‘Tis the season to indulge in the joy of data! While our usual blog articles revolve around the compelling world of data and associations, we’re taking a festive detour to infuse the joy of the holidays into our data-driven realm.

At IntelliData, where our passion revolves around numbers, facts, and their intriguing connections, we’ve set our sights on unwrapping the fascinating world of Christmas statistics. In the spirit of the season, join us as we unwrap 20 Christmas-related statistics and fun facts, offering a delightful departure from our usual data-centric discourse. After all, ’tis the season to infuse a bit of merriment into our analytical pursuits. Let the festive data celebration begin!

1. According to the National Christmas Tree Association (yes, there’s an association for this!), United States farms are currently growing approximately 350 million Christmas trees which is more than 10 times the amount of fresh trees bought each year by Americans for the holiday.
2. In fact, all 50 states- including Florida and Hawaii- have Christmas tree farms so most people can buy a tree grown close to where they live.
3. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the typical American household will spend just under $1000 on Christmas.
4. The largest amount of Christmas spending after gifts is for food and candy at $115.
5. All US retail holiday sales could top $1 trillion in 2023 or 2024.
6. One 2022 survey revealed that for online holiday purchasing more than 90% of Americans intended to use Amazon.
7. 63% of Americans do at least some online shopping for Christmas.
8. In fact, online holiday sales grew at a rate of 9.5% between 2021 and 2022.
9. 56% of shoppers plan to use their smartphones for online purchases for Christmas.
10. 42% of shoppers prefer supporting local retailers over national chains.
11. National Geographic Kids reports that just under 28 Lego sets are purchased every second during the Christmas shopping season.
12. Hallmark holiday movies take on average only two weeks for filming, reports E! News.
13. Brenda Lee recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” in 1958 at the age of 13. She later attended the same high school in Nashville, Tennessee as the mom of IntelliData’s  Senior Director of Strategy and Growth,Jay Daughtry
14. What song has the distinction as being the first one played in space? That would belong to “Jingle Bells” (on Gemini 6A, December 1965).
15. Did you know that Peter Billingsley who played Ralphie in A Christmas Story (1983) also appeared in another holiday classic twenty years later as Ming Ming in Elf (2003)?
16. Mariah Carey wrote “All I Want for Christmas is You” in just 15 minutes.
17. Montgomery Ward created Rudolph as a part of its marketing in 1939 and distributed 2.4 million copies of the story that first Christmas season. A decade later Gene Autry recorded “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”; and the rest, as they say, is history.
18. Each year Oslo, Norway gives a Christmas tree to London as a way to show its appreciation to Great Britain for World War II support. The tree is displayed in Trafalgar Square and has been a tradition since 1947.
19. In 2013, a group in Texas constructed a full-sized gingerbread house (160’ L x 42’ W x 10.1’ H) using 7,200 eggs, 1.5 tons of sugar, 7,200 pounds of flour, and nearly a ton of butter. It was decorated with more than 22,000 individual pieces of candy.
20. An original handwritten signed copy of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas from 1860 was sold for $260,000 in 2006. The poem was initially entitled A Visit from Saint Nicholas.

Bonus (#21): 47.4% of women indicate that they’d like to receive jewelry as a Christmas gift.

After diving into all these Christmas statistics, it becomes evident that data isn’t just for business decisions—it plays a crucial role in unraveling the festive fabric of our holiday traditions. From the staggering number of Christmas trees flourishing on US farms to the digital sleigh ride of online shopping, each data point paints a vivid picture of our seasonal habits. As we navigate the holiday season armed with these merry statistics, let’s not forget that the true magic lies in the joy of informed choices, making our celebrations both delightful and data-driven.

 Cheers to a season of festivities backed by insights, and may your holidays be both merry and statistically splendid!