The Party Money Tree

Americans find a way to enjoy the company of family and friends during the holidays. They share gifts and the go to parties to be with, and to support each other socially.

But is there any money to be made servicing the party goers? Do Americans spend their money to attend parties?

We and American Express agree that the money is there…

And if a research study by the American Express company is any indication, the party spending is very big.

The December American Express Spending & Saving Tracker 2009 reports that, “In addition to spending money on gifts, consumers also plan to spend money on parties related to Christmas as well as New Year’s Eve. More than to-thirds (69%)  plan to celebrate the holidays with family and friends, and 90% of them plan to make purchases related to festivities.

If this study is correct, then about 207,000,000 people will join in some sort of party with family and friends during the holidays. And further math would suggest that 186 million will spend money for something to bring to the party.

There is a lot of Partying going on! And a bunch of money is being spent as well….

Both brick and mortar and online e-tailers benefit from the sales to these festivity participants.  But the online merchants seem to be smiling the brightest this holiday season.  It is a fact that many retailers make or break their year based upon the sales results between Thanksgiving and New Years.  It appears that parties play a big role in fueling their sales.

This same tracking survey showed that 79% of consumers will use the internet as a tool for holiday shopping, with 45% planning to make a purchase online.

So,  it appears that without the party, the holidays may not be all that fun…  at least financially and socially.

The following is a list of popular parties from a Party Planner site.

All of these events pluck some money from the Party Money Tree…

• Anniversary party
• Bar/bat mitzvah
• Birthday party
• Bon voyage party
• Children’s party



• Cocktail party
• Dinner party
• Engagement party
• Family reunions
• First communion and confirmation party
• Fundraisers
• Graduation party
• Holiday party
• Open-house party
• Retirement party
• Social events for business
• Theme party
• Wedding showers

...to grand mothers house we go.

With almost 20% of Americans choosing to travel less this year; will personal and family connections suffer from the reduced involvement? The answer is probably yes. But there are some solutions that can help fill part of the gaps.

In a survey conducted by American Express and reported by Media Post’s Jack Loechner, we learn that; “19% of the general population who traveled last year will be staying home in 2009”.

The survey also suggested that more people are going to drive this year instead of flying, which will further cut into the quality family time this holiday season. When you consider that just over 60% of us did no holiday traveling last year, we have the makings of a very blue season. Which means, we won’t be seeing grandma or others as much as we would in better economic times.

But families can be creative when finding a replacement for this loss of face to face visiting.  The personal visit can be replaced by a virtual connection made in one of the many social networks or applications on the internet.

With these new web-based tools, Grandma can see the new baby on Skype… The young professional can share her thoughts and pictures with Mom and Dad through Facebook… And Uncle Bob can use YouTube to show-off the gifts he opened at his holiday party.

None of these solutions are as good as the feeling of sitting with friends and family around a warm fire, but the internet can replace some the connections that distance may have cooled.

Many of these online applications allow us to remain close, even when distance and money are restricting our travel plans. Joining together online will at least provide some measure of the family togetherness that we all crave during the holidays.

This year we may be traveling less, and missing a few hugs, but online activities like AlbinoPhant will bring grandma a little bit closer to her family , even if we don’t go over the river or through the woods.

What are you doing to share the holiday spirit online?