COPENHAGEN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 10, 2025--
GoWish, the Danish social shopping phenomenon widely used for creating wish lists in Scandinavia and now also in the US, where the app peaked as no. 1 on the US AppStore during November, has examined a total of 20,898,148 wishes created in the US, Denmark, Norway and Sweden over the past 14 days (November 26 to December 9) in its Christmas Crystal Ball survey. This Christmas too, a look into GoWish’s Crystal Ball provides an interesting insight into what GoWish’s American users as well as its Scandinavian counterparts wish for in the lead-up to dancing around the Christmas tree.
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Like previous years, GoWish has mapped the most popular wishes for men (>18), women (>18), boys (<18), and girls (<18) across Scandinavia, yet 2025 is the first year to include American users as well, as GoWish has reached nearly 8.6 million US registered users (as per December 8, 2025) and again this year, interesting patterns emerge across gender, age and countries:
“With the Crystal Ball survey we can follow trends across gender, age, and markets to see what’s shaping people’s wishes in different countries - for the benefit, joy, and inspiration of everyone else. A look into the wishes of so many millions of people gives us a rare insight into what people are really dreaming about”, says Casper Ravn-Sørensen, Chief Growth Officer at GoWish, who continues:
“Wish lists are not just practical reminders; they tell us something about our everyday lives, our style, and our need for both function and indulgence. It’s always exciting to see which trends break through – and which favorites insist on staying at the top year after year”, he adds.
GoWish’s Crystal Ball Survey, Christmas 2025:
The US vs. Scandinavia
As of per December 8, 2025, GoWish and its Scandinavian sister site Ønskeskyen had nearly 16.9 million registered users globally with Denmark accounting for +3.5million, Sweden 831,780 users and Norway 805,366 while the USA is well in the lead with 8,576,140 users. The new Christmas Crystal Ball survey shows clear differences in consumer interests across both gender and country: AirPods and underwear dominate among boys and men in the Nordic countries, while girls and women are more likely to wish for hair products, eyelash serum, and interior items. American consumers stand out here; for men, gaming and gadgets play a larger role, while teenage girls and women show greater interest in digital cameras and stress balls.
“The results paint a picture of how interests are shaped differently across both gender and culture. Training socks, underwear, and AirPods dominate for boys and men, while girls and women prioritize beauty, fashion, and the home. At the same time, we’re seeing exciting variations between countries - for example, American girls are more fitness and tech-driven, while men in the USA want gaming and gadgets”, says Casper Ravn-Sørensen.
And the Gift of the Year 2025 is…
Once again, GoWish is ready to announce the ‘Gift of the Year’ after a look into the Crystal Ball, and as last year, Ønskeskyen’s internal panel did not have to search long to find the gift that will seemingly bring joy to men and women of all ages. Although Apple’s AirPods Pro still are at the top of many wish lists, just as they were last year, it is a “soft package” that this year takes the title:
“Training socks are the wish that tops the lists for most users across gender, age, and countries. The practical and sporty choice has taken the lead - even though AirPods Pro, which topped wish lists last year, still ranks highly as a modern Christmas classic. And remember: even if someone else gets the same idea, you can reserve the gift you want to buy on Ønskeskyen – avoiding both duplicate gifts and the exchange queue after Christmas”, concludes Casper Ravn-Sørensen.
About GoWish · Founded in 2015 by the Danish-Swedish postal service, PostNord, as Ønskeskyen, the platform known internationally as GoWish is today an independent and privately-owned tech company trusted by millions of users across generations to fulfill hundreds of thousands of wishes every single day and millions of wish lists to date. With more than 3.5 million registered Danish users, GoWish/Ønskeskyen is not only the market leader and category owner in its native Denmark, but a fast-growing social shopping phenomenon spreading globally with a simple mission: “fixing gifting”. Learn more on www.gowish.com.
GoWish’s Crystal Ball Survey, Christmas 2025
GOMA, Congo (AP) — In a maternity ward in eastern Congo, Irene Nabudeba rested her hands on her bulging midsection, worried about giving birth in a city under rebel control.
The conflict that flared this year has left many medical supplies stranded beyond the front line. Infrastructure like running water has collapsed, along with the economy in Goma, the region's humanitarian and commercial hub.
