Most Kenyans will spend Christmas with families in homes: Survey

Most Kenyans will spend Christmas with their families in their homes due to financial constraints, a survey conducted by Ipsos shows.

But the survey also shows that for those who will travel on holiday, the Coast is still the preferred destination.

And a majority of those surveyed also expect to receive, and not give, gifts.

New clothes from friends and relatives are among the most popular gifts at 23 per cent.

Other gifts desired by Kenyans who took part in the survey include electronics (5 per cent), cars (5 per cent), livestock (3 per cent) and a holiday safari (2 per cent). However, a quarter of those interviewed did not know what gift they would like to receive. Surprisingly, 12 per cent would want a cash gift to help them buy land or build a home, which is three per cent higher than those that want household shopping done for them.

The findings of the study conducted between December 17 and 19. A total of 1083 people spread across 41 counties were interviewed.

The study was done to find out the spending habits and practices of Kenyans during this holiday season compared to last year’s behavior.

This year it seems the generosity of people will go down slightly by four per cent from last year’s 70 per cent, in terms of gift giving.

The study also showed that 42 per cent of the participants who took part in the research intend to visit their relatives while only 13 per cent will travel for leisure, the rest will spend their holidays at home.

The research revealed that the Coast, as in other years, remains the destination of choice for holiday travelers. The rest of travelling Kenyans will be spending the holidays with their relatives in their home counties.

For many Kenyans, the activities that they will mostly engage in this holiday season will be attending church services, sending holiday text messages to friends and relatives, and hosting friends and relatives in their homes.