Year that President Coolidge started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the White House lawn, according to PolitiFact.com and the National Christmas Tree Association: 1923

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 Americans who would give up extraordinary things to eat pizza as much as they want without feeling guilty, according to a survey by Caulipower: 63

Percentage who would have a social media detox for one year in exchange for guiltless pizza consumption: 37

Percentage who would throw their smartphones away for one month: 17

Percentage who would give up sex for a year: 16

Source: Caulipower.

Percentage of retirees who say they always pay their credit card balances in full when due, compared to 39% of current workers, according to a study by T. Rowe Price: 72

Percentage who say they always stick to their monthly budget if they have one, compared to 26% of current workers: 52

Percentage who say they never have problems paying their bills on time, compared to 58% of workers: 89

Source: T. Rowe Price.

Amount that Americans who shopped at independent retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday (Nov. 30), according to the 2019 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey from American Express and the National Federation of Independent Business: $19.6 billion

Percentage of American adults who are aware of Small Business Saturday, which always falls two days after Thanksgiving: 70

Source: Genesys.

Percentage of families who committed to an unplugged vacation who had enjoyed themselves more, according to research from Alamo Rent A Car: 41

Percentage who had better conversations: 40

Percentage who felt more relaxed: 38

Percentage who felt closer as a family: 36

Source: Alamo Rent A Car.

Amount the average December holiday air traveler will spend, according to a CreditCards.com report: $1,033

Among those planning to stay in hotels or short-term rentals, average expected expense for the December holidays: $673

Percentage of millennials who will fly or stay in a hotel over the December holidays, versus 12% of those age 39 and older: 35

Source: CreditCards.com.

Globally, percentage of respondents who said they have tried a diet to lose weight, according to a Global Advisor survey by Ipsos: 51

Percentage who said they were content with their weight: 55

Source: Ipsos Public Affairs.

Percentage of households that are "high spenders" -- spending more than $2,100 during the holidays -- accounting for 60% of total holiday spending, according to Deloitte: 20

Percentage of dollars spent on holiday travel, restaurants and hotels that are accounted for by high spenders: 70

Source: Deloitte.

Number of pieces of mail the U.S. Postal Service handles every day, according to a report from Clutch: 484.4 million

Number of packages handled each day by FedEx: 6.2 million

Number of packages and documents UPS handles daily: 20.7 million

Source: Clutch.

Estimated cash gifts children expect to receive this Christmas, according to the Kids' Allowance Report by Rooster Money: $58

Source: RoosterMoney.

Idle Thought

"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." -- Desmond Tutu

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

In 2019, 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": 0.2

According to this year's survey, current price tag for these gifts: $38,993.59

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): $170,298.03

Cost for nine ladies dancing: $7,552.84

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

Source: PNC Wealth Management.

Ranks of different environment, unfamiliar noises and working late on the list of the biggest causes of a restless night's sleep for those traveling, according to a global study commissioned by IHG Hotels and Resorts: 1, 2, 3

Percentage who stated they feel more tired when they are away from home: 67

To aid sleep, percentage who try listening to music: 48

Percentage who watch TV: 45

Source: IHG Hotels and Resorts.

Percentage of Americans who said they'd rather pay someone else to do jobs that cause them grief than do them themselves -- tasks like last-minute gift shopping -- according to the results of a survey by TaskRabbit, conducted in partnership with Wakefield Research: 29

Percentage who would hire somebody to untangle Christmas lights or jewelry: 27

Percentage who would hire somebody to wait in a long line, such as for a table at a popular restaurant: 35

Source: TaskRabbit.

Amount that shoppers expect to spend per household this holiday season, with the bulk of that going toward experiences and celebrations, according to Deloitte's 34th annual holiday survey of consumer spending intentions and trends: $1,496

Average amount per household that will go to experiences and celebrations -- including entertaining at home, traveling and eating at restaurants: $596

Amount that will go to gifts: $511

Source: Deloitte.

Number of Americans who still have debt from last holiday season, according to a study by WalletHub: 35 million

Percentage of consumers who say they will spend less on holiday shopping this year than last year: 27

Source: WalletHub.

Percentage of Americans who say they are willing to regift this holiday season, according to a survey by Bankrate.com: 24

Percentage who would buy used or secondhand items: 19

Source: Bankrate Inc.

Percentage who have toys or games on their holiday shopping lists, according to a survey commissioned by Splitit Payments Ltd: 39

Percentage who will stuff their stockings with small electronics or gadgets: 38

When asked how they prefer to do their holiday shopping, percentage of consumers who said they prefer to shop both online and in-store: 63

Source: Splitit.

