93% of NY’ers Celebrate Thanksgiving; Turkey Tops Stuffing As Favorite Food; 53% Plan to Watch Football

Special Thanksgiving and Black Friday Weekend Poll

• 52% Will Shop for Gifts During Holiday Weekend; Nearly 3/4 Think the Thanksgiving Meal Will Be More Expensive Than Last Year; 27% Won’t Talk Politics at Thanksgiving
• 68% Excited about Holiday Season; 36% Plan to Up Spending this Year; Only 41% Have an Actual Holiday Spending Budget
  
  

Press Release     Crosstabs

Loudonville, NY –Ninety-three percent of New Yorkers celebrate Thanksgiving with 86% gathering with friends or family for the holiday dinner on Thanksgiving Day according to a new statewide survey of consumers released today by the Siena College Research Institute (SCRI). While turkey is the clear favorite food of the holiday for 31% of residents, Thanksgiving tables will also be filled with stuffing (19%) and an array of vegetables and sides (9%). Nearly 3 in 4, 72%, anticipate this year’s Thanksgiving meal will cost more than last year. Asked whether or not they are excited about the upcoming holiday season, 68% of New Yorkers are very (28%) or somewhat excited (40%) for the season – a slight increase from the previous year and returning near the average of the past 16 years.

On Thanksgiving Day, a majority of New Yorkers, 53%, will be watching football games with more men tuning in than women (65-45%). A nearly equal share of residents (52%) will be shopping for gifts during the holiday, Black Friday, and throughout the weekend. A minority of consumers, 41%, say they have a budget for holiday expenses including gifts, food, and decorations with 36% of New Yorkers anticipating spending more than last year and 39% who think they will spend about the same as last year.  Consumers are changing their spending in response to the inflation and state of the economy, with 29% increasing and 36% decreasing their holiday spending, while 34% say that economic conditions has no effect on their holiday spending.  In response to the outcome of the 2024 Presidential election, 62% of New Yorkers say the election outcome will have no effect on their holiday spending.  

“With the election in the rearview mirror, New Yorkers are excited to come together with friends and family for the Thanksgiving holiday to watch football, go shopping, and to enjoy their favorite foods,” according to SCRI Associate Director of Data Management, Travis Brodbeck. “Most are planning on spending more on their Thanksgiving meal this year but only a third of New Yorkers anticipate spending more during this holiday season compared to last year,” Brodbeck said. 

During the Thanksgiving holiday, 27% of New Yorkers say politics will not be discussed.  Among non-partisan voters and independents, nearly 4 in 10, 37%, do not allow conversations about politics compared to 19% of Republicans and 23% of Democrats. Of those who permit political discussions during the holiday, 41% of residents say that they agree politically with the people they celebrate Thanksgiving with opposed to 26% of New Yorkers who will spend Thanksgiving with people that they disagree with. Forty-seven percent of Democrats and 48% of Republicans will share Thanksgiving with people who they agree with compared to 32% of Independents.

A majority (58%) of New Yorkers do not have a specific budget for their holiday spending. There is a gap between men and women in using a budget for their holiday spending with just over a third, 37%, of men with a budget compared to nearly half of all women, 46%. Budgeting for the holidays also differs across age groups, with 50% of residents aged 18-34 using budgets compared to 27% of those who are 65 or older. Of those who use a budget for the holiday season, two-thirds (67%) of consumers will shop for gifts during the holiday and the Black Friday weekend compared 42% of those who do not have a holiday budget. Forty-three percent of residents who do not budget for the holiday season say that inflation and state of the economy will impact their holiday spending and 71% of consumers without a budget for the holiday season will not change their holiday spending based on the outcome of the 2024 Presidential election. 

“Most consumers are planning on spending the same or more money this year on their holiday season expenses, despite the limited use of holiday budgets,” Brodbeck said. “Interestingly, nearly an equal share of residents across all income groups anticipate spending more this year.”

Asked to describe the holiday season in one word, New Yorkers viewed the season from different perspectives with some expressing joy (15%) and thinking about family (12%) but others are stressed (13%) and focused on money and expenses (15%). 

“The team at Siena College Research Institute wishes you all a happy and safe holiday season,” Brodbeck said.

This Siena College Poll was conducted November 11 – 18, 2024, among 803 New York State Residents. Of the 803 respondents, 453 were contacted through a dual frame (landline and cell phone) mode (109 completed via text to web)  and 350 respondents were drawn from a proprietary online panel (Lucid). Telephone calls were conducted in English and respondent sampling was initiated by asking for the youngest person in the household. Telephone sampling was conducted via a stratified dual frame probability sample of landline and cell phone telephone numbers weighted to reflect known population patterns. The landline telephone sample was obtained from ASDE and the cell phone sample was obtained from Marketing Systems Group (MSG). Data from collection modes was statistically adjusted by age, party registration, region, race/ethnicity, and gender to ensure representativeness. It has an overall margin of error of +/- 3.9 percentage points including the design effects resulting from weighting.

The Siena College Research Institute, directed by Donald Levy, Ph.D., conducts political, economic, social, and cultural research primarily in NYS. SCRI, an independent, non-partisan research institute, subscribes to the American Association of Public Opinion Research Code of Professional Ethics and Practices. For survey cross-tabs: www.Siena.edu/SCRI/research: www.Siena.edu/SCRI/research.