Percentage of small businesses in the U.S. that say the holiday season is important for their overall profit, up from 70% that said the same last year, according to the MetLife and U.S. Chamber of Commerce: 79

Percentage that say inflation is the biggest challenge for a small business: 53

Percentage of small businesses that say they raised prices in response to inflation this holiday season: 69

Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Percentage of Americans who say they feel less safe driving or riding in cars with self-driving features, according to a survey by Policygenius: 76

Percentage who say they feel less safe knowing others on the road have cars with self-driving features: 73

Percentage who think insurance should cost more for cars with self-driving features: 62

Source: Policygenius.

Percentage of Americans who want to save more money in 2023, according to a survey by NCSolutions: 61

Percentage who said they want to exercise more: 49

Percentage who say they want to eat healthier: 48

Source: NCSolutions.

Ranks of New York, Orlando and Las Vegas on the list of the best cities for New Year's celebrations: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of Durham, North Carolina, and Raleigh, North Carolina, on the list of cities with the lowest average ticket price for a New Year's Eve party: 1, 2

Ranks of New Orleans, Miami, New York and Cleveland on the list of cities with the most expensive average ticket price for a New Year's Eve party: 1 (tie)

Source: WalletHub.

Average amount that consumers are expected to have spent during the November-December 2022 holiday season, for a total of at least $942.6 billion, according to the National Retail Federation's annual forecast: $833

Based on the average 2.22% transaction fee rate for Visa and Mastercard, amount that the average family will pay in swipe fees on holiday spending: $18.50

Amount that would add up to nationwide if all purchases were made with credit cards: $20.9 billion

Source: Merchants Payments Coalition.

Rank of Generation Z (age 18 to 25) as the most likely to have built savings during the pandemic, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual: 1

Age at which members of Generation Z expect to retire, the youngest of any of the comparative generations -- millennials, Gen X and baby boomers: 59

Source: Northwestern Mutual.

Percentage of senior business decision-makers who expect supply chain issues will last until the end of summer 2023, according to SAP SE: 33

Percentage of those leaders who say the primary reason for those issues persisting is political unrest: 58

Source: SAP SE.

Percentage more often that backyards are mentioned in for-sale listings compared to last year, according to a survey by Zillow: 22

Percentage more often that patios were mentioned: 13

Percentage more often that pools were mentioned: 11

Source: Zillow.

Ranks of protection of user privacy, protection of users' personal data, and the establishment of standards detailing how internet companies collect and make use of user data on the suggested list of the most effective policies to improve trust in the internet, according to research by Ipsos: 1 (tie), 3

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of global consumer spending accounted for by the age 50-plus population ($35 trillion), according to the American Association of Retired Persons: 50

Percentage this expected to increase to by 2050: 60

Percentage of the total global spend on health accounted for by the 50-plus population: 60

Percentage of the total global spend on professional and financial services: 52

Percentage of the total global spend on food and beverage: 49

Source: AARP.

Idle Thought

"The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh, writer (1906-2001)

Percentage of Americans who plan to spend a quieter evening at home this New Year's, which is on par with years past, according to a survey from Omaha Steaks: 54

Source: Omaha Steaks.

Percentage of people who say they were upset when they found out that Santa wasn't real, according to a survey by Wriggly Toes: 30

Percentage who said they played along with the Santa shtick for a time, even after the finding out the "truth": 65

Source: Wriggly Toes.

Amount extra that inflation is costing the average American per month, according to an estimate from Moody's Analytics: $433

Ranks of eggs, flour and prepared mixes, turkey, dairy and related products, bakery products, sugar and sweets, and poultry on the list of the most inflated-cost items in the holiday food category, according to Bankrate.com: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Source: Bankrate.com.

Ranks of remote work; diversity, equity and inclusion; and employee health and well-being on the list of areas where tech leaders say they are doubling down on investment, according to an Ernst & Young LLP poll: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of data and analytics; machine learning/artificial intelligence; and 5G on the list of the most commonly reported technologies that leaders in the tech industry say they are implementing to ensure more efficient operations amid the threat of a recession: 1, 2, 3

Source: Ernst & Young LLP.