Percentage of Americans who say they begin their holiday shopping in September or earlier, according to research by RetailMeNot: 20

Percentage who say they have more budget for holiday season promotions than they did in 2018: 73

Ranks of big-box stores (e.g., Target, Walmart), e-commerce-focused retailers and department stores (e.g., Macy's, Kohl's) on the list of the top three places consumers plan to make a purchase this season: 1, 2, 3

Source: RetailMeNot.

When asked about preferences, should an airline offer a one-time loyal customer perk, percentage of travelers who selected an upgrade to first class as their first choice, according to research by GO Group LLC: 35

Percentage who selected the option for a discount on a future flight: 33

Ranks of more legroom, priority boarding and access to the airport lounge on the list of choices: 3, 4, 5

Source: GO Group LLC.

Percentage of consumers who want store associates to carry handheld mobile devices to provide customer service, according to iVend Retail: 84

Percentage increase over last year in "buy online, pickup in store" as a shipping selection: 30

Ranks of saving money on shipping charges and saving time on the list of the main motivators for this trend: 1, 2

Source: iVend Retail.

Percentage of online shoppers who often or always compare what they find on a brand or retail website to what's available on Amazon, according to Episerver: 68

Source: Episerver.

Idle Thought

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." -- J.R.R. Tolkien

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

This year, number of days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, compared to 32 days in 2018, making the peak shopping season almost a full week shorter year-over-year, according to research by RetailMeNot: 26

Percentage of shoppers who say the shortened time frame between Thanksgiving and Christmas will impact their holiday shopping: 68

Ranks of earlier deal-seeking, product research and more stress about completing shopping on time on the list of the results of this shortened time frame: 1, 2, 3

Source: RetailMeNot.com.

Number of U.S. adults who are planning holiday air travel and/or a hotel stay, according to a CreditCards.com report: 60 million

Percentage of holiday air travelers who will incur credit card debt as a result: 39

Amount the average Thanksgiving traveler will spend: $822

Among those planning to stay in hotels or short-term rentals, average expected expense for Thanksgiving: $536

Source: CreditCards.com.

Percentage of Americans who admit they have no idea how much 10,000 rewards points/miles are worth, according to a Bankrate.com report: 53

The correct range, which generally works out to between one or two cents per mile: $100 to $199

Percentage of Americans who know that: 18

Source: Bankrate.com.

Number of years ago that Apollo 11 carried NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the moon: 50

Percentage of people who can identify Neil Armstrong as the first person to walk on the moon (88% in the U.S., 87% in the U.K., 79% in China), according to a Harris Poll/LEGO survey conducted in the U.S., the U.K. and China: 85

Percentage of children ages 8 to 12 (from China 97%, the U.S. 88% and the U.K. 87%) who can envision a human going to Mars in the future: 91

Source: The LEGO Group.

Percentage of people responding to a survey conducted for Vrbo who cited stuffed animals as the most important thing their child brings with them on vacation: 55

Percentage who said their child has left a toy or stuffed animal behind while away from home: 69

If that happened, percentage of respondents who said they'd buy a duplicate and pretend it was the original: 48

Source: Vrbo.

Percentage of Americans who said they will be doing their holiday shopping around Christmas, according to a survey commissioned by Splitit Payments Ltd.: 33

Percentage who said Black Friday: 32

Percentage who said Cyber Monday: 26

Source: Splitit.

Percentage of consumers who turn to a retailer's website first for apparel shopping rather than Amazon (30%) or Google (29%) due to more complete content via the brand versus a marketplace or search engine, according to Episerver: 43

Rank of apparel on the list of categories most often researched in-store (25%) before making a purchase online: 1

Source: Episerver.

Ranks of promotions, discounts and free shipping on the list of ways consumers expect they'll be influenced this holiday season, according to Deloitte's annual holiday survey of consumer spending intentions and trends: 1, 2, 3

Percentage of shoppers who prefer free shipping to fast shipping: 85

When defining "fast" shipping, percentage who said they expect to receive their item within two days: 67

Source: Deloitte.

Percentage of U.S. adults age 50 or older with a household income of $150,000 who say that they would like to have the option of relying on a family member if they needed long-term care, according to a Retirement Institute survey: 71

Percentage who said they would not expect help from a family member unless they were able to pay them: 70

Percentage who currently have long-term care insurance for themselves or someone else: 27

Source: Nationwide.

Percentage of employers who said their organizations will not be providing additional base salary increases to employees as a result of recent U.S. tax legislation, which cuts the corporate tax rate from as high as 35% to a flat rate of 21%, according to a survey of senior executives by Korn/Ferry: 86

Percentage who will be passing on the savings to shareholders via increased dividends: 32

Source: Korn/Ferry International.

Idle Thought

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." -- Charles M. Schulz

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