Yettel’s representative nationwide survey[1] explored what Hungarians feel is essential for Christmas. The top three are Christmas dishes (55%), celebrating with close family members (49%), and the Christmas tree (48%). Three out of ten Hungarians consider decorating their home to be essential, viewing it as being just as important as having time to relax. In addition, Christmas songs and gifts are key elements for a quarter of Hungarians. The results show that while younger people place greater importance on keeping holiday traditions, such as baking cookies, listening to festive music, watching seasonal programmes, and using an Advent calendar, older Hungarians consider spending time with family to be more essential.
Perfection comes with tension
The survey also revealed that most people want to avoid family conflicts and celebrate in peace and harmony during the holidays. But what can cause problems at this time? Although two-thirds of respondents believe that Christmas feels more human when things aren’t perfect, we tend to be tolerant only when it comes to others. Two-thirds of participants don’t worry about appearances when visiting loved ones, yet half of them expect to perform well in every aspect of the holiday. Nearly the same number are bothered if things don’t go as planned. This can also create tension: two-thirds of respondents are annoyed if a family member overworks themselves at Christmas, becoming stressed and exhausted as a result. Almost half admitted that their own holiday perfectionism often leads to arguments.
Perfection can be annoying, but we can’t help sharing it
The pursuit of perfection is also evident on social media. Compared to last year, more people are planning to browse social media during the holiday season, with seven out of ten users sharing Christmas-themed content at this time. Most posts are published in the days leading up to Christmas, and on 25 and 26 December. The period between the holidays and New Year’s Eve tends to be quieter.
However, opinions differ on the popularity of these posts, half of Hungarians are critical of Christmas posts that present the celebration as overly idyllic. One-third of people feel bad when they see that everything is perfect for others, and nearly as many are particularly annoyed by Christmas photos. Nearly three-quarters of social media users believe that Christmas should be spent with loved ones rather than trying to appear perfect. Interestingly, however, one in three still enjoys sharing photos of perfectly captured holiday moments.
Yettel brings people together by gifting Christmas trees
This Christmas, Yettel wants to encourage everyone to celebrate together at home and in the community, rather than chasing perfection. To this end, the company launched a special initiative at the end of November. Yettel provided a festive Christmas tree and delivery to 100 classrooms across Hungary, meaning the students only had to focus on decorating them together.
The initiative’s success was evident, with all 100 trees being booked within just one day. Applications came from all over the country, representing a total of 13 counties. The company also launched a competition encouraging participating classes to decorate their trees together using their own creative ideas. Handmade ornaments, creatively repurposed old phones, and any other unique decorations are all welcome. The focus is not on achieving a perfect result, but on enjoying the creative process, spending time together and the overall experience. Classes can also compete for valuable prizes by sharing photos of their decorated trees. Votes on the photos will be collected on Yettel’s Facebook page between 11 and 19 December.
[1] The survey was conducted on a sample of 1,000 people between 15 and 27 October 2025. The sample was representative of the Hungarian population aged 18-69 by gender, age, region and type of settlement (Impetus research).