking advantage of sales, understanding spending habits helps families make informed financial choices this holiday season.

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FAQs

What is the “7 Gift Rule” for Christmas?

The 7 Gift Rule actually started as the 4 Gift Rule, which was a way to control overspending for children’s Christmas gifts. The four gifts were: something they need, something they want, something to wear and something to read. This attempt at more thoughtful gifting expanded to the 7 Gift Rule, now including: something to do, something for “me” and something for family. It’s also a way to structure kids’ Christmas wishlists.

What is a reasonable budget for Christmas?

A reasonable budget is whatever is realistic to you. Set aside whatever you are willing to spend for Christmas gifts. People often decide to spend the most on immediate family and scale the spending on closeness of relationship.

How much money is spent on Christmas worldwide?

In 2023, people spent an estimated $1.4 trillion (Australian dollars) in the holiday season around the world. Australia spends $69.7, which makes up just under 5% of worldwide spending.