According to recent research, 81% of parents are feeling nostalgic for holidays from their past.
Two separate surveys, each involving 2,000 parents with children aged 5 to 17, investigated how parents reminisce about their own childhood holiday celebrations and their efforts to replicate that same magic for their kids today.
Many parents expressed a frequent desire to relive the joy of their holiday experiences from childhood.
Interestingly, if given the chance, nearly a third (31%) indicated that the 1990s was the decade with the best holiday celebrations.
Commissioned by Club Wyndham, a vacation club promoting family togetherness, and carried out by Talker Research, one survey revealed that 93% of parents often try to recreate aspects of the holidays they enjoyed as children for their families.
“There’s something about the holidays that brings you right back to being a kid — the traditions, the movies, the food, and all those little rituals you looked forward to every year,” explained Annie Roberts, senior vice president of Club and Owner Services at Club Wyndham.
Family traditions, it seems, are what parents miss the most from their own holiday experiences (44%), followed by home-cooked recipes (39%) and spending uninterrupted quality time together as a family (34%).
Additionally, parents feel nostalgic about holiday movies and specials shared together (32%), the thrill of surprise gifts (30%), festive home decorations (29%), and playing games or engaging in activities together (28%).
This yearning for holiday enchantment grows even stronger as parents witness their children growing up.
Many parents feel that age 6 is the most magical time during childhood for experiencing the holidays, with that enchanting feeling starting to fade around age 11. Despite this, 89% are optimistic that their children still find joy in celebrating significant moments together.
Moreover, 85% of parents believe their child’s holiday spirit is vibrant, especially during the festive season — a belief held by 78% of parents with teenagers.
Over 40% (44%) indicated they’re making an effort to be more present, reflecting on how many holiday seasons they have left while their children are still young.
Looking back, 83% acknowledged that they weren’t fully engaged during many past holiday moments, while almost 74% think it’s more challenging for families to connect nowadays compared to their childhood.
Parents are also keen on traveling as a way to celebrate important moments, with holidays (89%), birthdays (80%), and significant life events (79%) being the occasions they most wish to mark with a trip.
For those who have traveled to celebrate these milestones, 87% believe that spending time away together has been vital for creating lasting memories, and 89% plan to continue this tradition as their children grow older.
This year, they’re looking for more chances to get away together, with birthdays (39%), winter holidays (35%), family reunions (32%), the Fourth of July (30%), and spring break (28%) all on the list.
“Vacations provide families the opportunity to step away from everyday distractions and focus on being together,” Roberts remarked. “This idea comes to life in our holiday experiences, where familiar traditions and nostalgic elements can trigger memories for parents while allowing families to create entirely new ones together.”
Research methodology:
Talker Research carried out two surveys, each with a sample of 2,000 parents of school-aged children who celebrate occasions and have gone on vacations together in the previous year, all of whom have internet access; the surveys were commissioned by Club Wyndham. The first survey was administered and conducted online between June 3 and June 12, 2026, and the second was conducted between September 23 and September 30, 2026.
