The Great Christmas Contradiction continues… What Your Customers Won't Admit About Christmas (But Their Wallets Will)

Every year, brands ask what Aussies want for Christmas. The problem? Aussies are terrible at answering.

To get to the heart of this beautiful mess, we spoke with nearly 1,000 people across the country for our Nine Consumer Pulse research. We didn't just ask about their intentions for Christmas 2025; we looked at the massive gap between what they say they want and what they'll actually do.

They talk a big game about simplicity, connection, and rejecting commercialism. Yet, their behaviour screams a love for festive ads, a Pavlovian response to a good sale, and a spending reality that laughs in the face of their minimalist intentions.

This canyon of contradiction isn't a problem for your brand; it's the single greatest opportunity of the season. The key to unlocking a bigger share of the planned $10.1 billion in gift spending is to stop navigating this "festive friction" and start exploiting it.

Here are the five truths you need to embrace.

1. The Contradiction is the Entire Point. Lean Into It.

The defining feature of the 2025 Aussie Christmas is a glorious contradiction. A significant 44% say they want a calmer, slower pace, and 40% want to focus less on "stuff." Yet a whopping 66% admit that Christmas ads make them feel good, and 60% of their purchases are directly triggered by sales.

Your Action Point: Stop marketing to the person your customer claims to be. Market to the person they actually are. Your messaging can whisper sweet nothings about connection and simplicity, but your activation strategy must scream value and inspiration. The brands that win will wrap their hard-hitting, value-driven offers in a warm blanket of sentiment, validating both the emotional dream and the pragmatic reality of their customers.

2. Sell Them Yesterday. Nostalgia is Your North Star.

There’s a collective ache for the past, with 41% of Australians admitting they "miss the way Christmas used to feel." This isn't about a retro font; it's a gut-level yearning for a time that felt simpler and more magical. They crave comfort, not chaos.

Your Provocation: Stop showing us snow-dusted European villages. A full 31% of Aussies say their ideal Christmas is a BBQ in the backyard with immediate family, yet 22% feel their reality is never reflected in ads. Your job isn't to create a new Christmas fantasy; it's to tap into a cherished memory. Reflect their real, sun-drenched, cicada-filled Christmas back at them. Give them humour, give them heart, and build a connection so powerful they feel you've been at their family lunch for years. (See: AAMI’s "When the festivities are over" for a masterclass).

3. Christmas is a Six-Month Marathon, Not a Sprint.

The frantic, last-minute December dash is a myth. To manage squeezed budgets, your customer is now a long-range planner. By the time the Halloween decorations are down at the end of October, a staggering 24% of all gifts—worth $2.4 billion—are already bought and paid for. These aren't stocking stuffers; big-ticket gifts are twice as likely to be planned and budgeted for (55%) compared to small, impulse buys (25%).

Your Action Point: A single-burst December campaign is a waste of money. You need a three-act play.

Act I (Sep-Oct): Target the planners with considered inspiration for their budgeted "main gifts." Get on the shopping list early so start speaking to them before Halloween!

Act II (Nov): Capture the peak-season rush with promotions, sales and broader reach.

Act III (Dec): Switch to convenience and urgency for the last-minute panic buyers. Serve up easy inspiration and last minute gift solutions

4. 'Friends-mas' is the New Boxing Day.

The main event on the 25th is no longer the only show in town. The entire season is now peppered with celebrations, led by the cultural phenomenon of "Friends-mas." A massive 40% of Australian women will be celebrating with their mates in 2025. These gatherings with friends and colleagues have their own rituals, their own budgets, and their own needs.

Your Provocation: What are you doing for the office Kris Kringle? The 'Mates-mas in July' reunion? These moments are wide-open spaces, free from the insane clutter of the main Christmas week. They represent fresh opportunities for your brand to become part of a new, cherished tradition. Get in there.

5. Value is the New Magic. (But They Still Secretly Crave Magic).

With a third of Aussies (33%) feeling Christmas is more of a financial burden than a celebration, festive frugality is the default setting. It's why the use of 'Secret Santa' has doubled since last year, with 60% of us now participating.

But here’s the devastating side-effect of this prudence: we've optimised the joy right out of Christmas. When asked for the most influential factor in a gift purchase, "recipient recommendation" is #1 at 66%. "Sentimentality"? It has plummeted to a heartbreaking 8%. We're giving people receipts, not surprises.

Your Ultimate Challenge: This is your mission, should you choose to accept it. Help your customers feel smart and savvy with their money. Give them bundles, price-pointed gift guides, and products that scream quality over quantity. But don't stop there. Find a way to re-inject the joy, the surprise, and the magic that has been lost. If you can deliver on the pragmatic need for value while reigniting the childlike wonder they secretly miss, you’ll have a very merry Christmas indeed.

Inspiration From Brands Who Get It:

AAMI - When the festivities are over: The peak of authentic, relatable Aussie Christmas humour.

ALDI - Outback Santa: Perfectly Aussie-fies a universal Christmas story.

Telstra - Together is For Christmas (2024): A masterclass in focusing on connection over product.

Source: Sleigh What? Christmas 2025 Unwrapped, Powered by Nine