Ranks of crowds and long lines, aggressive or thoughtless driving in shopping centers, bad traffic, weight gain, fake holiday cheer and debt on the list of holiday dreads as cited by Americans, according to Consumer Reports: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Rank of "that fruitcake" on the list of the least-favorite holiday food gifts: 1

Source: Consumer Reports.

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

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Percentage of Americans who would skip exchanging gifts if their family and friends agreed to it, according to a survey conducted by Harris on behalf of SunTrust Bank: 69

Percentage who said they would spend more time with friends and family if they didn't have to worry about buying or making gifts: 60

Percentage of respondents who said they would use that money to pay down debt: 37

Source: The Harris Poll.

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 data compiled by the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners from various sources: 1856

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

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

Source: University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners.

Percentage of people who said the holiday party is very important to office morale and company success, according to a BizBash and Seamless survey: 73

Percentage of respondents who reported better office friendships as a result of past holiday parties: 75

Percentage who reported an improved office culture: 71

Source: BizBash.

Percentage of "dog people" who will buy their pup a gift this holiday season, according to a survey by BarkBox: 80

Percentage who say their dog is the happiest receiver on their list: 71

Source: BarkBox.

For girls, rank of Barbie on the list of must-have toys for the fourth consecutive year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation: 1

For boys, rank of LEGOs on the list of must-haves: 1

Source: NRF.

Percentage of retailers who indicated their greatest focus for holiday marketing will be on millennials, compared to a focus on Gen X (34 percent) or baby boomers (6 percent), according to a survey by RetailMeNot.com: 57

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

When it comes to getting the best customer service, percentage of consumers who say a human is needed, according to a Genesys study: 75

Ranks of being put on hold (42 percent), being given incorrect information (37 percent) and being given too many automated options before reaching an agent or resolving their issue (36 percent) on the list of the biggest customer annoyances: 1, 2, 3

Ranks of a timely response (64 percent) and knowledgeable agents (55 percent) on the list for the type of customer experiences they value the most: 1, 2

Source: Genesys.

Percentage of parents who are overwhelmed when researching child safety products, according to a survey conducted by Harris on behalf of Volvo Car USA: 92

Percentage of parents who believe that people are more judgmental about the way they care for their children today, as opposed to 10 years ago: 84

Rank of the child safety seat on the list of concerns regarding child safety: 1

Source: The Harris Poll.

Idle Thought

"Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness." -- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

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

Percentage of Americans who believe in God, according to a Harris poll: 82

Percentage who said they believe in a heaven: 75

Percentage who said there is a devil: 60

Percentage who said there is a place called hell: 61

Source: The Harris Poll.

Amount consumers are expected to spend this holiday season, despite near-record credit card debt levels, according to WalletHub: $1.1 trillion

Number of people who will have holiday debt into February: 55 million

Source: WalletHub.

In 2018, percentage increase in the price index of the gifts in the holiday classic "The Twelve Days of Christmas," according to economic analysis by PNC Wealth Management: 1.2

According to this year's survey, current price tag for these gifts: $39,094.93

Cost to a very thoughtful true love to buy the whole shebang -- from a single partridge to 12 drummers drumming for each verse (that's 364 separate pieces of Christmas joy): $170,609

Cost of nine ladies dancing: $7,552.84

Cost of 10 lords a-leaping: $10,000

Source: PNC Wealth Management.

Number of real Christmas trees that were purchased in 2017, according to the National Christmas Tree Association: 27.4 million

Average price paid: $75

Source: National Christmas Tree Association.

Percentage of employers who plan to give gifts to workers, according to the Advertising Specialty Institute: 42

Percentage of companies who anticipate that they will provide gifts to prospective and existing clients: 37

Source: Advertising Specialty Institute.

Percentage of student loan borrowers who would rather receive a student loan payment instead of a gift this holiday season, according to a survey by Ameritech Financial: 70

Percentage of student loan borrowers who are planning to skip a payment to help cover their holiday spending: 40

Source: Ameritech Financial.

