Posted on: Sunday, December 16, 2007
Santa Clauses looking sharp before coming to town
Compiled by John MacIntyre
Percentage of real bearded Santas who groom their beard up to four times a day, according to a survey of members of the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas by Auntie Anne's: 60
Percentage who own four to six red suits to stay looking sharp for the holidays: 23
Percentage of children who come to visit Santa at the mall who believe they have been good all year long: 75
PARTY TIME
Percentage of workers who regret having snubbed the office holiday party, thus missing a prime opportunity for networking, according to a Tickle test for Monster.com: 31
Percentage who regret having drank too much at an office party: 20
Percentage who regret showing up late: 18
HOLIDAY PAY
Hourly wage of a postal clerk, according to a study conducted by www.SnagAJob.com and based on Department of Labor data that cataloged the wages of the highest-paid holiday workers: $21.13
Number of cards, letters and packages processed by the U.S. Postal Service between Thanksgiving and Christmas: 20 billion
30 MILLION SOLD
Approximate number of real Christmas trees that are sold in the United States every year, according to the National Christmas Tree Association Inc.: 30 million
Estimated number of acres in production for growing Christmas trees in the United States: 500,000
Year of the first written record of a decorated Christmas tree — located in Riga, Latvia: 1510
SHOPPING HABITS
Percentage of shoppers who say they will be "in and out" of the stores, according to a survey from American Express: 38
Percentage who describe themselves as "bargain basement" shoppers: 30
Percentage who say they are "window shoppers": 11
Percentage who say they are "procrastinators": 9
INCOME GAP
Percentage of all holiday gift spending that will be done by the top 30 percent of households with the highest incomes, according to a study by the Harrison Group: 50
Percentage of all holiday gift spending that will be done by the remaining 70 percent of households: 50
LOSING CONFIDENCE
Percentage of U.S. consumers who felt it was a good time to spend money, according to a December consumer confidence poll conducted by ABC News/The Washington Post: 30
Number of years it has been since so few consumers were positive about the buying climate: 14
BUSY SIGNALS
Percentage of professionals who said bearing tidings of joy may be difficult due to an increased workload, according to an Accountemps survey: 28
Percentage who said their workload stays the same, granting them no reprieve for the holiday season: 42
NO JOY
Percentage of adult workers ages 50 and older who say it is not important to them if their employer has an annual holiday party, according to a survey conducted by Spherion: 72
Percentage of workers ages 18 to 29 who say the same: 56
IDLE THOUGHT
"Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night."
— Edgar Allan Poe
Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre@bwr.eastlink.ca.
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