How Do We Celebrate the Holidays With Our Pets? We Asked Pet Parents Like You.
By
Updated
Apr. 30, 2025
Photo by Photo: iStock/Pekic
We know that our pets are the center of our world year-round and always a beloved part of the family, but what role do they play during the holidays? How much do we include them in our celebrations and traditions? Chewy polled hundreds of pet parents and found that, by an overwhelming margin, most of us would stop at nothing to ensure our pets have their best holiday.
The holidays wouldn't be the same without our pets. They are at the top of our shopping lists, we include them in our holiday photos, we enjoy curling up on the couch with them to watch holiday movies and we even bake them special seasonal treats.
0%
wrap presents for their pets
0%
include pets in holiday parties
0%
say pets have the best reaction to receiving gifts
We Love Our Pets THIS Much
40% of pet parents would
rather kiss their pet under the
mistletoe than their ex-partner or a first date.
They’re some of our favorite holiday travel companions with 76% of pet parents bringing them along on vacation and to visit family.
46% of pet parents rank pets #1 on the top of Santa’s Nice List, notably ahead of 36% of pet parents ranking their spouses #1.
The Crazy Things We Do for Our Pets During the Holidays
Pet parents would be willing to do some crazy things for their pets if it guaranteed that they would have the best holiday experience ever.
32%would cover the entire house in holiday lights.
29%would wear the same ugly Christmas sweater for all of December.
21%would go holiday shopping dressed like Buddy the Elf.
62% of football fans would stop watching the sport for the rest of the season.
16% would eat an entire fruitcake in one sitting.
60%
would listen to “All I Want for Christmas” by Mariah Carey on repeat for 6 consecutive hours.
We Love Spoiling Them
Pets Star in Our Holiday Photos
Pets take center stage in most holiday cards this year with 83% of pet parents including their furry family members. What's the vibe?
(Check out our Chewtorial on how to get the best photos with your pet. )
29% wear winter themed clothing or outerwear
24% wear matching outfits or accessories
17% wear tacky holiday sweaters
Wondering What to Wear? Here are a Few Top-Rated Picks
Pet Parents' Trip Down Holiday Memory Lane
Chewy asked pet parents to share their favorite holiday moments with their pets, revealing how their holiday-induced quirks and excitement stick with us for years to come.
We were homeless for 6 years and it was really hard living on the streets and taking care of our cats. 4 years ago we finally got a place of our own. We set up a small tree, decorated the balcony with lights and got a gift for our fur babies. They loved the twinkling lights and bright colors. I took pictures of their first real Christmas indoors and it was very special and memorable to us all.”
My favorite holiday is with my dog at Christmas where he and I sat by the tree and we watch the lights blinking and we both fell asleep under the tree.”
The dog I grew up with as a child was a border collie named Molly. She would get the same toy every year for Christmas, and she always knew when it was time because she would put her old, beaten-up toy under the Christmas tree.”
My favorite memories are pretty much every holiday with my pets, they are the center of my life and included in everything. I love watching them open presents and stockings, baking special holiday pet cookies with them, snuggling up to watch movies with them, and taking them to holiday events.”
Taking Christmas pictures with my animals; watching them open up their own little presents. My first dog ever used to bite off wrapping paper and put it into a neat little pile.”
Get Your Celebration On!
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