NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Welcome to exhausted America 2025: Most adults are more than a little fine with , and many plan to be asleep before midnight on New Year’s Eve, according to a new AP-NORC poll.
About 6 in 10 Americans say cash or are 鈥渧ery鈥� acceptable as holiday presents, but they鈥檙e much less likely to say that about a gift that was purchased secondhand or re-gifted, according to a new poll from .
鈥淐ash is OK for the grandkids I guess,鈥� said Nancy Wyant, 73, in rural central Iowa. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 a gift giver.鈥�
Come , she’ll be fast asleep before 2026 rolls around. 鈥淎t our age, we don’t do anything,鈥� the retired bus driver said with a laugh of herself and her live-in partner. 鈥淗e鈥檚 set in his ways.鈥�
They’ll be joined by the 44% of Americans who say they won鈥檛 stay up to greet 2026, according to the poll. About half of U.S. adults age 45 or older won鈥檛 make it to midnight, compared with around one-third of adults under age 45.
Consider 23-year-old Otis Phillips in Seattle, an outlier for his age. He, too, will turn in early. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the holidays that doesn鈥檛 really feel special to me,鈥� said the master’s student.
Most say cash makes an acceptable holiday gift
Cash is a safer gift for younger adults. The poll found about two-thirds of Americans under 45 say cash is a 鈥渧ery鈥� acceptable holiday gift, compared with 55% of adults age 45 or older.
鈥淓verything鈥檚 too expensive nowadays. And I don鈥檛 want to go buy a gift for somebody and then it turns out they don鈥檛 like it. So cash,鈥� said Gabriel Antonucci, 26, a ski resort cook in Alaska, about an hour outside of Anchorage.
Most people at least grudgingly accept various gift types, with about 9 in 10 saying cash or gift cards are at least 鈥渟omewhat鈥� acceptable and about 6 in 10 saying the same for secondhand gifts and re-gifted items.
Teresa Pedroza, a 55-year-old mom of two adult sons in central Florida, is mostly not on board.
鈥淚 don’t like it when kids say they want cash, or I should get teenagers gift cards,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t kind of takes some of the charm away from gift giving.鈥� But she acknowledged reaching for cards a time or two out of convenience.
About three-quarters of adults under age 45 say secondhand gifts are at least 鈥渟omewhat鈥� acceptable, compared with about 6 in 10 adults age 45 or older. About 4 in 10 adults age 45 or older say secondhand gifts are 鈥渟omewhat鈥� or 鈥渧ery鈥� unacceptable.
Many keep holiday decor up beyond the new year
It’s not just your pesky neighbors who leave their holiday decorations up into January. About one-third of U.S. adults say they鈥檒l leave them up after New Year鈥檚 Day.
It鈥檚 more common for people to leave their decorations up after the holiday season than to put them up early, according to the poll. About 2 in 10 Americans say they put up holiday decorations before Thanksgiving.
鈥淚 just had my husband bring down the bins. If we weren鈥檛 expecting company, I wouldn鈥檛 even bother to decorate, honestly. I鈥檓 tired of doing that,鈥� said Pedroza, the Florida mom of two.
Many will celebrate Christmas Day with sports
About one-quarter of U.S. adults say they鈥檙e planning to watch sports on Christmas Day, while only 5% will head for a movie theater.
Men are much likelier than women to say they鈥檒l watch sports on Christmas, and older Americans are much more likely than younger Americans to tune in. About 2 in 10 adults under age 45 say they plan to watch sports on Christmas, compared with about 3 in 10 adults age 45 or older.
Phillips does plan to break out his red sweater with the green Christmas tree that one of his grandmothers knitted for him a couple of years ago.
鈥淪he made all kinds of things for me growing up,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is by far my favorite.鈥� Phillips has it in rotation for his part-time job as a grocery checkout clerk.
He’s the outlier once again. Women are much likelier than men to say they鈥檒l wear a holiday sweater or accessories.
Gifts for pets and Elf on the Shelf
About 3 in 10 U.S. adults say they will give a gift to their pet this year.
In Iowa, Wyant’s nearly 3-year-old boxer-Great Dane mix named Indy is among them.
鈥淪he’s a very spoiled dog,鈥� Wyant said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 got too many toys, so she’s getting treats this year. She loves her treats.鈥�
And the red felt elf that parents move around the house every night as a Santa spy to see which kids have been naughty or nice? Only about 1 in 10 U.S. adults say they鈥檒l do Elf on the Shelf.
鈥淣oooo,鈥� Pedroza said when asked if she’d ever done the elf for her kids. 鈥淢y younger son was very well-behaved. I didn’t have to use any kind of tactics.鈥�
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,146 adults was conducted Dec. 4-8 using a sample drawn from NORC鈥檚 probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 4 percentage points.
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