12 Social Media Insights for the Holiday Season

The holiday season is upon us, and to get you in the mood, we're sharing 12 insights from the online world.

For this analysis, we looked at public social media mentions posted between November 1 and December 6, 2022. The insights originally appeared in our interactive holiday card, but all the data's included here too.

Let's get festive!

1. Consumers are ready to be entertained

What’s your favorite Christmas movie? TV and movies are huge drivers of the conversations around entertainment during the holiday season, making up around 26%.

2. Deals are sparking festive cheer

With many feeling the squeeze this festive period, spending is a hotly-discussed topic online, and the conversation contains a lot of emotion.

Deals and promotions have had over 100k positive mentions around the holiday season so far. Relatively speaking, price and budgeting are seeing a lot more negativity.

3. The biggest names in the holiday conversation might surprise you

Can you guess who the most discussed people on Twitter are over the holiday period so far? Santa Claws, Jack Frost, Rudolph? Nope, the top three names coming up in tweets around the holidays are:

1. Trump

2. Mariah Carey

3. Jesus

4. Decoration is a must this holiday season

Is decorating for the holidays a group activity in your home? We've found over a million mentions of decorating relating to the holidays this year. Family is a big part of this conversation, with many sharing special experiences of decorating alongside their children or parents.

5. r/Cooking is abuzz

Good food and company are some of the reasons why many of us love the holidays.

On Reddit alone, there've been over 14k posts and comments on r/Cooking so far relating to this year's holiday season. Holiday chefs should head to this subreddit for tips and inspiration.

6. There might be a PS5 under your tree

Knowing what to get your friends and family for the holidays can be hard. When we looked at this subject, gaming gifts appeared to be the most sought-after this holiday season, making up 18% of gift mentions.

When we look into this a little further, the gaming product discussed the most is the PS5.

7. Stress is a key theme this year

The holiday period is commonly referred to as "the most wonderful time of the year," but for many, the holidays can be difficult.

Stress is the largest topic in conversations around mental health, with 55k mentions so far. Within these mentions, we found that many of the conversations related to spending money. 

As we shared in a previous insight, conversations around pricing and budgeting are very negative, while promotions and deals have been able to lighten the mood slightly around holiday spending.

8. Eating and drinking are key drivers of joy in 2022

The holidays are said to be the season of joy, but what topic is most commonly mentioned in a joyful context online?

Eating and drinking have been mentioned 1.5m times in a joyful context since November 1, showing that the hype for big holiday meals is real. What’s your favorite big holiday meal?

9. Reading is fundamental

Books make up around 10% of gifting conversations globally. When we dig into this a little more, a key theme we found was around people donating books to families in need.

10. Everyone is posting 🎄

The Christmas tree emoji is by far the most popular used in conversations around the holidays in 2022.

It already has over 1.5 million mentions online, and there'll be plenty more before the year is out.

11. Chocolate is on the menu

As you’ll have seen during the research we’ve already shared, food is a particularly popular topic during the holidays. We looked at the top five flavors being discussed on social media around the 2022 holiday season:

1. Chocolate

2. Coffee

3. Berry

4. Apple

5. Ginger

12. Consumers are feeling charitable

As Christmas is a time for giving, we thought this would be a fitting subject to wrap up with.  

There have been nearly half a million mentions of "giving back" in relation to the 2022 holiday season, with charitable donations being a big topic within this conversation. Despite the tough economic times, those who are able to give their time and money are finding ways to do so.

Thanks for reading our insights! Happy holidays from everyone at Brandwatch 🎄