There’s a lot more to this time of year than the 12 days of Christmas, 3 wise men or 5 golden rings. Between digging out our credit cards and stringing hundreds of twinkly lights on the gutters, most of us have more numbers than sugar plums dancing in our heads.
And so, I bring you Christmas by the Numbers, a round up of interesting statistics about this huge holiday.
93: Percent of Americans (in 2008) who say they celebrate Christmas
81: Percent of Americans (in 2008) who identify with Christian faith
$427 million: Predicted sales of Christmas cards in 2012
4.1: Percent that holiday sales are expected to rise in 2012 over the previous year
12: Percent that online holiday sales are expected to rise
625,000: Predicted number of seasonal workers expected to be hired this holiday season.
25-30 million: Number of real Christmas trees sold in the U.S. each year
7: Average growing time (in years) of a six- to seven-foot tall Christmas tree
4,000: Number of Christmas tree recycling programs across the country
749.51: Dollars expected to be spent on gifts, decor and cards by the average holiday shopper this year
60: Percent of holiday shoppers expected to “self-gift”
1: Rank of gift cards in list of popular Christmas present requests
10: Percent chance of a white Christmas in my city (Baltimore, MD)
Any statistics that you’d like to see? Share your ideas in the comments section. Happy holidays!