Test – Celebration campaign Test – Celebration campaign
Celebration campaign Test – Celebration campaign Test
When you think of celebrations, you might think of birthday parties, weddings or graduations. But a new VistaPrint survey* of 2,000 Brits from Gen Z to Baby Boomers reveals that celebrations have changed a lot in the last 20 years. So turn up the music, get your fancy dress out, and have a scroll or download our infographic to discover how Brits are partying in 2024!
The rise of new Celebrations
While Birthday celebrations are still the number one event for Brits over the past 20 years Brits have found more and more reasons to celebrate, from pet birthdays to… divorce parties? Cheers!
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Trending now
Brits over 40 ranked Gender reveal parties (60%), Galentines Day (53%), Half-Birthdays (49%) and Divorce parties (47%) as the top new celebrations that weren’t as popular (or didn’t exist!) in the early 2000s.
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Pet birthday parties?
Brits really do love their pets! Pet birthday parties (13%) were voted the 6th most important celebration, making them more popular than prom or school leaving celebrations (11%) and hen or stag celebrations (5%).
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Investing in celebrations
Brits are spending hundreds of pounds a year to organise and host celebrations, with birthdays, weddings and anniversaries being the most expensive. Gen Z spend the most per year at £482, while Baby Boomers spend the least at £259.
Making it personal
Across all generations, personalised items like banners, invites, and thank you cards are becoming staples for celebrations. Brits are also investing in personalised, creative gifts and materials for their celebrations, reflecting a trend toward making each event feel special and unique.
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The new face of gifts?
11% of Brits have customised and purchased an item with someone’s face on it for a celebration. A picture may be worthy a thousand words but a face is unforgettable!
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Snapping the perfect gift
Birthdays (65%), weddings (44%), anniversaries (24%) and christenings (21%) are the top celebrations one would recognise with a photo gift. But don’t forget our furry friends! 15% of Brits would also celebrate a pet’s birthday with a photo gift (just pawfect).
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Leaning into custom gifts
Personalised banners (38%), invites (29%) and thank you cards (25%) are the most purchased celebration add-ons.
When is your next celebration?
Add a little personalisation to your next celebration with our collection of customisable gifts that won’t break the bank.
Why we’re celebrating
What’s behind the change in the way we celebrate, and why? Social media is seen as a major force driving the transformation of celebrations, influencing not just what people celebrate, but also how they plan, showcase and spend on these events.
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Partying in style
Gen Z care the most about the visuals on the day with 21% saying that making their celebration aesthetically pleasing was important to them, and 9% admitting that how it looks on social media was also important.
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Community is key
Baby Boomers care the most about spending time with their family and friends, with 72% of them saying that this was the most important aspect of a celebration, and 50% of Gen Z agree.
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The rise of social media
Social media was listed as the second biggest reason celebrations have changed since the 2000s, after expenses. With school celebrations (51%), Christenings (46%) and engagement parties (44%) listed as having changed the most.
Surprising stats
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More Brits have been to a pet birthday party (15%) than a Christening (14%) in the past 12 months. And speaking of pet birthday parties, they’re costing Brits on average £254.90 per year. Seems like keeping Mittens happy ain’t cheap!
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37% of Brits say they spend more money organising birthday celebrations (either for themselves or others) than on weddings (25%). So while a wedding may be a once in a life time event (and purchase!), the regularity of birthdays can’t be beat!
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Brits over 40 believe prom and school leaving celebrations are the events that’ve changed the most since the early 2000s, with 62% feeling they’ve become too expensive. This is no surprise when parents are spending on average £466 to make this day special for their children.
illustrations by Anastasia S.
Survey conducted between August 30th – September 10th, 2024, by research firm Walr Group, a data collection service powering agencies to create insights. Survey was quota-controlled by age, gender, and region, and the results were subsequently weighted accordingly.
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