Figuratively Speaking

Year that the first Christmas card was sent, according to research by DMR: 1611

Years that Christmas was banned in England by the Puritans: 1647-1660

First year that Christmas was a bank holiday in England: 1834

Year that Christmas became a U.S. federal holiday: 1870

Source: DMR.

Percentage of Americans who plan to tip their trash/recycling collector during the holidays, according to a survey from CreditCards.com: 19

Median amount of tip: $20

Percentage who will tip a child's schoolteacher: 41

Median amount of tip: $25

Percentage who will tip a child care provider: 41

Median amount of tip: $50

Source: CreditCards.com.

Despite this year's early shopping trend, percentage of shoppers who still expect a "last-minute Christmas shopping" scramble, according to an Ipsos Poll: 20

Ranks of Amazon, Walmart, AT&T, Verizon Communications and Apple Inc. on the list of the top brands for gift cards: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of gift cards and money on wish lists across the country: 1, 2

Source: Ipsos.

Rank of "It's a Wonderful Life," "Elf" and "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" on the list of favorite Christmas movies, according to a survey by Jackson, New Hampshire's Christmas Farm Inn and Spa: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of "Silent Night," "White Christmas" and "O Holy Night" on the list of favorite Christmas songs: 1, 2, 3

Source: Christmas Farm Inn and Spa.

Percentage of respondents who said they would be traveling to a second home or vacation rental over the holidays, according to Pacaso: 45

Percentage who said they would like some amount of seasonal decoration at their second home or vacation rental: 76

Source: Pacaso.

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 John F. Kennedy: 1963

Source: National Christmas Tree Association.

Percentage of parents with kids under 18 who say they are worried about disappointing their kids this holiday season, according to a survey by LendingTree: 69

Percentage who lose sleep over holiday spending worries: 50

Source: LendingTree.

Date of the probable first flight of Santa's sleigh (built by Kringle and Elves Inc.), a versatile, all-weather, multipurpose, vertical short-take-off and landing vehicle capable of traveling vast distances without refueling and deployed, as far as we know, only on Christmas Eve (and briefly for a test flight about a month before Christmas), according to NORAD: Dec. 24, 343 A.D.

Home base: North Pole

Length of the sleigh: 75 cc (candy canes) / 150 lps (lollipops)

Width: 40 cc / 80 lps

Height: 55 cc / 110 lps

Weight at takeoff: 75,000 gd (gumdrops)

Propulsion: Nine (9) rp (reindeer power)

Armament: Antlers (purely defensive)

Climbing speed: One "T" (Twinkle of an eye)

Max speed: Faster than starlight

Source: NORAD.

Number of children Santa must visit in a matter of hours, according to the Ministry of Fun: 2.1 billion

Number of stops he must make (assuming the global average of 2.5 children per household applies): 842 million

Source: Ministry of Fun.

Date that two astronauts aboard Gemini 6 sent an odd report to Mission Control saying that they saw an unidentified flying object about to enter Earth's atmosphere, traveling in the polar orbit from north to south -- interrupting the tense report with the sound of "Jingle Bells," as Wally Schirra played a small harmonica accompanied by Tom Stafford on a handful of small sleigh bells they had smuggled aboard, according to research by author and historian Christopher Klein: December 16, 1965

Source: Surprising Christmas Facts.

Idle Thought

"What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?" -- Jean Jacques Rousseau, philosopher and author (1712-1778)

Percentage increase in the price index of the whimsical economic analysis by PNC Wealth Management based of the prices of gifts in the holiday classic "The Twelve Days of Christmas" from 2019 to 2021, and now totaling $41,205: 8.6

Cost for a partridge in a pear tree, up 6%: $222.68

Cost for five golden rings, up 8.5%: $895

Cost for 11 pipers piping, up 7.1%: $2,748.87

Source: PNC Financial Services Group.

Ranks of bicycles, gym equipment, sporting balls and guitars on the list of the hardest gifts to wrap, according to a survey by Slickdeals: 1, 2, 3, 4

Percentage of people who say they can identify a gift and who it's from based on how it has been wrapped: 56

Source: Slickdeals.

