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The “socializing season” this winter will include 25 hours of mingling at 11 different festive events – and $788 spent on new outfits, according to new research.
A survey of 2,000 Americans who celebrate a winter holiday found, of the 70 percent who plan to attend at least one celebration during the season, the average event-goer will be quite busy.
Throughout their holiday festivities, the average attendee will meet five new people and see four they’d rather avoid.
Sixty-one percent find holiday socializing to be stressful, which might explain why attendees plan to leave a third of events early and will turn down an average of four invitations.
And 44 percent plan to make an “Irish exit” this year – sneaking out without saying goodbye.
Between holiday meals with family, office parties and other get-togethers, 56 percent of respondents are tired of all the socializing by the end of the season.
Commissioned by Lightbox and conducted by OnePoll, the survey found despite being tired by the end, 71 percent do look forward to holiday socializing during the winter.
Still, there’s a variety of factors that would help respondents further enjoy it – 44 percent say they would look forward to socializing more if they felt confident in their outfit.
This was followed by not having to dress up in fancy clothes (42 percent) and knowing their close friends also made the guest list (41 percent).
And by the end of the “socializing season,” two-thirds (67 percent) feel they’re running out of outfits to wear – but part of that’s because 74 percent try not to be outfit-repeaters.
The average respondent plans to make about four shopping trips to prepare for their festive schedule – spending a whopping $787.97 on clothing and accessories for holiday events.
Some of this money might be ill-spent though, as 55 percent of socializing respondents have bought something for a holiday party and never worn it again.
And this year, specifically, the average respondent thinks they’ll buy three items they won’t wear again.
“Look, we believe spending almost $800 on clothes you won't wear again is unfortunate – why not be yourself and upgrade your look with something unexpected?” said Sally Morrison, the CMO of Lightbox. “Play with a bright blue eyeliner and spend that money on clothes you won't wear again on a great piece of jewelry. You can have a spectacular lab-grown diamond piece of jewelry from Lightbox for that same amount of money and the cost per wear is going to make much more sense.”
Figuring out what to wear actually held respondents back from attending events – almost half (43 percent) have canceled on an event because they felt they had nothing to wear.
Respondents want to look their best when attending an event, and results found it takes them an average of one hour and 10 minutes to get ready.
Still, when it comes to what they’re wearing, 64 percent prefer to accessorize outfits they already own, instead of buying new clothes.
And 70 percent agree: It’s the little things that can make or break an outfit.
“Naturally, holiday parties can be stressful. The results make it clear that people don't really enjoy getting all dressed up but still want to feel confident,” said Morrison, Lightbox’s CMO. “An easy way to look and feel put together while staying comfortable is to invest in eye-grabbing accessories like fun pink or blue lab-grown diamond jewelry that will also give you a lot of bang for buck well beyond the holidays.”
RESPONDENTS WOULD BE MORE LIKELY TO ENJOY HOLIDAY SOCIALIZING IF THEY ...
Feel confident in their outfit/clothing 44 percent
Don’t have to dress in fancy clothes 42 percent
Know their close friends are invited/planning to attend 41 percent
Don’t need to go shopping for new clothes to attend 40 percent
Have to worry less about their outfit/clothing 39 percent
Event starts in the afternoon (instead of the evening) 36 percent
Location is close by/on their way 36 percent
Expect there to be good food and drinks 32 percent
Hosts’ previous events have been fun 29 percent
Haven’t attended too many events yet during the season 26 percent
Time spent at events:
• 2.34 parties with friends and family x 2.28 hours spent = 5.34 hours
• 2.14 parties for work x 2.11 hours spent = 4.52 hours
• 2.27 sit-down holiday dinners x 2.2 hours spent = 4.99 hours
• 2.41 festive get-togethers x 2.4 hours spent = 5.78 hours
• 2.23 holiday events x 2.18 hours spent = 4.86 hours
• 5.34 + 4.52 + 4.99 + 5.78 + 4.86 = 25.49 total hours spent socializing
Money spent:
• 2.13 online-shopping trips + 2.31 in-store shopping trips = 4.44 shopping trips x $177.47 spent per trip = $787.97 total
