40% of Americans say summer is the season they look forward to the most

By Vanessa Mangru // SWNS

NEWS COPY w/ VIDEO + INFOGRAPHIC

Summer, please don’t go. 

Many Americans are in denial about summer ending until they feel a chill in the air, according to new research.

A survey of 2,000 Americans found that most people don’t want the summer to end, and just one in five consider the Autumn Equinox the end of the season (22%).

Meanwhile, others accept summer is ending, and some shared their favorite ways to close out the season – whether it’s going to the beach, a vacation, or an amusement park.

Other favorite ways to close out the summer include having a barbecue (32%) or a relaxing day at the park (18%).

The results showed that people will mostly miss the warm weather (52%) and wear fewer clothing layers (45%) once summer is gone.

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Chinet, the survey found that half of Americans even admitted they feel sad at the thought of summer ending – which is no surprise since it’s the season people look forward to the most (40%).

More than three in five people wish summer lasted longer (63%), and a third of those wouldn’t mind if summer lasted two months longer.

And people are most likely to miss summer in the cold month of January (24%), dreaming about the comfort foods of the warm season like watermelon (43%), barbecue (37%), and ice cream (36%).

However, the party won’t stop for more than half of respondents who plan to remain in summer mode even after the season is over (54%).

More than half of Americans plan to continue hosting social activities or gatherings when summer ends (55%), such as casual gatherings (60%), birthday parties (50%), or movie nights (45%).

No matter their preference of activity, people enjoy spending the end of summer with their loved ones.

For nearly two in three (63%), ending the summer means seeing family and friends one last time, probably until the holidays roll around.

"For so many of us, summer is the time we get together in big ways and small,” said Alexis Guetzlaff, senior product and brand manager at Huhtamaki, the makers of the Chinet. “It's been a really hard year, so it's no surprise that people are really valuing gathering when they can, so much more.” 

The majority of Americans get to spend the most time with their friends and family during the summertime (68%), and the same amount said their favorite memories of being with their loved ones are from the summertime.

Those who see their friends and family often in the summer have a tough time seeing them at other times of the year because of the cold weather (48%), conflicting schedules (44%), or because they have to keep their kids in school (44%).

When hosting their loved ones, people admitted that they’d rather use disposable tableware instead of their dishes to have less clean-up at the end (55%), when they host a large number of guests (46%) or guests outdoors (45%).

"Regardless of what type of gathering you are hosting, the most important part is the time you get to spend together,” said Guetzlaff. "Using disposable tableware is a great way for the hosts to spend less time worrying about clean-up and more time enjoying their company."

WHAT WILL PEOPLE MISS ABOUT SUMMER?

1. Warm weather (52%)
2. Wearing fewer layers of clothes (45%)
3. Summery fruit (38%)
4. Barbecues (34%)
5. Eating ice cream (33%)

SUMMER FOODS/SCENTS PEOPLE WILL MISS

1. Watermelon (43%)
2. Barbecue (37%)
3. Ice cream (36%)
4. Pineapple (26%)
5. Popsicles (25%)
6. Slushee (24%)
7. Cherries (23%)
8. Corn (22%)
9. Coconut (19%)
10. Seafood (16%)