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.)

Number of nationalities attending the autumn feast at Plymouth Colony, which is widely believed to be one of the first Thanksgivings: 2

Number of U.S. residents of English ancestry as of 2014: 24.4 million

Number of members of the Wampanoag American Indian tribal grouping, as of 2010, roughly half of whom reside in Massachusetts: 6,500

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Male turkeys are called "toms," and since 1950, the number of quarterbacks who are 5-1 on Thanksgiving, according to NFL Communications: 3 (Tom Brady, Tom Flores and Tommy Kramer)

Speed at which a turkey can run: 25 miles per hour

Speed at which Dri Archer of the Pittsburgh Steelers can run: 19.4 mph

Weight of the heaviest turkey: 86 pounds

Weight of the heaviest NFL player (Aaron Gibson): 410 pounds

Source: NFL.com.

Number of people who have died since 2006 in Black Friday shopping-related incidents, according to the cheerfully titled blackfridaydeathcount.com: 7

Number of reported injuries: 98

Source: blackfridaydeathcount.com.

Average weight of a male wild turkey, according to the National Wild Turkey Federation: 16 to 24 pounds

Average weight of the female: 8 to 10 pounds

Weights of Popcorn and Caramel, the two turkeys pardoned by President Barack Obama, according to the White House: 37-plus pounds each

Estimated amount of money Americans are expected to shell out for Thanksgiving to stock up on turkey, stuffing, potatoes and other holiday staples, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture: $2.4 billion

Source: Andrew Soergel/U.S. News and World Report.

Percentage of legal drinking-age Americans who associate watching football with drinking alcohol, according to the results of a Harris Poll: 84

Ranks of football, baseball, hockey, auto racing and horse racing on the list of sports that legal drinking-age Americans associate with one or more alcoholic beverage types: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of beer as the beverage of choice for football, baseball, car racing and hockey: 1

Percentage of horse racing fans whose first choice is spirits/liquor: 25

Percentage of tennis fans who opt for wine as their first choice: 19

Source: The Harris Poll.

When asked to indicate which fashion "rules" they consciously follow, percentage of U.S. adults who report that they don't wear socks with sandals, according to data from YouGov: 47

Percentage of women who say they don't mix the two: 60

Percentage of women who report they typically avoid wearing stockings or socks with open-toe shoes: 47

Ultimately, percentage of men (and 22 percent of women) who say they don't consciously follow any fashion rules: 46

Source: YouGov.

Percentage of U.S. adults who plan to make all of their holiday purchases by the end of November, according to a CreditCards.com report: 25

Percentage of adults with children under age 18 who have already bought at least one holiday gift: 19

Source: creditcards.com.

Percentage of parents who find that technology increases their child's curiosity about the environment around them, according to a survey from Sprout: 71

Percentage who say technology helps their children explore the world by introducing them to new cultures: 66

Percentage who feel tech enhances their child's development and learning: 62

Source: Sprout.

When asked what percentage of their holiday shopping will take place using a mobile device, percentage who believe that they will make less than 20 percent of all their purchases using their phones and/or tablets: 23

Percentage who estimate they will make between 21 percent and 40 percent of their purchases online: 13

Percentage who say that 41 to 60 percent of their total holiday shopping will be completed using a mobile device: 11

Source: Offers.com.

When it comes to holiday cards, ranks of handwritten notes, family photos and homemade cards on the list of ways that make holiday cards stand out, according to a survey by Ipsos: 1 (tie), 3

Ranks of room decor, party games, and cocktail bar or themed cocktails on the list of features that are seen to make for an unforgettable party: 1, 2 (tie)

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Idle Thought

"The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out." -- Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859), poet

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