Percentage of adults who plan to go carolling, according to a Pew Research Center poll: 16

Percentage who will attend religious services Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, a drop from 69 percent when they were children: 54

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

Percentage of Americans who say they most look forward to spending time with friends and family during the holiday season, according to a Harris Poll: 52

Ranks of holiday dinners and parties, finding and giving presents, and putting up holiday decorations on the list of holiday events they most enjoy: 2 (tie), 4

Percentage of Americans who say the one thing they dislike most about the holidays is spending too much money: 27

Source: The Harris Poll.

Estimated number of children (under the age of 18) in the world, according to a study from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and cited in the column "Santa Science: The Straight Facts on Father Christmas" by Zachary Sniderman: 2 billion

At a rate of, say, 3.5 children per household, number of homes Santa will visit: 91.8 million

Number of hours of Christmas that Santa has to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the Earth, assuming he travels east to west: 31

Number of visits he must make per second: 822.6

Speed at which Santa's sleigh must travel: 650 miles per second (3,000 times the speed of sound)

Source: Santa Science.

Percentage of respondents to the marriage proposal survey by Chilisauce who chose Christmas Eve as the best time to pop the question: 31

Percentage of proposals that are expected to happen around Christmas: 40

Ranks of Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve and birthday on the list of the best times for a marriage proposal: 2, 3, 4

Source: Chilisauce Ltd.

Weight of the 9.5-foot Swarovski crystal star that was placed on top of Rockefeller Center's iconic Christmas tree to officially mark the start of the holiday season in New York City, according to NBC New York: 550 pounds

Number of Swarovski crystals comprising the star: 25,000

Total number of facets (plane surfaces) on the star: 1 million

Source: NBC News.

Year that Barbie debuted at the annual Toy Fair in New York, according to research by Convergex: 1959

Year Barbie's beau, Ken, was introduced: 1961

Since her birthday on March 9, 1959, estimated number of careers she has had: 150

Year that Entrepreneur Barbie was introduced to celebrate women in business: 2014

Source: Good Housekeeping.

Estimated number of Americans who have had deliveries swiped from their doorsteps, according to a study conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International: 20 million

Percentage of homeowners who frequently allow delivered packages to be left out on their porch or stoop: 40

Source: Allstate Insurance Company.

Percentage of people who said the holiday party is very important to office morale and company success, according to a BizzBash and Seamless survey: 72

Percentage who reported an improved office culture: 71

Percentage who saw team dynamic improve: 67

Percentage who reported increased productivity: 18

Source: BizBash.

Percentage more that shoppers are projected to have spent this holiday season, an average of $1,121 each, according to PwC's 2016 Holiday Outlook: 10

Percentage of retailers who indicated they will provide both free shipping and free returns this holiday season: 60

Percentage of pet owners -- almost half of all households nationwide -- who are expected to buy gifts for their animal companions: 50

Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Ranks of crowds and long lines, aggressive or thoughtless driving in shopping centers, bad traffic and weight gain on the list of holiday dreads as cited by Americans, according to Consumer Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Consumer Reports.

Idle Thought

"A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees." -- Amelia Earhart

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

In 2016, 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": 0.7

According to this year's survey, current price tag for all 78 gifts (i.e., 12 drummers drumming, 11 pipers piping, 10 lords a-leaping, etc.), up just $232 over last year's total: $34,363

Cost to a very thoughtful true love to buy the whole shebang from each day and verse -- 364 separate pieces of Christmas joy (i.e., one gift on the first day of Christmas, three gifts on day two, six gifts on day three, etc.) : $156,507.88

Source: PNC Wealth Management.

When asked what their go-to gift was for someone they didn't know particularly well or someone that they hadn't planned to give a gift originally, percentage of respondents who said gift cards, according to a survey by Consumer Reports: 29

Percentage who cited wine/other alcohol: 16

Percentage who said chocolates/desserts/candy: 15

Source: Consumer Reports.

Average amount that companies giving gifts plan to spend for employees, according to Advertising Specialty Institute: $45

Average amount companies plan to spend thanking clients: $49

Ranks of cash bonuses, gift cards, food and beverages, and apparel on the list of leading employee gifts: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Advertising Specialty Institute.

Percentage of executives who said they look forward to Christmas celebrations, according to an executive survey by Korn/Ferry International: 56

Percentage who said they attend them when they can: 38

Percentage who said they generally do not attend or have little interest: 6

Source: Korn/Ferry International.

