As the holiday season kicks into high gear, people are filled with excitement to see family and friends, and kitchens begin to buzz with the familiar aroma of festive dishes. According to a recent Instacart survey of over 2,000 U.S. adults by The Harris Poll, 88% are gearing up to cook festive meals for occasions like Christmas, Hanukkah, or New Year's Eve.
This report explores the food and drink trends surrounding Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year's using Instacart purchase data from the 2023 holiday season—as well as a recent Harris Poll survey.
Winter Holidays: Deliciously Diverse Traditions
'Tis the season to serve holiday dishes at various gatherings, with 67% of those surveyed saying family traditions are a top influence when selecting winter holiday dishes. Leading on the nostalgia front, a notable 73% of women (vs. 61% of men) and the same percentage of married individuals (vs. 62% not married) find themselves most influenced by these time-honored practices. Boomers (70%) are also more likely than Gen Z and millennials (61% and 63% respectively) to tap into their family favorite recipes for the holidays.
When it comes to the different generations, Gen Z and millennials stand out as particularly budget-savvy. Nearly one in three Gen Z (32%) and millennials (30%) consider the cost of ingredients a top priority when planning their holiday feast. And among those who make holiday dishes, 31% of Gen Z and 34% of millennials are adventurous in the kitchen, desiring to experiment with new recipes.
Main dish masterpieces: Turkey (56%) and ham (52%) are the most preferred festive staples on holiday tables. However, the younger generations are venturing beyond the traditional, favoring chicken dishes (47% Gen Z and 43% millennials vs. 28% Gen X and 21% Boomers) and enjoying vegetarian or vegan options (13% Gen Z and 11% millennials vs. 6% Gen X and 4% Boomers).
Sipping Into the Season:
Fun beverages can add to the festive atmosphere of the holidays—and hot chocolate is the clear frontrunner warming the hearts of Americans everywhere. According to the survey findings, here are the top five seasonal sippers Americans say are among their favorite winter holiday beverages:
- Hot chocolate - 58%
- Eggnog - 42%
- Cider - 26%
- Mulled wine - 13%
- Hot toddy - 13%
Gearing Up for Gift Giving:
During the week before Christmas last year, Instacart data showed an unmissable trend: customers were largely focused on preparing their gifts. Gift wrapping paper is a great proxy to measure gift-giving behavior, and orders containing wrapping paper peaked on Dec. 23—just two days before Christmas. In addition, these are the top five items that surged the week before Christmas, per Instacart purchase data:
- Ribeye roast
- Christmas cards
- Gift wrap
- Gift tags
- Stockings
Instacart
Sugar and Spice Delights
For many, the holidays aren't complete without a batch of festive cookies. In fact, 41% of Americans look forward to them each year. But which cookie is the real crowd-pleaser? According to this survey, the top five favorite holiday cookies are:
- Chocolate chip - 57%
- Sugar - 52%
- Peanut butter - 40%
- Gingerbread - 33%
- Snickerdoodle - 32%
While some cookies may fly off the plate at a holiday party, some tend to linger a bit longer. Our survey found that the least favorite cookies are:
- Oatmeal raisin - 21%
- Molasses - 19%
- Peppermint or mint chocolate - 17%
- Meringues - 16%
- Biscotti - 15%
Instacart has created the Candy Cane Index to answer questions like, Is it too early to start hanging holiday lights? There's been a lot of talk over the past few years about starting the holidays earlier and earlier, so Instacart looked within its grocery catalog to see if there was a clear indicator of this trend. It turns out that candy cane purchases are the most closely related item to the beginning of Christmas festivities, so this variable is named the Instacart Candy Cane Index.
Instacart
Early Holiday Spirit Shines With Candy Canes and Latkes
According to the Instacart Candy Cane Index, orders containing candy canes passed a critical seasonal threshold a full week earlier in 2023 compared to 2017. The earliest this happened was in 2020 (Nov. 30) and 2021 (Nov. 29), when people were social distancing and craving holiday joy sooner than ever before.
Instacart anticipates this year the trend will keep pace with 2023, likely with an increase for candy cane purchases on or around Dec. 3.
A Hanukkah favorite: Bring out the sour cream and applesauce to enjoy alongside classic Jewish latkes. On the first day of Hanukkah last year, orders for latkes increased by an impressive 2,626% compared to the yearly average. Instacart data also showed that purchases for latkes jumped around other notable Jewish observances of Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur in early April and mid-September in 2023.
Instacart
New Year's Tradition: Black-Eyed Peas for Luck and Prosperity
According to Southern tradition, eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is considered to bring luck and prosperity in the year ahead. On New Year's Eve, the share of orders that contained black-eyed peas spiked 2,480% above the yearly average order share. Georgia alone ordered black-eyed peas 217% more often than the overall national average.
Instacart
Survey Method:
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Instacart from September 19-23, 2024, among 2,077 adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.
This story was produced by Instacart and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