And now the one glimmer of hope for mothers — a free maternity care program offered by Congo's government — has ended after it was not renewed in June. It was not clear why, and Congolese and M23 officials did not respond to questions.
Nabudeba has five children and wonders whether the sixth will survive.
“At the hospital, they ask us for money that we don’t have. I’m pushing myself to come to the consultations, but for the delivery ... I don’t know where I’ll find the money,” she said at the Afia Himbi health center.
Several women told The Associated Press they cannot afford maternal care after Congo's program that was aimed at reducing some of the world's highest maternal and neonatal death rates ended earlier this year. The program launched in 2023 offered free consultations and treatment for illnesses and at-risk pregnancies at selected health facilities across the country.
Congo ranked second in maternal deaths globally with 19,000 in 2023, behind Nigeria's 75,000 deaths, according to U.N. statistics.
Health workers said more women in Goma are now giving birth at home without skilled help, sometimes in unsanitary conditions, leaving them vulnerable to hemorrhage, infection or death.
Clinics and hospitals were already struggling after the M23 rebels, backed by neighboring Rwanda, seized Goma in an escalation of fighting in January.
Although clashes have subsided amid U.S.- and Qatar-led peace efforts, fighting continues and the conflict has collapsed public institutions, disrupted essential services and displaced more than 700,000 people, according to the U.N. humanitarian office.
In Goma, the armed rebels are seen everywhere, making a pregnant woman's walk to clinics another source of anxiety.
Freddy Kaniki, deputy coordinator of M23, asserted to the AP that the free maternal care “was not renewed because it was a failure.” Congolese officials did not respond to questions.
Rwanda denies supporting the M23 despite U.N. experts saying they have evidence of it. Rwanda prides itself on health care and recently signed a five-year deal with the U.S. for investment of up to $158 million in its own healthcare sector.
The collapse of essential services in rebel-held areas, combined with mass displacement and insecurity, has left civilians struggling to access even basic care.
An International Committee of the Red Cross assessment in September found that at least 85% of health facilities were experiencing medicine shortages, and nearly 40% have seen an exodus of staff after the conflict surged in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu.
The ICRC in October said 200 health facilities in eastern Congo had run out of medicines because of looting and supply disruptions. Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, has reported hospitals attacked, ambulances blocked and medical staff threatened or killed.
Childbirth at a clinic in Goma now costs $5 to $10, out of reach for many families in a region where over 70% of the population lives on less than $2.15 a day, according to the World Bank.
Franck Ndachetere Kandonyi, chief nurse at the Afia Himbi health center, said the number of births there under the free program had jumped from around five a month to more than 20. But the program ended in June.
Facing a table of statistics in his office, Kandonyi said the number of births per month is now down to nine.
“When a parent cannot even pay 10,000 Congolese francs ($4.50) for their wife’s or child’s care, it’s a real problem,” the nurse said.
Meanwhile, banks have closed in Goma, prices have soared and the dollar has depreciated.
Nabudeba's husband, a driver, has been unemployed since January. She said her family is barely surviving.
“When the war broke out, we lost all our resources,” she said. “Lately, the situation has not been favorable, and we are suffering greatly.”
Across town at the Rehema Health Center, Ernestine Baleke waited for help with her ninth pregnancy, with concern on her face. She said she doesn't know where she will get money for the delivery.
Her husband lost a factory job when the place was looted earlier in the conflict, she said. Then their house burned.
“I don’t even have 100 francs (45 cents) in my pocket,” Baleke said.
She walks more than half a mile to the hospital because she cannot afford transportation. Three months remain before her delivery.
“The authorities must restore free healthcare," Baleke said. “We risk dying in our homes while giving birth.”
For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse
The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Ernestine Baleke walks to the Rehema Health Center to receive pre-natal care that used to be free at the Rehema Health Center in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Ernestine Baleke rests on a wall after receiving pre-natal care that used to be free at the Rehema Health Center in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Ernestine Baleke receives pre-natal care that used to be free at the Rehema Health Center in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Irene Nabudeba, pregnant, mother of 5, waits for a consultation that used to be free at the Afia Himbi Hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
Irene Nabudeba, pregnant, mother of 5, waits for a consultation that used to be free at the Afia Himbi Hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)
