The high cost of holiday shopping this year is the Grinch that has many parents struggling, but someone may be stepping in to help save Christmas for some families — grandparents.
As parents feel the stress of managing expenses this holiday season, a new Interac survey reveals that some are turning to grandparents for help.
Around two-thirds (66 per cent) of Canadian parents say rising costs are making it harder to manage their holiday spending, and more than half (52 per cent) are worried about overspending this holiday season, the Interac survey released on Wednesday shows.
More than one in five (21 per cent) said they are relying on grandparents for holiday support, while a third (33 per cent) said grandparents are spending more on presents for kids than parents are.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
Canadians are approaching the holiday season with a “heightened sense of caution on spending,” said Chris Lee, head of payments at Interac.
This is reflected in the more than four in 10 (45 per cent) Canadian parents who said they plan to spend less than $500 on gifts and one in four (25 per cent) saying they plan to spend more than $500 and less than $1,000.
Only around 28 per cent said they planned to spend $1,000 or more.
The pressure parents feel around making the holidays special increases as kids get older, the survey found. Parents of children aged 13 to 17 reported feeling more pressure than parents with children between the ages of two and 12.
Parents with toddlers under the age of two said they felt the least amount of pressure.
But for most parents, this pressure comes with regret. Nearly three in four (74 per cent) said they felt financial strain after overspending around the holidays in past years.
Among parents who reflected on their holiday spending last January, 56 per cent felt stressed, overextended or remorseful.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Read the full article here