Percentage of holiday celebrants who are willing to explore ways to reduce their gift-giving costs this year, according to CreditCards.com: 76

Percentage who are seeking out coupons and store sales: 42

Percentage who are limiting gift exchanges to immediate family members: 39

Percentage who are giving homemade gifts: 24

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of parents who blame the internet for their children no longer believing in Santa, according to a survey by Wriggly Toes: 16.5

Percentage who say Google searches are responsible for their kids discovering the truth: 33

Percentage of kids who say they were upset when they found out that Santa wasn't real: 30

Percentage who said they played along with the Santa shtick for a time, even after they realized it wasn't true: 65

Source: Wriggly Toes.

Percentage of gift-givers who are getting creative and saying they are very likely or might use an on-demand service like DoorDash to order last-minute gifts, according to an Oracle Retail study: 55

Percentage of people who fear porch pirates may steal a delivery: 32

Source: Oracle.

Percentage of workers who have received raises this past year, according to a MagnifyMoney survey of full-time workers: 58

Of those who received a pay increase this past year, percentage of men who say the increase was $5,000 or more annually, compared with 36% of women who say the same: 52

Source: LendingTree.

Entering December, percentage of Americans who had already finished or are almost done with their holiday shopping, according to an Ipsos Poll: 52

Ranks of gift cards and money on people's wish list across the country: 1

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Of Americans traveling for Christmas this year, percentage who will be staying in a hotel, according to a survey commissioned by the American Hotel and Lodging Association: 23

Source: American Hotel and Lodging Association.

Ranks of promotions, discounts and free shipping on the list of influences for shoppers purchasing gifts this holiday season, according to a Deloitte survey: 1, 2, 3

Source: Deloitte.

Idle Thought

"In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute." -- Thurgood Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1908-1993)

Percentage of Americans who say they will have more parties and get-togethers this holiday season than last season, according to a survey by the Christmas Tree Promotion Board: 51

Percentage who say they are putting up more decorations than last year: 51

Percentage who say they will be celebrating with more people than usual: 49

Source: Christmas Tree Promotion Board.

Average amount that parents will spend on gifts per child under 18 this holiday season, according to CreditCards.com: $276

Percentage more that men will spend than women on gifts for a significant other: 55

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of gift-givers who will have gifts delivered to their home, according to an Oracle Retail study: 64

Percentage who say granular tracking of delivery status is very important: 62

Percentage who say fast delivery determines which retailers they order from: 36

Source: Oracle.

Percentage of Americans who identify wrapping gifts as the worst part of the holidays, according to a survey by Slickdeals: 52

Percentage who hate the task so much they prefer having a professional wrap their gifts and will do anything to avoid wrapping: 51

Source: Slickdeals.

Percentage of small businesses that report being fully recovered from the pandemic, according to a survey by Alignable: 27

Percentage of manufacturers that say they need more assistance from the federal government to bounce back: 81

Percentage of restaurants that say the same: 66

Source: Alignable.

Percentage of Americans who spend more time holiday shopping than managing their money, according to a survey by MyBankTracker.com: 13

Percentage who spend about the same amount of time on both: 34

Source: MyBankTracker.com.

Percentage of consumers who do not plan to spend at all this holiday season, more than double the number from 2020 (4.9%), according to a survey by Deloitte: 11.5

Percentage of this non-spender group who are from lower-income households, compared to 12% from higher-income households: 65

Source: Deloitte.

Percentage of Americans who were motivated to undertake home improvement projects recently by a desire to increase future sale value, according to a survey by Angi: 77

Percentage of men who are more likely to say they can do just as good a job as a pro, vs. 32% of women who say the same: 48

Source: Angi.

Ranks of a gift card, traditional holiday gifts, money, and a personalized or customized gift on the list of the most common types of gifts Americans plan to purchase this year, according to a Shutterfly poll conducted by Ipsos: 1, 2, 3, 4

Among those who have purchased personalized gifts, percentage who said the reason was to show family or friends that they care: 52

Percentage who said they think a personalized present carries more meaning than a typical gift: 44

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of people who are unaware how a common financing trick called "deferred interest" works, according to the 2021 Deferred Interest survey by WalletHub: 56

Number of times more that a shopper can spend on interest relative to a normal 0% credit card offer: 27.5

Percentage of store credit cards that have deferred interest: 49

Source: WalletHub.

Idle Thought

"Just as appetite comes by eating, so work brings inspiration." -- Igor Stravinsky, composer (1882-1971)