Figuratively Speaking

Rank of gift cards on the list of the top five holiday gifts for 2014, according to a survey published by Time Inc. and YouGov: 1

Percentage of holiday shoppers who expect to indulge themselves with a personal purchase: 45

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of U.S. adults who will wait until Christmas Eve to do most of their shopping, according to a poll conducted for Offers.com: 1

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Based on a Consumer Reports poll, estimated number of Americans who will soon be presented with an awful gift: 49 million

Percentage of respondents who said they've received lousy gifts: 20

Percentage who identified mothers- and fathers-in-law as the parties who gave the worst gifts: 11

Percentage who pass along the misery by regifting: 15

Source: Consumer Reports.

Percentage of travelers who enjoy staying with friends and family during the holidays, according to a HomeAway report: 36

Percentage who aren't overly thrilled: 64

Percentage who feel the worst part of staying with family and friends over the holidays is the lack of personal space: 29

Source: HomeAway.

Estimated amount that the U.S. retail industry generated during the holidays in 2013, according to Statista, the statistics portal: $3.19 trillion

Percentage of the retail industry's total 2013 sales that were accounted for by holiday-period transactions: 19.2

As a result, estimated number of extra employees who were hired to compensate for the holiday rush: 768,000

Source: Statista.

Percentage of shoppers who said they did no holiday shopping online, according to consumer survey information conducted by Kelton Research, RetailMeNot data and other third-party research: 14.5

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Percentage of companies hosting Christmas parties that have an open bar, according to the results of the Holiday Parties and Office Morale survey, conducted by BizBash and Seamless: 45

Percentage that have a cash bar: 7

Percentage that do not serve alcohol: 21

Source: BizBash.

Percentage of Americans who have made an impulse purchase, according to a CreditCards.com report: 75

Percentage who have spent $100 or more on an impulse purchase: 33

Number of times more likely that men are than women to spend $1,000 or more on an impulse buy: 3

Rank of "excited" on the list of most common emotions at the time of the impulse purchase: 1

Source: Creditcards.com.

Percentage of major retailers that offer financing options to their customers, according to research by CardHub: 69

Of the major retailers that provide financing, percentage that currently offer a deferred interest plan: 50

Source: CardHub.

When asked if they would prefer to give a gift with a $25 value, a gift certificate with a $25 value or simply $25 in cash, percentage of respondents who chose the gift certificate, according to a survey by Saint Leo University Polling Institute: 39

When it comes to receiving a gift, percentage of people who would prefer receiving $25 in cash: 41

Source: Saint Leo University Polling Institute.

Idle Thought

"There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, and that is to have either a clear conscience or none at all." -- Ogden Nash

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

Percentage of office partygoers who said they've kissed or had a sexual encounter of some kind with a boss or co-worker at an office party, according to a poll by The Salonniere: 20

Percentage who admitted to flirting with a boss, co-worker or a co-worker's significant other: 36

Source: The Salonniere.

Percentage of Americans who admit they shop online while at work, according to a survey by FindLaw.com: 35

Percentage who said they do so to keep purchases a surprise or secret from other family members: 28

Percentage who said they do it because there is not enough time to shop outside of work: 24

Source: FindLaw.com.

Year that the first Christmas tree debuted at Rockefeller Center, erected by construction workers eager to receive a day's pay in the depths of the Depression and decorated with tin cans and scrap paper: 1931

Height of the 1931 tree: 20 feet

Height of the 2014 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, a Norway spruce from central Pennsylvania: 85 feet

Weight: 13 tons

Source: NBC New York/Bloomberg.

Percentage of people who say relatives overstay their welcome after a day or less, with some saying their family members wear out their welcome as soon as they arrive, according to a HomeAway Vacation report: 22

Percentage who say relatives overstay their welcome after just a few days: 29

Percentage who say their relatives never wear out their welcome: 33

Source: Home Away.

Percentage of women who say they're not going to shop at all this holiday season, according to Nielsen Wire: 10

Percentage of men who say the same: 18

Source: Nielsen Analytics.

Percentage of senior managers who said their employees are less productive the week before a major holiday, according to a survey by Accountemps: 34

Source: Accountemps.

