How Much Time Do You Spend Party Planning? Survey Says: Ages!

At the Kenmore Blogger Summit last month, we spent a lot of time discussing holiday party prep, common pitfalls and ways to save time and make preparations easier. Last week, Kenmore announced the results of their new holiday survey revealing what average Americans struggle with most this time of year. A poll of 1,000 adults conducted by Wakefield Research came up with some surprising and not-so-surprising findings:

• 85% of people surveyed avoid making a specific holiday food because of the resulting cleanup. I can TOTALLY relate to this – when I see certain recipes, I get a vision in my head of my trashed kitchen and “Nope” right out of that cookbook. Now that I own a dishwasher, I’m a lot more bold with what I’m willing to make because the cleanup is so much easier than scrubbing every single dish by hand.
• An average of 5 hours are spent prepping, cooking, and cleaning for holiday parties. Only 5?! It takes me so much longer to prepare for parties. I think back to the times I’ve pulled all-nighters getting ready for my big Halloween parties, rolling bat-shaped cheeseballs by hand. I think I might need to scale back just a tad. 😉
• 61% percent surveyed have found party leftovers in strange places like under the couch (35%) and under the bed (10%). I am now feeling so grateful that I have never found a plate of moldy hot wings under my bed after a party.
• More than 1 in 3 said they have waited a day or more after a party to clean up. Guilty as charged!!
• 79% of respondents would prefer a practical holiday/hostess gift over a trendy novelty item. This makes total sense to me. I love finding presents that I know someone can really use! I received a breadmaker as a gift for my 25th birthday and it’s one of my favorite things – it was one of those life-changing appliances for me! In fact, Kim received a Kenmore breadmaker during the gift swap at the blogger summit, and I was excitedly telling her how much she was going to love it. Hahaha!

Do any of these findings surprise you? What is your biggest struggle during holiday party-planning?