Winter Holidays by the Numbers

From the U.S. Census Bureau

It's in the Mail

Number of letters, packages, and cards the U.S. Postal Service delivered between Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2006. The busiest mailing day last year was Dec. 18, with more than twice as many cards and letters being processed as the average on any given day.

Number of packages delivered by the U.S. Postal Service every day during the holiday season last year through Christmas Eve. The busiest delivery day: Dec. 20.

Rush to the Stores

$31.4 billion
Retail sales by the nation’s department stores (including leased departments) in December 2006. This represented a 44% jump from the previous month (when retail sales, many holiday-related, registered $21.8 billion). No other month-to-month increase in department store sales last year was as large.

Other U.S. retailers with sizable jumps in sales between November and December 2006 were book stores (86%); clothing stores (49%); jewelry stores (155%); radio, TV, and other electronics stores (60%); and sporting goods stores (65%).

14%
The proportion of total 2006 sales for department stores (including leased departments) in December. For jewelry stores, the percentage was 22%.

28%
The proportion of growth in inventories by our nation’s department stores (excluding leased departments) through Aug. 31 to Nov. 30, 2006. Thanks to the holiday crowds, inventories plummeted by 23% in December.

Note: Leased departments are separately owned businesses operated as departments or concessions of other service establishments or of retail businesses, such as a separately owned shoe-shine parlor in a barber shop, or a beauty shop in a department store. Also, retail sales estimates have not been adjusted to account for seasonal or pricing variations.

1.7 million
The number of people employed at department stores in December 2006. Retail employment typically swells during the holiday season, last year rising by an estimated 40,600 from November and 174,700 from October.

$21 billion
Value of retail sales by electronic shopping and mail-order houses in December 2006—the highest total for any month last year.

$35.3 billion
The value of total retail e-commerce sales for the fourth quarter of 2006. This amount represented 3.4% of total retail sales during the period and exceeded e-commerce sales for all other quarters of the year. E-commerce sales were up 24% from the fourth quarter of 2005.

15,924
The number of electronic shopping and mail-order houses in business in 2005. These businesses, which employed 253,677 workers, are a popular source of holiday gifts. Their sales: $162 billion, of which 40.5% were attributable to e-commerce. California led the nation in the number of these establishments and their employees, with 2,383 and 30,800, respectively.

If you’re not sure where to do your shopping, choices of retail establishments abound: In 2005, there were 150,580 clothing and clothing accessories stores; 9,589 department stores; 9,612 hobby, toy, and game shops; 33,238 gift, novelty, and souvenir shops; 23,195 sporting goods stores; 29,624 jewelry stores; and 11,077 book stores across the nation. The figures shown are for locations with paid employees.

48,695
The number of malls and shopping centers dotting the U.S. landscape as of 2005, a total that increased by approximately 12,000 since 1990.

Christmas Trees and Decorations

$512 million
The gross earnings of Christmas tree farmers in 2006, with North Carolina ($134 million) as the top producer. Oregon was next at $121 million in sales.

$249 million
Christmas tree sales of the 17 surveyed states in 2006, with Oregon as the top seller. Note that only growers with at least $10,000 in annual sales were surveyed.

$142.6 million
The value of U.S. imports of Christmas tree ornaments from China between January and June 2007. China was the leading country of origin for such items. Similarly, China was the leading foreign source of artificial Christmas trees shipped to the United States ($13.4 million worth) during the same period.

Where the Toys are ... Made

104
Number of establishments around the country that primarily manufactured dolls and stuffed toys in 2005; they employed 2,480 people. California led the nation with 18 locations.

707
The number of locations that primarily produced games, toys, and children’s vehicles in 2005; they employed 15,381 workers. California led the nation with 115 establishments.

$3.3 billion
Total value of shipments for dolls, toys and games by manufacturers in 2005.

$3.3 billion
The value of U.S. toy imports including stuffed toys (excluding dolls), puzzles and electric trains from China between January and June 2007. China was the leading country of origin for stuffed toys coming into this country, as well as for a number of other popular holiday gifts. These include roller skates ($79 million), sports footwear ($193 million), golf equipment ($36 million), and basketballs ($23 million). China leads Canada as the leading supplier of ice skates ($6.6 million versus $3.8 million), with Thailand ranking third ($2.8 million).

Holiday Names

Places whose names are associated with the holiday season include North Pole, Alaska (population 1,828 in 2006); Santa Claus, Ind. (2,324); Santa Claus, Ga. (245); Noel, Mo. (1,555); and—if you know about reindeer—the village of Rudolph, Wis. (419) and Dasher, Ga. (803). There is Snowflake, Ariz. (5,157) and a dozen places named Holly, including Holly Springs, Miss., and Mount Holly, N.C.

Hanukkah and Kwanzaa

Nearly one-half
Proportion of the nation’s spuds produced in Idaho and Washington in 2006. Potato latkes are always a crowd pleaser during Hanukkah.

$1.3 billion
The value of product shipments of candles in 2002 by the nation’s manufacturers. Many of these candles are lit during Hanukkah and Kwanzaa celebrations.

$161 million
The value of product shipments of candles in 2002 by manufacturers in Texas. The Lone Star State led the country in candle shipments.

New Year’s Eve and Day

73,685
The estimated July 1, 2006, population of Champaign, Ill., a place whose name alone may get you into a celebratory mood.

$475 million
U.S. manufacturers shipments of effervescent wines (including sparkling wines, such as champagne) in 2002.

More than 303 million
The nation’s projected population as we ring in the New Year. This compares with fewer than 175 million 50 years earlier (1958) and less than 90 million a century earlier (1908).

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