Last-minute shoppers aren't the only ones feeling pressure as the holiday weekend approaches.
Almost all of us dread something about the holiday season, according to the fourth installment of the Consumer Reports Holiday Poll of 2016. In fact, only 3 percent of respondents claimed to dread nothing during this busy time of the year.
Topping the list of concerns are long lines and aggressive drivers. But the complaints aren't the same across all age groups, according to the poll.
(Check out our first, second, and third Holiday Polls of 2016.)
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Long Lines, Family Get-Togethers
Nobody wants to stand in lines or deal with crowds during the holiday season, but more millennials (those ages 18 to 35) dread it. According to the poll, 64 percent detest lines and crowds, compared with 53 percent of Gen Xers (ages 36 to 51) and 55 percent of baby boomers (ages 52 to 70). Considering the stress of standing in line and the convenience of shopping online, it's no surprise that more people shopped online this holiday season than ever before.
Political discussions with family members, attending parties, and hosting relatives or other guests also cause holiday angst among more millennials, compared with Gen Xers or baby boomers.
Getting into debt during the holiday season is particularly painful for Gen Xers. A greater percentage worry about holiday debt more than any other generation: 36 percent, compared with 29 percent of millennials and 25 percent of baby boomers. Americans are spending more this year than in 2015, perhaps a reason they are worrying so much about debt.
Putting up holiday decorations, then getting the house back in order after the holidays also plagues more Gen Xers than baby boomers.
Fewer baby boomers seem to dread these holiday circumstances, although they do share some of the typical concerns, like gaining weight and avoiding aggressive drivers.
Check out the complete results from the poll in the table below.
Not Everyone Looks Forward to the Holidays
Holiday Poll Methodology: The Consumer Reports National Research Center designed a survey to explore general sentiment and shopping behaviors for the 2016 winter holiday season. In December 2016 ORC International administered the phone survey to a nationally representative sample of more than 2,000 randomly selected adult U.S. residents; 78 percent will be shopping this holiday season. The data were statistically weighted so that respondents in the survey were demographically and geographically representative of the U.S. population. The margin of error for holiday shoppers is +/- 2.5 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. Fifty-three percent of the sample was female, and the median age was 44 years old.