Date that Radio City Music Hall opened with a troupe known as the Roxyettes, according to Radio City Music Hall data: Dec. 27, 1932

Year they officially they became the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes: 1934

Since the Christmas Spectacular's opening night, number of women who have shared in the legacy by performing as a Rockette: 3,000 plus

Number of people who have seen the Christmas Spectacular since the New York holiday tradition officially began: 75 million plus

Source: Radio City Music Hall.

Amount of the recent Mega Millions record jackpot (won by a single ticket purchased in South Carolina), according to Ipsos research: $1.537 billion

Percentage of people who bought tickets for the jackpot who say they didn't start playing until the jackpot reached at least $1 billion: 30

Percentage of these who say they didn't buy until the jackpot reached its peak of $1.6B (the highest advertised amount): 50

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of women who are willing to shop around for deals and use coupons (compared to 53 percent of men), according to a survey by Bankrate.com: 62

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage of the top retailers who said they've seen an increase in employee turnover since the beginning of 2018, according to a survey conducted by Korn Ferry: 29

Of all retail positions, rank of part-time hourly store employees on the list of workers with the highest turnover rate: 1

Percentage of respondents who say that in 2018 they gave wage hikes to existing employees to put their salaries on par with increased starting wages: 34

Source: Korn Ferry International.

Idle Thought

"Patience is also a form of action." -- Auguste Rodin, sculptor

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

Percentage of all Americans who have felt pressured to spend more money on holiday gifts than what they are comfortable with, according to a survey by Bankrate.com: 45

Estimated number of Americans (13 percent of gift-givers) who are willing to boycott gift-giving altogether: 31 million

Percentage of gift-giving Americans who are willing to re-gift presents this holiday season: 22

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Average cost of this year's Thanksgiving Day feast for 10, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation's 33rd annual survey of classic items found on the Thanksgiving Day table: $48.90

Source: American Farm Bureau Federation.

Percentage of Americans with high financial confidence who say the holidays are their favorite time of year, according to an annual holiday survey by SunTrust Banks, Inc.: 64

Source: SunTrust Banks Inc.

Estimated number of fatalities, with another 49,400 serious injuries, in car crashes during the Thanksgiving Day holiday period, according to projections by The National Safety Council: 433

In 2017, rank of Thanksgiving on the list of the deadliest holidays on the roads, trailing only the Fourth of July: 2

On average, percentage of deaths during the Thanksgiving holiday period that involve alcohol-impaired drivers: 33

Source: National Safety Council.

Percentage of retailers who agree that deals and discounts are more effective at driving purchases during the holidays than other times of the year, according to a survey by RetailMeNot.com: 95

Ranks of lowest price on the gift, free shipping, or the best sale or discount throughout the season on the list of reasons consumers say they will spend more money on a particular retailer's site: 1, 2, 3

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Aggregated amount spent on gift cards over the past year, according to a survey by Packaged Facts: $42 billion

Amount spent on gift cards given to others: $25 billion

Amount spent on gift cards given to themselves: $14 billion

Amount spent on gift cards given to people by their employers: $3 billion

Source: Packaged Facts.

On Black Friday 2017, amount that American shoppers spent online, according to a survey by Genesys: $5 billion

On Cyber Monday, the record-setting amount spent in web-based sales: $6.59 billion

Source: Genesys.

Projected percentage increase in retail of this year's holiday sales over last year's shopping season, according to Deloitte's annual retail holiday sales forecast: 5 to 5.6

Expected total holiday sales between November and January (seasonally adjusted and excluding motor vehicles and gasoline): $1.10 trillion

Source: Deloitte.

Percentage of consumers who will shop online and in department stores this holiday season, according to survey by the National Retail Federation: 55

Percentage who will go to discount stores: 51

Percentage who will go to grocery stores: 44

Percentage who will go to clothing stores: 33

Percentage who will go to electronics stores: 24

Source: NRF.

Average retail credit card APR (annual percentage rate), almost five percentage points higher than the average overall card APR (20.82 percent), according to a new report from CreditCards.com: 25.64

Source: CreditCards.com.

Idle Thought

"The cardinal doctrine of a fanatic's creed is that his enemies are the enemies of God." -- Andrew Dickson White, co-founder and president of Cornell University

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