Is Holiday Stress Overrated?

Dec. 14, 2006 -- "Ho, Ho, Ho" may be winning out over "Bah Humbug" this holiday season. A new Gallup poll shows most Americans are feeling happy rather than harried this holiday season -- coping well with the shopping lists, crowded malls, and holiday stress.

Though nearly everyone agreed Christmas is over-commercialized (85%), the survey of more than 1,000 Americans showed fewer than a third are actually bothered a great deal by that.

In fact, only four in 10 Americans said they feel the holidays are more stressful than other times of the year.

Parents of young children may feel the stress of playing Santa more than those without children at home. Half of those with children under 18 said they find the holidays very or somewhat stressful, compared with a third of adults without young children.

Holiday Joy or Holiday Stress

The nationwide telephone survey, conducted Nov. 27-29, shows most Americans find holiday shopping to be more of a joyful experience than a chore (although women were slightly more likely to find joy at a mall than men).

Again, parents of young children were more likely to report being stressed about holiday shopping; and women appeared to bear more of the shopping burden than men.

Perhaps as a result, only 34% of men said holiday shopping was very or somewhat stressful, compared with 51% of women.

Overall, women found the holidays to be slightly more stressful than men, with 45% of women vs. 31% of men calling them very or somewhat stressful.

But stress happens year-round.

When people were asked to compare their holiday stress level to other times of the year, more than half (56%) said they felt about the same amount or less stress during the holidays.

The poll is based on random telephone interviews with 1,003 adults 18 and over and has a margin of error of +/- 3%