Figuratively Speaking

Rank of innocent and friendly gift exchanges like "Yankee Swap" and "Secret Santa" on the list of the most likely areas for regifting, according to a study for national off-price home fashions retailer HomeGoods: 1

Whether guilty or not, percentage of suspected regifts that come from co-workers: 46

Percentage that come from friends: 21

Source: HomeGoods.

Though 67 percent of Americans didn't think the economic downturn would last this long, percentage of respondents who still want to give to charities and expect to donate more or about the same this holiday season as they did last year, according to an American Red Cross poll: 70

Percentage of Americans who believe that because of the economy, it's important to give something to charity (an increase of 10 percentage points over last year): 68

Source: American Red Cross.

Percentage of parents who have procrastinated with their holiday to-do lists, who say that they have had to run errands in the middle of the night to get ready for Christmas morning: 32

Percentage of parents who report that they have not been able to buy the toy their child(ren) wanted for the holidays because they procrastinated in getting their holiday shopping done: 23

Percentage of parents who say that it is important to them to create a memorable Christmas for their children: 89

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

If one were to assume that Santa works in the realm of standard time, estimated length of time he would be able to spend per home, according to NORAD: 2 to 3 ten-thousandths of a second

Length of time his Christmas Eve trip may seem to us to take, but to Santa it may last days, weeks or even months in time because he functions within a different time-space continuum than the rest of us do: 24 hours

Estimated age of Santa Claus: 16,000 years

Source: NORAD.

Year that the first tree debuted at Rockefeller Center -- standing 20 feet tall and erected by construction workers eager to receive a day's pay in the depths of the Depression, according to Time Magazine: 1931

Height of the 2011 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree: 74 feet

Weight: 10 tons

Age of the Norway spruce tree: 75 years

Source: Time Magazine.

Compared to last year, percentage increase in the price index in the whimsical economic analysis by PNC Wealth Management based on the prices of gifts in the holiday classic "The Twelve Days of Christmas": 3.5

According to the 27th annual survey, current price tag for these gifts: $24,263.18

Cost if you want to buy the whole shebang from a single partridge to twelve drummers drumming for each verse (that's 364 separate pieces of Christmas joy): $101,119.84

Source: PNC Wealth Management.

Average amount of time women spend cleaning their homes each week, according to a national survey conducted by StrategyOne and commissioned by Georgia-Pacific: 116 minutes

Amount of cleaning time that at-home Thanksgiving and Christmas get-togethers can add to that, including time spent before and after parties: 4 hours (240 minutes)

Whether messes are caused by an overflow of sweet potato casserole or puddles of spilled gravy, ranks of Christmas (57.3 percent), Thanksgiving (32.5 percent) and New Year's (3.4 percent) on the list of the messiest holidays: 1, 2, 3

Source: StrategyOne.

Value of U.S. imports of Christmas tree ornaments from China between January and September 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: $983 million

Value of U.S. imports of artificial Christmas trees shipped to the United States from China during the same period: $79.7 million

Value of U.S. toy imports -- including stuffed toys (including dolls), puzzles and electric trains -- from China between January and September 2011: $2.5 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of Americans who plan to travel this holiday season, according to the results of the annual TripAdvisor December holiday travel survey: 43

Percentage of travelers who think travelers, in general, behave with worse manners toward one another than usual during the "season of good will": 23

Despite the current economic climate, percentage of respondents who say the economy has not impacted their December holiday travel plans: 76

Source: TripAdvisor.

Year from which the first written record comes of a decorated Christmas tree in Riga, Latvia, according to History.com's Christmas section: 1510

Year from which a record from Alsace, France, states that trees were sold in the marketplace and brought home and set up undecorated -- laws limiting the size to "8 shoe lengths" (slightly more than 4 feet): 1530

Period it became common in Germany to decorate Christmas trees with apples: 1600s

Source: History.com.

Idle Thought

"Every man is a damned fool for at least five minutes every day. Wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit." -- Elbert Hubbard, author, editor and printer (1856-1915)

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

Percentage of working adults who admitted that they were thankful to be distracted by work email during the holidays, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive: 15

Percentage of those who said they check work email during a holiday who admitted that they did so while at holiday parties or meals: 10

Source: Harris Interactive.

When asked how they would spend a holiday bonus this year, percentage of respondents earning over $100,000 who say they are likely to invest it, according to a Deloitte survey: 22

Percentage of those earning less than $100,000 who say they will invest it: 11

Percentage of those in the lower income brackets who say they will likely use it to pay for everyday necessities: 31

Source: Deloitte Public Relations.

Year that push-button, or touch-tone, phones made their debut, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1963

At that time, percentage of U.S. homes that had telephones: 81

Today, estimated number of cellphone subscribers (fast replacing landline phones) in the U.S.: 300 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of Americans who suspect they've been the recipients of a re-gift, according to a study for national off-price home fashions retailer HomeGoods: 65

Percentage of respondents who have re-gifted a present at least once: 54

Percentage who are repeat offenders: 36

Source: HomeGoods.

