Americans are more stressed than ever for the 2020 holiday season

By SWNS Staff

As if 2020 hasn’t been rough enough, half of Americans think Thanksgiving will be twice as stressful this year because of COVID-19, according to new research.

The study asked 2,000 Americans who celebrate Thanksgiving about their plans for the upcoming feast and found 53% think the stress will be double this year, with one in ten not even celebrating.

For those who are still planning on chowing down on turkey this year, 52% said they feel pressure to make this Thanksgiving absolutely perfect.

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of HelloFresh, the survey found that 56% of respondents are planning to phone it in this Thanksgiving and have a video call with their family if they can’t see them in person.

With so much up in the air this year with COVID-19, the survey found 18% of respondents will be cooking their own Thanksgiving dinners for the first time this year.

Half of those still planning on celebrating Thanksgiving this year said planning for the big dinner has been more difficult than ever due to the pandemic.

Respondents shared they estimate that they’ll be making three frantic phone calls for family help while they cook their dinner this year.

Even if they aren’t the household chef on Turkey Day, 61% of respondents said they get second-hand stress from the kitchen.

This may also be connected to 55% of respondents sharing that even the thought of having to run up to the grocery store the day-of this year, during a global pandemic, is a point of stress for their households.

In fact, 77% of those still planning to celebrate Thanksgiving through the stress of COVID-19 shared they are hoping to make one, big grocery store trip for Turkey Day so they don’t have to worry about re-exposing themselves the day-of.

Just over six in 10 respondents shared their household stress levels would drop if they could have all of their recipe needs delivered right to their door.

With all of these contributing factors, it’s no wonder that grocery shopping tops the list of foreseen stress points this Thanksgiving.

A quarter of respondents also shared they’re worried about serving a dry turkey and 19% are worried they won’t thaw the bird in time or that they’ll accidentally buy one that’s too big for their oven.

Two in 10 respondents are also worried about not making enough of those precious Thanksgiving side dishes this year.

“Planning Thanksgiving dinner can be an extremely taxing and intimidating process,” said Andrea Folkerts, Director of Product Development at HelloFresh. “Stress levels are even higher this year as we plan our feast amid a pandemic, so knowing which meals to cook ahead of time and avoiding the anxiety of grocery shopping is key this holiday season.”

Respondents were also asked to identify which side dishes reign supreme at the dinner table and mashed potatoes topped the list.

Next in line for respondents’ favorite sides included stuffing (66%), gravy (59%) and cranberry sauce (53%).

The survey also sought out to find which version of iconic Thanksgiving side dishes are actually the “right” way to serve up – with 50% of respondents opting for cranberry sauce from a can vs. homemade at 36%.

However, homemade gravy and homemade pumpkin pie beat out their store-bought competitors, at 65% vs. 30% and 54% vs. 35% respectively.

The great side dish debate may just be whether or not to put marshmallows on sweet potatoes, with 44% saying it’s a must-have and 42% saying it’s a no-go.

“With HelloFresh’s Thanksgiving Feast, you can alleviate the stress of planning and preparing a delicious holiday dinner by having all of the pre-portioned ingredients and traditional holiday recipes you’d need delivered straight to your doorstep,” added Folkerts.

AMERICANS’ TOP WORRIES FOR THIS THANKSGIVING