Percentage of people with a diagnosed mental illness who find that the holidays make their condition "a lot worse," according to a survey by the National Alliance on Mental Illness: 24

Percentage of respondents who reported that the holidays contribute to feeling sad or dissatisfied and financially strained: 68

Percentage who say they experience loneliness: 66

Source: NAMI.

Ranks of electronics, computers and tablets, and phones on the list of product categories Wall Street professionals believe will perform best versus last year: 1, 2, 3

Average amount these professionals say they will spend on gifts for their spouses or significant others: $900

Source: Convergex.

Percentage of gift recipients who would enjoy receiving a food gift, according to a study of holiday food gift trends conducted by Omaha Steaks: 86

Ranks of chocolate, smoked meats and/or cheese basket, and wine on the list of top choices: 1, 2, 3

Source: Omaha Steaks.

Because retail data breaches have raised consumer awareness of identity protection during the busy holiday shopping season, percentage of consumers shopping in stores who noted that they plan to stay aware of their surroundings when shopping, according to a survey from Experian's ProtectMyID: 70

Source: Experian Consumer Direct.

Idle Thought

"Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed and well-fed." -- Herman Melville

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

Percentage of Americans who say they celebrate Christmas, according to a Pew Research Center survey: 90

Percentage of respondents who say they went caroling when they were young: 36

Percentage who do so today: 16

Percentage who say they put up a Christmas tree as children: 92

Percentage who do so today: 79

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Ranks of crowds and long lines, bad traffic, and aggressive or thoughtless driving in store parking lots on the list of the biggest holiday dreads, according to a Consumer Reports poll: 1, 2, 3

When asked what their go-to gift was for someone they didn't know particularly well or someone they hadn't planned to give a gift originally, percentage who said gift cards: 29

Percentage who cited wine/other alcohol: 16

Source: Consumer Reports.

Percentage of CFOs who said the top reason good employees quit is inadequate salary and benefits, according to research from Robert Half: 28

Percentage of employees who cited poor compensation as the primary reason they would leave their jobs: 38

Percentage of CFOs who cited limited opportunities for advancement as the reason employees would leave their job: 22

Percentage of employees who said the same: 20

Source: Robert Half.

Percentage of U.S. adults who set a budget on their holiday gift shopping, according to a poll conducted for Offers.com: 60

Percentage of U.S. adults who make holiday gift lists: 53

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Year of the first written record of a decorated Christmas tree -- in Riga, Latvia -- according to History.com: 1510

Year that trees were sold in the marketplace and brought home and set up undecorated, according to a record from Alsace, France (then German territory), where laws limited the size to "8 shoe lengths" (slightly over 4 feet): 1530

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

Source: History.com's Christmas Section.

Amount of money the average U.S. family will spend on gifts this year, an increase of $66 per household, according to a survey published by Time Inc. and YouGov: $736

Amount this equates to for total U.S. holiday gift spending: $77.5 billion

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of companies that have holiday parties, according to Hornblower Cruises & Events: 86

Percentage of employees who believe that hosting a holiday party can have an improvement on office morale: 67

Source: Hornblower Cruises.

Percentage of American adults nationally who think people should say, "Merry Christmas," according to the Knights of Columbus-Marist Poll: 64

Percentage who believe the appropriate greeting is "Happy Holidays": 31

Source: Knights of Columbus/Marist Poll.

Percentage of Americans who expected to take a trip this holiday season, according to the 2013/2014 AAA year-end forecast: 29.7

Projected number of Americans who will journey 50 miles or more from home during the year-end holiday season: 94.5 million

Source: AAA.

Percentage of cat owners who go the extra mile this time of year to buy their cat the perfect present to put under the tree, according to a survey conducted by Temptations Treats for Cats: 46

Percentage of women who are more likely than men to consider their cat when buying gifts during the holidays: 49

For those cats lucky enough to have made the shopping list, percentage of their owners who will be purchasing toys for their feline friends, despite the fact that owners believe their cats prefer treats in their stockings: 85

Source: Temptations.

Idle Thought

"Don't be seduced into thinking that that which does not make a profit is without value." -- Arthur Miller, playwright and essayist

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