Percentage who say the biggest mistake at work during the holiday season is not attending the holiday party, according to a Randstad survey: 11

Percentage of workers who feel that holiday parties help to build morale: 78

Percentage who would rather receive a bonus than have a holiday party: 93

Source: Randstad-USA.

Ranks of crowded shops, early Christmas hype, "None of them -- I love Christmas," and commercialization on the list of responses from people who were asked to name their top Christmas hates, according to research by money-saving website DiscountVouchers.co.uk: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: DiscountVouchers.co.uk.

Percentage of people who said they intend to use the gift cards received this Xmas on day-to-day expenses (groceries, gas, etc.), according to a TD Bank poll: 31

Percentage who intend to use them on household items (kitchenware, furniture, etc.) or living expenses (bills, rent, etc.): 11

Percentage of holiday shoppers who say they haven't saved at all for the holidays: 68

Source: TD Bank.

Percentage of parents who like to be prepared for the holiday shopping season, according to a survey of parents who buy gifts for their children at Christmastime, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Duracell: 82

Percentage of moms who like to plan ahead for holiday shopping -- compared to 76 percent of dads: 88

Percentage of moms who have done Christmas shopping at the last minute -- compared to 56 percent of dads: 46

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Rank of the Ford Focus on the list of Car Connection's "Best Cars to Buy 2012," according to High Gear Media: 1

Rank of the Porsche 911 on the list of "Best Performance/Luxury Cars to Buy 2012": 1

Rank of the Toyota Prius on the list of "Best Green Cars to Buy 2012": 1

Source: High Gear Media.

In the last six months, percentage of Americans who have researched potential purchases on their smartphones or other mobile devices at least once, according to a study by the National Cyber Security Alliance and McAfee: 50

Percentage who have shopped: 27

Percentage who have made online payments: 18

Percentage who have purchased goods from auction sites: 12

Source: National Cyber Security Alliance.

Idle Thought

"When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set." -- Lin Yutang, writer and translator (1895-1976)

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

Percentage of employers who reported that workers call in sick more often during the winter holidays, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com: 33

Percentage of workers who have admitted to already playing hooky from the office this year, citing errands and plans with family and friends among the top reasons for calling in sick when they were well: 29

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of consumers who believe the best deals for holiday shopping are available after the Thanksgiving holiday, according to a survey by PriceGrabber: 29

Percentage who specifically indicated Black Friday (Nov. 25): 28

Source: Experian Consumer Direct.

Percentage of executives whose companies awarded bonuses last year who said they plan to give higher bonuses this time around, according to a survey developed by Robert Half International: 30

Ranks of human resources managers, technology executives, and accounting and finance executives on the list of those executives most optimistic about increasing bonus levels in 2011: 1, 2, 3

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage of companies that will have holiday parties this year, down from 95 percent in 2006, according to a survey by Amrop Battalia Winston: 74

Of the 26 percent of companies not holding a holiday party this year, percentage who said it was not in their budget: 44

Percentage who felt that their employees were simply not that interested in attending corporate parties: 19

Source: Amrop Battalia Winston.

Percentage of gift cards that can be delivered electronically, up from 41 percent in last year's survey, according to a survey by Bankrate.com and CreditCards.com: 51

Percentage of cards that have expiration dates (all of which are general-purpose cards issued by credit card brands): 8

Percentage that charge purchase fees: 14

Source: Bankrate Inc.

When respondents were asked how much they estimate that Americans pay in ATM fees per year, percentage of respondents who chose the correct answer, according to a survey conducted by Ally Bank: 9

Range in which the majority of estimates fell: $100 million to $2 billion

Amount Americans actually spent in ATM fees in 2010, according to consulting firm Oliver Wyman: $7.1 billion

Source: Ally Financial.

Percentage of consumers surveyed who say they most likely will shop for gifts online this holiday season -- a double-digit (13 percent) increase from last year, according to a survey by Deloitte: 48

Percentage of online shoppers who indicate that competitive prices are the top reason to shop with a particular retailer online: 48

Percentage who cited free shipping: 20

Source: Deloitte Public Relations.

Among the 40 million foreign-born U.S. residents in 2010, percentage that reported a year of entry prior to 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 82.6

Ranks of California (19 percent), Texas (11 percent), New York (10 percent) and Florida (9 percent) on the list of states having the largest proportion of the nation's newly arrived foreign-born residents: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

When asked about their last car-buying experience, percentage of women who felt they did not get a fair trade-in value, according to a poll conducted for CarMax Inc.: 15

Percentage who did not feel their salesman was trustworthy: 15

Percentage who thought they did not get low, fair pricing: 15

Source: CarMax Inc.

Percentage of consumers who said they would be more likely to visit a restaurant that offers new or innovative flavors, according to a survey by Technomic: 53

Percentage of consumers who say that preparation style is an appealing way for restaurants to add flavor to their food: 81

Source: Technomic.

Idle Thought

"Time has a wonderful way of weeding out the trivial." -- Richard Ben Sapir, novelist

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)