By Haddon Libby
On one Sunday every spring, Americans shower their parents with love, gifts, and the occasional cheesy card. When it comes to the economics of the separate Sundays that celebrate our parents, it is clear which parent children prefer to pamper.
In 2024, Mother’s Day retail sales in the US raked in an estimated $33.5 billion, down 6% from the prior year. This means that the average child spent just over $250 per person on Mom, a 50% increase from 10 years earlier. Seventeen in twenty people celebrate.
When it comes to Father’s Day, people spend one-third less at $22.4 billion or $190 per person. Fifteen in twenty people celebrate Father’s Day.
It helps that Mother’s Day has been celebrated since 1914 while Father’s Day had to wait until 1972. This is in sharp contrast to the right to vote where Universal Male Suffrage led to all men being allowed to vote in 1870 (except many minorities) while women had to wait another fifty years until 1920. Native Americans had to wait until 1924 while many minorities had to wait until the mid-1960s.
Mother’s Day’s gets a 58-year head thanks to the efforts of Ann Jarvis. Marketing for Mother’s Day is relentless, with jewelry and flower ads dominating, while Father’s Day leans on low-key grill promos and the occasional chainsaw. Surveys show 58% of dads prefer quality time over gifts, unlike moms, who often expect tangible tokens of appreciation like bouquets or bracelets.
The discrepancies in our approaches to each day does not stop at the amount of money we spend. Last year, Verizon found that Mother’s Day gets 5.6% more phone usage than Father’s Day, with 2.3 million hours spent calling moms over dads.
The amount spent on greeting cards is three times more for Mom.
So why do Americans dote on mothers more than fathers?
Culturally, mothers are seen as primary caregivers, fostering stronger emotional and biological ties. A 2018 study in Child Development found that 65% of young children showed a slight preference for their mother over their father in distress situations, due to mothers’ more frequent role in nurturing. Research suggested that these feelings often continue into adulthood.
Mother’s Day is the busiest day for US restaurants each year with roughly 87 million adults dining out. On Father’s Day, many have outdoor barbeques where Dad is the chief cook on his special day. US restaurants see 50 million diners on Father’s Day. Fathers should not be too upset as only Valentine’s Day sees more people eat out with 62 million diners.
A 2023 retail survey found that mothers return just 8% of their gifts while dear ‘ol dads return twice that. The survey found that mothers cherish the thought behind the gift most while fathers are more likely to return the duplicate tool or unneeded gift to get something more practical.
This preference to celebrate mothers more than fathers starts as early as pre-school. Many preschools will dedicate a week toward art and craft projects for mother while putting about half a day into projects for father.
Mother’s Day overshadows Father’s Day in emotional intensity, social media buzz, and dining-out, with moms getting glittery crafts and fine dining while dads settle for BBQ duty and joke cards. The holidays’ historical roots and cultural expectations amplify these differences as moms are celebrated as nurturers and dads as providers with a side of humor. Either way, to those celebrating, both days highlight love, whether through a tearful hug or a chuckle over a tacky t-shirt or mug.
As a father myself, I get it. I barely want anyone to recognize my 39th birthday each year. My preference is to shine the spotlight on my beautiful wife and loving mother, Carmen.
Haddon Libby is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer for Winslow Drake Investment Management. Form more information on our services, please visit www.WinslowDrake.com.
