There's a funny little detail tucked inside a new national poll that I can't stop thinking about. When Americans were asked which emotions they connect with holiday shopping, "stressed" came out on top at 38%, but "joyful" was right behind it at 35%, with "excited" and "grateful" not far off. That's the season in a nutshell, isn't it? It can be wonderful and wearing all at once, sometimes in the same afternoon.
The numbers come from an Ipsos poll conducted for Thrivent, released October 28, 2026. Ipsos surveyed 2,158 U.S. adults between late September and early October, and the full topline results paint a pretty honest picture of where a lot of us are right now. About 38% said they're more concerned about managing their holiday finances than in past years, and among those folks, three out of four pointed to the general cost of everything. Roughly 35% said they feel pressured during the holidays to spend more than they can afford. If any of that sounds familiar, you're far from alone.
A separate survey from Intuit Credit Karma, published October 22 and based on 1,025 adults, landed in a similar spot: half of the people it asked said they're more worried about money this holiday season than last year. It's a different poll with different questions, so the figures don't line up exactly, but the mood does.
Here's the part I find genuinely encouraging, though. People aren't just worrying; they're quietly redesigning the season. In the Ipsos poll, about two in three said they plan to cut back in at least one area, with dining out, gifts and travel leading the list. Among people trimming their gift budgets, 42% said they plan to spend less on gifts and focus on non-monetary experiences with the people they love. Some are making gifts by hand or setting up group gift exchanges instead. And Credit Karma found that roughly four in ten plan to have an honest conversation with friends and family about what they can afford. That's not a sad, scaled-back holiday. That's people choosing what actually matters to them.
Courtney Alev, a consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma, put it in a way I really like: "My advice is to decide what matters most to you this holiday season, set a realistic budget around those priorities and be upfront about your financial limits." I'd add that your energy deserves a budget too. Maybe you've noticed the stress sitting in tight shoulders, a clenched jaw, or that feeling of carrying the whole to-do list on your back, and the holidays tend to pile on late nights, long drives and a lot of time on your feet in the kitchen.
The good news is that a lot of the best ways to unwind don't cost anything. A slow walk after supper when the evening's cooled off, a hot shower or bath before bed, a few minutes of stretching on the living room floor, saying no to one event so you can say a real yes to another, or simply putting the phone in a drawer for an hour are all simple ways to take a breather. None of these is a cure for a tight budget, of course, but they're small ways of giving yourself the same care you're trying to give everyone else.
For some people, a massage is part of that picture, and that's where I come in. At Earthly Escapes Massage, my room tucked inside a hair salon here in Palestine, my whole goal is to give you a quiet stretch of time where nobody needs anything from you and you can let your shoulders drop. It's a calm place to relax and unwind, and I'm glad to be here whenever it fits your life and your budget, whether that's before the rush, in the middle of it, or after the last dish is put away. If you've got someone on your list who's always taking care of everybody else and you've been looking for a gift that isn't one more thing to dust, an experience like that might be worth considering, but only if it fits comfortably in your plan. If it doesn't, a handwritten note offering to take over their chores for an afternoon is a pretty wonderful gift too. You can book a session for yourself on MassageBook.
Whatever your holidays look like this year, bigger or smaller than last time, I hope you leave room in them for a little quiet. The polls say plenty of us are feeling the squeeze, but they also say plenty of us are still feeling joy, and it turns out those two can sit at the same table.
Featured photo: Kuiyibo Campos on Pexels (Pexels License).