Parents, keep those receipts! You may be surprised about what the kids want in their Christmas socks this year.
As the 2009 Holiday season approaches, retailers need to know whether they should stock more religious products or toys. June Fredley, Senior Vice President of Purchasing at Target stores states, "With the belt-tightening going on, we don't have the luxury of being wrong this year."
A recent Harris poll shows that kids prefer Santa to Jesus by a stunning 10 to one margin. Most kids aged five to twelve aren't even sure who Jesus is; 23% per cent of the respondents thought Jesus Christ was cable TV's Dog Whisperer.
In practical terms, the research means retailers will replace their shelves of crucifixes and bibles with video games and Spongebob Squarepants merchandise. "It's a shame, really," said Kmart Toy Department Manager Sid Beltman. "We thought the manger scenes were going to sell like hotcakes this year."
Experts explain that the recent trend from religious products to secular goods is due to several factors:
- Religious shows on TV have been replaced with secular programs like CSI, America's Next Top Model, and Deal or No Deal
- Parents prefer go to shopping malls instead of church during the holiday season
- Scientific evidence shows that Christmas should take place in May instead of late December
"I think when a kid prefers a Bratz doll to a ceramic statue of the Virgin Mary, we have to ask ourselves if the spirit of Christmas has taken the wrong direction," lamented Father John Renzi of Saint James Church in Pittsburgh.
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