U.S. President Donald Trump attends an event to announce a deal with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk on to reduce the prices of GLP-1 weight‑loss drugs during an event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C.
As Americans continue to feel "rattled" about the state of President Donald Trump's economy, The Guardian says there is major apprehension leading them to cut back on buying gifts for family and friends this holiday season.
“I love giving people gifts,” Grace Brown says, adding that she and her fiance "are already limiting eating out, and have agreed they won’t exchange gifts with each other this holiday."
“Prices for everything have gone up,” Brown says. “It’s kind of hard to have luxuries.”
U.S. consumer confidence fell sharply in November 2025 to its lowest level since April, driven by concerns over high costs, inflation, a weak labor market and political factors including tariffs and the recent government shutdown.
“Being on a fixed income, we have had to cut way back on our spending for the holiday,” Jeffrey Larimore tells The Guardian. “We had enough disposable income to go out to dinner, take weekend trips and spoil [my granddaughters]. Since the tariffs have raised the cost of living, we have cut out all of that.”
Retired law enforcement officer Ryan, who did not want to give The Guardian his last name, says his family “can barely put food on the table ... let alone do holiday shopping for his young children."
“I’m scrambling to find some way to preserve some aspect of magic for them,” he says. “I spent my life in service to my country. What [Trump] has done in less than a single year breaks my heart."
Recent surveys show that Americans are set to cut back on holiday shopping this year, The Guardian notes.
Deloitte estimated that spending could be down 4 percent compared with last year, while the National Retail Federation said that after hitting a record high last year, the amount of money Americans are planning to spend this year is down 1.3 percent.
Sarah Tenbensel tells The Guardian that due to rising costs of her homeowner's and health insurance, “I may need a second job very soon.”
Shari Dunn, who is participating in an economic boycott on Black Friday, adds that “there is fear regarding employment and contacts. It’s more than just tariffs – it’s everything. The instability and fear."
Linda McKim Bell tells The Guardian that her boycott has been a lot longer than one day, saying she has tried not to buy anything new since Trump took office.
“I have shopped all year at online thrift stores for my family gifts. I am making the rest of our holiday gifts: orange marmalade and homemade pastries make great gifts," she says.
Brown says there's another way to fight back against the bleak economic landscape.
“Whenever we have money to spend, we try to spend it there with small businesses,” Brown says. “One thing I just remember from high school is my teacher would always tell us ‘you vote with your dollars.'”