Christmas Spending 2026: 5 Countries, Ranked in Weeks of Pay

Christmas spending per person in 2026 is forecast at £1,411 in the UK, US$1,654 in the US (Deloitte) and C$1,487 in Canada (PwC); the latest figures for Ireland and Australia are €1,600 per household and A$757 per person on gifts (both 2025). Dollars and pounds don't compare cleanly, so we converted every figure into the number that matters: how many weeks of average pay Christmas costs. On that measure the UK pays most, at almost two weeks' wages.

Most "Christmas spending by country" pages still recycle a 2022 table with no units. Here's a 2026 version that says what each number measures and adjusts it for local pay. It also shows what the season costs if it ends up on a credit card.

The 2026 Christmas spending showdown: one table, five countries

Before the table, one warning: these surveys don't all measure the same thing. Some count gifts only, some count everything (food, travel, decorations), and Ireland's figure is per household. We've labelled each one so you can see what's being compared.

Country by country: what's driving the bill

United Kingdom: highest burden, and it's mostly inflation

VoucherCodes forecasts a record £93.76bn of Christmas retail spending, £1,411 per person and up 2.9% on 2025, but with volumes expected to fall 0.2% (Brit Brief, 19 Oct 2026). Put simply, Britons will pay more and get slightly less for it. CPI was 3.5% in September 2026 (ONS), while average weekly pay was £757, up 3.7% (ONS). Credit is the expensive part: the effective rate on interest-charging credit cards was 21.71% in September (Bank of England). We followed three women through that January bill in Christmas on a credit card 2026.

Ireland: energy is eating the Christmas budget

No 2026 Irish survey was published at the time of writing, so we used Retail Ireland's 2025 figure of €1,600 extra per household (RTÉ, Dec 2025). The 2026 pressure is clear in the official data, though. Flash HICP inflation hit 4.0% in October with energy up 18.3%, while food rose just 0.1% (CSO). Games, toys and hobby items were up 5.6% in September's CPI (CSO). On the €1,600 figure that's almost €90 more if the basket rose that fast, so the Christmas turkey is fine and the heating is the problem.

United States: spending up, experiences down

Deloitte's 2026 survey puts average holiday spend at $1,654, up 4% from $1,595: $988 on retail goods (+10%) and $666 on experiences (−4%) (Deloitte, 15 Oct 2026). NRF forecasts November–December retail sales of $1.013 trillion, up 4.2% (NRF). Prices rose 3.7% in the year to September; food at home rose only 1.8% (BLS). The Fed's G.19 shows credit card accounts assessed interest paid 22.15% in Q2 2026 (Federal Reserve), the highest rate in this comparison. Our deeper US breakdown is in holiday spending 2026: we ran the numbers.

Canada: the only country cutting back

Every 2026 Canadian survey points down. Deloitte expects C$1,305, down 14% and the lowest since the survey began (Deloitte Canada). PwC finds C$1,487 per person, down 11% (PwC Canada). The Retail Council of Canada and Leger report C$911, down 6.5% (Retail Insider). The surveys use different methods, so they give a range rather than one number. CPI was 3.1% in September (Statistics Canada). The FCAC uses 19% to 21% as typical purchase rates in its examples (FCAC).

Australia: cheapest in weeks of pay, but toys are the shock

The ARA–Roy Morgan 2025 estimate was A$757 per person on gifts (Australian Retailers Association). Its 2026 forecast hadn't been published when we checked. Australian pay is high (A$1,579.20 a week for all employees, ABS), so the gift bill looks small. But monthly CPI was 4.3% in the year to September, and games, toys and hobbies rose 15.5% (ABS). A toy-heavy list that cost A$757 last year would cost about A$874 at that rate, before the RBA's rate rise to 4.85% lands on mortgage repayments. If you're shopping the sales, our Black Friday Australia plan is dated to the day. Holding David Jones gift cards? Read our David Jones gift card checklist before you shop.

The cheapest Christmas in this table isn't the one with the smallest number. It's the one that's fully paid by 31 December.

What the same Christmas costs on a credit card

If you spend the national average and pay it off in equal monthly instalments, here's the interest you'd pay at each country's official or typical card rate. We left out Australia and Ireland because we couldn't verify a comparable official average rate.

A year of slow repayment adds roughly 12% to the cost of Christmas in each country. On a UK salary that's an extra £171, about a day's pay, for presents that were opened in December. The fix isn't spending nothing. It's deciding in November how much will be paid off by the January statement, and making that your budget. Our simple way to set your holiday number starts from that question.

What each country can learn from the others

Who usually holds the gift list matters too. In many homes it's still women who plan, buy, wrap and remember, which is a hidden job of its own (the hidden cost of the mental load). If December already feels heavy, the free 7-Day Money Anxiety Reset journal is a gentle way to look at the numbers before they look at you. Shopping on a reduced income this year? Our NZ unemployment data story and the UK student loan payslip breakdown show where else money is being squeezed this month.

Quick answers

How much does the average person spend on Christmas in 2026?
It depends on the country and what's counted: £1,411 per person in the UK (all festive retail), US$1,654 in the US (Deloitte, goods plus experiences), and C$911–C$1,487 in Canada depending on the survey.

Which country spends the most on Christmas?
Of the five we compared, the UK has the heaviest Christmas relative to pay, at 1.86 weeks of average earnings. In raw dollars, the US Deloitte figure is the highest.

Is Christmas spending up this year?
In cash terms, in the UK (+2.9%) and US (+4%), yes. In Canada, every major survey shows a fall. UK volumes are expected to fall 0.2%, so higher spending mostly reflects higher prices.

Where can I get free help with Christmas debt?
US: CFPB. UK: MoneyHelper. Canada: FCAC. Australia: Moneysmart. Ireland: MABS.

Sources

1. Consumer price inflation, UK: September 2026; Average weekly earnings in Great Britain: October 2026 – ONS, 2026 – ons.gov.uk / ons.gov.uk
2. Money and Credit, September 2026 – Bank of England, 2026 – bankofengland.co.uk
3. CPI September 2026; Employment Situation Table B-3 – US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026 – bls.gov / bls.gov
4. G.19 Consumer Credit – Federal Reserve Board, Oct 2026 – federalreserve.gov
5. Consumer Price Index, September 2026; Payroll employment, earnings and hours, August 2026 – Statistics Canada, 2026 – statcan.gc.ca / statcan.gc.ca
6. Consumer Price Index, Australia; Average Weekly Earnings, Australia – Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2026 – abs.gov.au / abs.gov.au
7. Flash HICP October 2026; CPI September 2026; Earnings and Labour Costs Q2 2026 – Central Statistics Office, 2026 – cso.ie / cso.ie
8. Credit cards: how they work – Financial Consumer Agency of Canada – canada.ca
9. Deloitte 2026 holiday retail survey (US), 15 Oct 2026 – deloitte.com; Deloitte Canada holiday retail outlook, 14 Oct 2026 – deloitte.com
10. NRF winter holidays forecast 2026 – National Retail Federation – nrf.com; PwC Canada holiday outlook, 6 Oct 2026 – pwc.com
11. Brits forecast to spend record £94bn on Christmas (VoucherCodes report) – Brit Brief, 19 Oct 2026 – britbrief.co.uk; RCC/Leger survey – Retail Insider, 20 Oct 2026 – retail-insider.com
12. ARA–Roy Morgan Christmas 2025 – Australian Retailers Association, Dec 2025 – retail.org.au; Pureprofile survey – eCommerceNews, 26 Oct 2026 – ecommercenews.com.au; Retail Ireland 2025 – RTÉ – rte.ie