Year that Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, placed a Christmas tree in the White House for the first time, according to PolitiFact.com and the National Christmas Tree Association: 1856

Year that President Calvin Coolidge started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the White House lawn: 1923

Year that the National Christmas Tree was not lit until Dec. 22, because of a national 30-day period of mourning following the assassination of President Kennedy: 1963

Year that the National Christmas Tree Association began giving a Christmas tree to the president and first family for display in the Blue Room: 1966

Source: University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners.

Percentage of drivers who make phone calls while driving through a parking lot, according to a National Safety Council poll: 66

Percentage who text: 56

Percentage who program their GPS: 63

On average, estimated number of crashes that occur in parking lots and parking garages annually, resulting in 500 or more deaths and more than 60,000 injuries: 50,000

Source: National Safety Council.

Percentage of Americans planning to travel between Thanksgiving and New Year's in 2016, according to a survey by Orbitz Worldwide: 72

Average price for a Christmas airfare: $435

Average daily hotel costs for the 10 busiest locations: $180

Source: Orbitz Worldwide.

Percentage of women who say they or another female is primarily responsible for their household's holiday shopping, according to a survey conducted on behalf of CreditCards.com: 68

Percentage of men who believe that a woman is in charge of holiday shopping: 30

Percentage of women who say a female does most of their household's shopping for clothes and shoes (just 23 percent of men agree): 73

Source: creditcards.com.

Percentage of American workers who don't plan to give gifts to their co-workers, according to a survey by Spherion: 56

Percentage who don't plan to give a gift to their boss: 59

Source: Spherion.

Estimated percentage of homes that still put up and decorate a real Christmas tree each year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 20

Estimated percentage of U.S. households that now use artificial trees to decorate for the holidays: 50

Value of artificial Christmas trees imported into the U.S. from China during the first nine months of last year: $80 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Idle Thought

"Remember, when the judgment's weak, the prejudice is strong." -- Kane O'Hara, composer and playwright

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

When CFOs were asked which part of another company would be most difficult to integrate in a merger or acquisition, percentage who cited business systems and technology, according to the Robert Half Management Resources survey of CFOs: 28

Percentage who said employees and corporate culture: 27

Percentage who cited budgets and finances: 19

Source: Robert Half Management Resources.

Percentage of people who say a vacation brings them more happiness than their wedding day, according to global research commissioned by Booking.com: 49

Percentage who say a vacation brings them more happiness than landing a new job: 50

Percentage of people who say they book a vacation just when they're in need of a happiness boost: 77

Source: Booking.com.

Ranks of Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands on the list of the economies best-equipped to develop, attract and retain business talent, according to a report from IMD business school: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of the United States on the list: 14

Source: IMD International.

Approximate number of U.S. credit card holders who have snooped on the spending habits of someone with whom they share a credit card account, according to a CreditCards.com report: 17 million

Percentage of respondents who say they feel closer to the other person because of the shared account: 17

Source: Creditcards.com.

Percentage of Americans who report that their pay has increased over the past year, according to a new study by Bankrate.com: 48

Of the working Americans who state they are making more money this year, percentage who received a pay raise: 37

Percentage who found a better-paying job: 12

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of workers who spend at least some work time online doing holiday shopping, according to a survey by Careerbuilder: 53

Percentage who say they spend an hour or more doing so: 42

Percentage of employers who say they have fired somebody for shopping online during work hours: 11

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of women who have had to use the men's bathroom because the line in the women's bathroom was too long, according to an Ipsos poll: 53

Percentage of women who reported missing moments such as the end of a movie (21 percent), a favorite song at a concert (10 percent) or an important announcement (14 percent) because they needed to use the bathroom: 40

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of adults who say their at-home children believe in Santa Claus, according to a new Pew Research Center poll: 19

Percentage of children who plan to "pretend" that St. Nick will visit their house on Christmas Eve: 70

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

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 phones: 81

Today, percentage of U.S. households that have cellphones: 89

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of parents who believe that in today's social media-focused world, nurturing positive character traits like honesty and compassion in children is more important than it used to be, according to a study for Primrose Schools: 92

Despite this, percentage of parents who think preschool is too young for children to start learning social-emotional skills like generosity: 48

Source: Primrose Schools.

Idle Thought

"The wisest man is he who does not fancy that he is so at all." -- Nicolas Boileau-DesprCaux, poet and critic

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