Average cost of a data breach in 2022, according to research by WalletHub: $9.44 million

Number of days it takes to contain: 277

Ranks of the District of Columbia, Delaware, Louisiana, Rhode Island and Colorado on the list of states most vulnerable to identity theft and fraud: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of adults who are less worried this holiday season about spreading COVID-19 at a holiday gathering (down from 35% in 2021), according to a survey by the American Psychiatric Association: 25

Percentage who are also less worried about spending time with family members who may have different views about COVID-19 (down from 30% in 2021): 18

Percentage of respondents who say they are most looking forward to seeing family and friends this holiday season: 47

Percentage who said they were most looking forward to eating good food: 21

Source: American Psychiatric Association.

Percentage of millennials (those between the ages of 23 and 38) who report overspending during the holidays, according to research by GoBankingRates.com: 86

Of that group, percentage who said they went over their desired threshold by $500 or more: 21

Percentage of respondents who said electronics were the big-ticket item that pushed their pocketbook: 69

Source: GoBankingRates.com.

Percentage increase in holiday travel in 2022 compared to 2021, according to Allianz Partners USA: 17

Ranks of New York City, Seattle, Orlando, Phoenix and Los Angeles on the list of Americans' favored domestic holiday destinations: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Cancun, Mexico; San Jose del Cabo, Mexico; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Oranjestad, Aruba, on the list of America's favored international holiday destinations: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Allianz Partners.

Percentage of investors who are not retired who say they are terrified about their long-term and post-retirement financial futures, according to the Nationwide Retirement Institute: 51

Percentage who are checking their retirement account balances more than three times a week in today's volatile market: 43

Source: Nationwide.

Idle Thought

"People change and forget to tell each other." -- Lillian Hellman, playwright (1905-1984)

Date of the probable first flight of Santa's sleigh, a versatile, all weather, multi-purpose, vertical short-takeoff-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.

Length of the sleigh, built by Kringle and Elves Inc. and home-based at the North Pole: 75 cc (candy canes)/150 lps (lollipops)

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.

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.

Date of the first Christmas celebration, according to research by DMR Stats and fun facts pages: Dec. 25, 336 in Rome

Year the first Christmas card was sent: 1611

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

First time Christmas was a bank holiday, originally observed in England: 1834

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

Source: DMR Stats and fun facts pages.

Year that tinsel was invented in Germany and was originally spun from real silver, making it far from the decoration it is now, according to Surprising Christmas Facts from CDS Global Inc.: 1610

Source: CDS Global.

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 have watched as their parents made an online gift purchase: 25

Source: Wriggly Toes.

Using salary information from comparable jobs from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, estimated percentage annual salary raise for the North Pole's most famous and beloved resident in 2022, according to insure.com: 2

For all his tasks -- from Rudolph's nose maintenance, running the workshop, reading letters, checking his list (twice) to taste-testing each delicious cookie, even the oatmeal raisin ones -- amount that Santa, with "a magically tireless work ethic," earned this year (up from $159,622): $162,555

Source: insure.com.

Percentage of adults who say they expect to feel more stressed this upcoming holiday season compared to last, an increase of 9 percentage points since 2021, according to a poll from the American Psychiatric Association (APA): 31

Ranks of affording holiday gifts, meals, and finding and securing holiday gifts on the list of potential drivers of stress: 1, 2, 3

Source: American Psychiatric Assocation.

Estimated number of children under age 18 in the world, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF): 2.375 billion

If we assume that each household has, on average, 2.5 children, number of stops Santa would have to make on Christmas Eve, traveling 221 million miles: 950 million

Given the different time zones, number of hours that Santa has to deliver gifts, making his average speed approximately 650 miles per second: 36

Utilizing theoretical "relativity clouds" that would allow Santa to stretch time like a rubber band and give him months to deliver gifts, amount of time that would pass for the rest of us, according to Larry Silverberg, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University: a few minutes

Source: UNICEF and Larry Silverberg.

Number of consumers who plan to shop in-store and online on "Super Saturday" -- the last Saturday before Christmas Eve and Christmas -- this year on Dec. 17, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights and Analytics: 158 million

Percentage of their holiday shopping that is completed as of early December: 53

Percentage who say their holiday plans include purchasing after Dec. 25: 70

Source: NRF.

Idle Thought

"You cannot do kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson