Opinion: Nearly nine out of 10 movie fans ring in season with holiday classics

Year in which “A Charlie Brown Christmas” first aired: 1965

Year in which “Frosty the Snowman” first aired: 1969

Percentage of movie fans who watch holiday films to ring in the Christmas season and help them get in the holiday mood, according to a survey by Blockbuster: 89

Percentage of movie fans who watch a particular movie as a part of their holiday tradition: 70

Rank of “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946), “A Christmas Story” (1983), “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947), “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” (1989), and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1964) as the all-time holiday favorites: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Holiday plans

Percentage of American adults who say they will be working within a holiday shopping budget, according to a Pew Social Trends survey: 56

Percentage of U.S. small businesses that are planning a holiday party for their business, store or office in 2006, according to Constant Contact’s 2nd Annual 2006 Small Business Holiday Outlook survey: 47

Percentage of small business owners who anticipate a strong holiday season in sales: 62

Real or fake?

Number of real Christmas trees purchased in 2005, according to the latest data from the National Christmas Tree Association: 32.8 million

Average price of a real tree: $41.90

Percentage of people who cut their own tree: 12

Hot sellers

Percentage jump in sales at jewelry stores between November and December 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 174

Percentage jump in bookstore sales between November and December 2005: 96

Percentage jump in sporting goods store sales between November and December 2005: 67

Percentage jump in clothing store sales between November and December 2005: 49

Shopping from work

Percentage of U.S. workers who say they use their work computer to shop for or buy gifts online during the holidays, according to a survey conducted by Spherion: 26

Percentage of U.S. workers who say they feel it would be acceptable to do so: 30

Percentage of U.S. workers shopping from their work computer who spend an average of 15 minutes or more each time they do so: 66

Percentage of U.S. employers who do not block their employees’ access to online retail Web sites: 70

Favorite gifts

Percentage of women for whom the December religious holidays are among their favorite gift-giving occasions, according to a survey by VoiceQuilt: 60

Percentage who say “personal and sentimental” are the most important attributes of a gift: 92

Percentage of respondents who said Dad was the hardest person to shop for: 24

Percentage who said children are the easiest: 47

Percentage of people who chose home electronics, such as a new TV, digital camera or computer, as their top choice for a holiday gift for the whole family, according to a survey commissioned by Circuit City Stores Inc.: 51

Percentage of respondents who chose a family trip: 29

Percentage of consumers who chose a new car: 4

Idle Thought

“In the small matters, trust the mind – in the large ones, the heart.”

—Sigmund Freud, neurologist, founder of psychoanalysis

John MacIntyre is an author and former city magazine editor. His Figuratively Speaking column, launched in 1989, is published in more than 40 newspapers and magazines.