Our newest survey has revealed that, while Kiwi men and women both hate being single at Christmas, men are far more likely to view it as a romantic holiday.
- 52% of Kiwi women and 45% of men think Christmas is the worst time of year to be single
- Men are more likely than women to want to celebrate the festive season as a couple
- 69% of men, 51% of women think it’s a great time of year for a new partner to meet the family
- Men are more enthusiastic than women about exchanging Christmas presents
New Zealanders don’t want to be single at Christmas
The survey of 200 New Zealand singles asked respondents to name the day of the year when they least wanted to be single. Men and women are of one mind: 52% of women and 45% of men think being single on Christmas Day is worse than being single on Valentine’s Day or on New Year’s Eve.
However, Kiwi men are more inclined to Christmas romance overall. The singles in the survey were also asked who they most wanted to spend time with at Christmas and, while the majority of Kiwi women (48%) chose a small family gathering as their preferred way to celebrate, men were more smitten with the idea of celebrating as a couple; 44% want to spend Christmas with a romantic partner. In comparison, 38% of men pick family and 26% of women prefer romance.
69% of men think it is a great time of year for a new partner to meet the family
Men are also more likely than women to think of Christmas as the perfect occasion for a new partner to meet the family, with 69% agreeing that everyone being in one place makes it easy. Women were more divided: 51% agree with the men, while 49% think that there’s too much pressure at Christmas.
Men are more enthusiastic than women about exchanging Christmas presents
Kiwi men’s taste for Christmas romance also outstrips women when it comes to gift-giving, with 75% of men thinking that it’s important to buy Christmas presents for a new partner, compared with just 61% of women. Men are also happier to give big items earlier: 14% of men (and just 6% of women) think it is ok to gift something big, expensive, and/or meaningful within the first month of dating.
However, with 38% of women revealing that they’ve been made to feel uncomfortable in the past by being given a fancy gift too soon into a relationship, men in very new romances are urged to curb their festive enthusiasm (at least until next Christmas comes around!).
For more on this study, including the Christmas traditions Kiwi singles would hate to give up (even for love), please see our in-depth article
Press contact: Sophie Watson
EliteSingles Research, PR and Editorial
About the author: The EliteSingles Press Team