The “deadweight loss of Christmas” is the loss that occurs when individuals make choices on behalf of others that do not match the needs or the value of the items they buy. In this respect, if a person buys a Christmas gift that the receiver finds useless, the money is economically lost. At the same time, the gifts may have inflated cost since the businessmen tend to hike prices during holidays when demand for certain goods rises rapidly. Typically, the “deadweight loss of Christmas” affects extended family members who do not have a close contact with the rest of the members and, therefore, end up buying “irrelevant” Christmas presents. From this perspective, the “deadweight weigh of Christmas” advocate that people’s personal choices are the best since they match the need, value, and prices appropriately.
