Christmas Economy Check: Why Prices Feel Stable and Wages Are Rising Again

This Christmas feels different. Not flashy or extravagant, but calmer. Families are still budgeting, groceries still matter, and travel still takes planning. Yet compared to recent holiday seasons, there is noticeably less financial panic baked into everyday decisions. Gas runs do not feel like a gamble. Buying Christmas gifts and groceries feels manageable again. Holiday meals are planned with fewer substitutions and far less stress.

For Hispanic families in particular, that shift is felt most clearly at the table. Christmas is not just a date on the calendar; it’s pernil in the oven, chicken and pork on the stove, rice, beans, pasteles, tamales, and the ingredients that bring extended family together. Over the past few years, many households were forced to cut back, stretch recipes, or substitute traditions because prices made it unrealistic to cook the meals that define the holiday. This year feels different.

That shift matters because economics isn’t just about charts and reports, it’s about how families experience daily life. And this Christmas, for the first time since the COVID years and the Biden administration, many Americans are feeling something they haven’t felt in a long time: stability.

Stability and the Data Behind It

Stability does not mean prices have magically returned to pre-2020 levels. What it does mean is that prices are no longer rising at a pace that constantly catches families off guard. After four years of Bidenflation that reshaped how Americans approached even basic spending, predictability itself feels like relief. When families know roughly what gas, groceries, or travel will cost next week or next month, they regain a sense of control. That matters most for households and Hispanic families still recovering from years of rising costs that far outpaced wages.

The data supports it too – according to the latest Consumer Price Index, inflation cooled to 2.7 percent in November, with core inflation at 2.6 percent, the lowest level since early 2021. Wages are also moving in the right direction, rising roughly 3.5 percent over the past year. For many workers, that means beginning to recover purchasing power lost during the inflation surge of the Biden years.

That may not erase the losses families absorbed during the height of Bidenflation, but it does signal a clear shift. When wages rise alongside slowing inflation, paychecks stretch further. Families are no longer just absorbing higher costs; they are beginning to recover purchasing power. That combination is what creates real relief, especially during the holidays, when household budgets are already stretched thin.

Energy costs, one of the most painful pressures on household budgets over the last four years, have eased significantly. Under President Trump, gas prices have reached their lowest national average in more than four years. The national average has fallen by more than twenty cents in just the last month and continues trending lower. Gas prices have dipped below $3 per gallon in forty states, below $2.75 in twenty-eight states, and below $2.50 in thirteen states. In twelve states, drivers can find gas below $2 per gallon. Under Biden, gas prices stayed above $3 per gallon for all four years of his presidency. That reality shaped every commute, every family visit, and every holiday trip.

These declines matter because energy costs compound. Over four years, Biden-era energy prices cost American households more than $2,400. Today, Americans are on track to spend the lowest share of their disposable income on gas in the last two decades.

Food prices tell a similar story. Compared to last Christmas, prices for pork, poultry, eggs, butter, cheese, frozen vegetables, and other staples are down. Egg prices alone have dropped more than twenty-five percent since President Trump took office. These are the ingredients that go into pernil, chicken dishes, arroz con gandules, tamales, and countless holiday meals across Hispanic households. Lower prices do not just ease budgets; they allow families to cook the food they grew up with, and to purchase their everyday staples without further stress.

Why Policy Direction Matters

These improvements did not happen overnight, and they did not happen by chance. They reflect a clear shift in economic priorities. After inheriting the worst inflation crisis in forty years, President Trump moved to reverse the policies that fueled price increases. Energy production was expanded rather than restricted. Growth and labor markets were prioritized instead of policies that drove costs higher without delivering relief. Inflation reduction became a central goal rather than a secondary concern.

This new administration was not about instant results, it was about reversing direction. And direction matters. Americans are now on track to spend the lowest share of their disposable income on gas in the last two decades. Tax relief passed by Republicans, including the Working Families Tax Cuts, has increased take-home pay and given families additional breathing room at a time when it is most needed.

It is also worth noting where stabilization is happening fastest. Reporting from the Wall Street Journal has highlighted how inflation pressures remain highest in heavily liberal cities with high taxes, aggressive regulation, and elevated housing costs. Meanwhile, many conservative-led states and cities with lower taxes and fewer regulatory burdens are seeing faster stabilization, particularly on energy and transportation costs. Families do not live in national averages. They live in cities, neighborhoods, and states. And policy decisions show up directly in the cost of living.

This Christmas and Looking Ahead to the New Year

This Christmas is not defined by excess, but by relief. After years of inflation that forced families to cut back, substitute traditions, and constantly recalculate, stability itself feels meaningful. Lower gas prices, cooling food and gift costs, and rising wages are not abstract policy wins. They are felt at the table, in the kitchen, and in the moments families choose to spend together.

For Hispanic households especially, affordability is not measured in headlines, but in whether traditional meals can be cooked, whether gifts can be bought without stress, and whether paychecks finally stretch far enough to cover both. After four years of Bidenflation that eroded confidence and purchasing power, this season reflects a clear change in direction.

That change did not happen by accident. It came from prioritizing growth, energy production, and working families over policies that drove costs higher. Stability does not erase the damage of the past, but it restores something just as important: the ability to plan, to provide, and to celebrate without panic. As Christmas gives way to a new year, many families are not just feeling the difference. They are living it.