As Christmas approaches, the desire to delight family and friends is colliding with increasingly tight household budgets. For many French shoppers, the festive season is no longer just about generosity, but about financial juggling.
This year, French people expect to spend an average of €297 on Christmas presents — €26 less than last year — according to a new survey published by Flashs on behalf of brokerage service Ymanci. Yet despite cutting back, a significant share admit they cannot rely solely on their current income to cover festive costs.
Conducted among 2,000 adults, the study highlights a growing gap between social expectations and financial reality, with many households turning to alternative ways to fund their Christmas shopping.
Savings, instalments and loans fill the gap for Christmas spending
While 59% of respondents say they will pay for gifts using only the money in their current account, 41% admit they are resorting to other solutions. Among them, 44% plan to dip into their savings, while an equal share say they will opt for “no-fee” instalment payments offered by retailers.
More concerning, 26% of those delaying payment are using some form of credit, whether through an authorised overdraft, a payment plan or a revolving credit facility.
“More than 4 out of 10 French people do not have enough cash to finance their Christmas gifts. This is a sad reality, but unfortunately not surprising given the persistent difficulties with purchasing power and the fact that 22% of French people find themselves overdrawn every month according to a CSA survey from January 2025,” the Flashs institute said in its press release.
Confusion over what counts as credit raises concerns
The survey also reveals widespread misunderstanding about what constitutes credit. More than a quarter of respondents (27%) do not consider an authorised overdraft to be a form of credit, while nearly half of French people (48%) incorrectly believe that interest-free instalment payments fall into the credit category.
Despite the financial strain, motivation remains largely emotional. For 84% of respondents, spending more at Christmas is primarily about pleasing loved ones. However, 59% also admit they fear appearing stingy or disappointing others with low-cost gifts. Seven in ten say they adjust their gift budget based on how generous they expect the recipient to be.
“In short, many are willing to postpone their payments or to mobilise resources other than their available money to meet perceived expectations during the holiday season, where the value of a gift sometimes exceeds the immediate budget alone,” the study notes.
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Asked whether clearer rules around gift-giving would make Christmas more peaceful, a majority of respondents agreed. The most popular solution was setting a shared budget, supported by 43% of those surveyed.
Other preferred options included focusing gifts on children only (31%), giving fewer but more symbolic presents (22%), or adopting a “Secret Santa”-style exchange to limit purchases to a single gift (17%).
However, 26% of French people remain opposed to any rules around Christmas gifting, arguing that such measures “would not change anything for them”. According to the study, “This proves that while part of the population aspires to a simpler and less expensive framework, others remain attached to the freedom – or habits – that traditionally structure the holidays.”
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