Community Corner

Merry Christmas Woodbury! Share Your Photos, Traditions

Tell us about Christmas in your house, and add photos to this post.

 

 

 

Find out what's happening in Woodburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Merry Christmas Woodbury!

If you find yourself online today, take a moment to share with the community some of your family’s holiday traditions. Just add it in the comments section.

Find out what's happening in Woodburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Or, if you have photos or videos of kids opening presents, the family around the dinner table or anything that you think represents the season, add it to this post. Just hit the “Upload Photos and Videos” button.

By the Numbers

From the U.S. Census Bureau, here are some facts and figures about the holiday season.

$27 billion

Retail sales by the nation’s department stores (including leased departments) in December 2011. This represented a 45 percent jump from the previous month (when retail sales, many holiday-related, registered 18.6 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 2011 were bookstores (76 percent); clothing stores (38 percent); jewelry stores (129 percent); radio, TV and other electronics stores (40 percent); and sporting goods stores (55 percent).

14.3

The percentage of total 2011 sales for department stores (including leased departments) in December. For jewelry stores, the percentage was 19.3 percent.

22

The percentage growth in inventories by our nation’s department stores (excluding leased departments) from Aug. 31 to Nov. 30, 2011. Thanks to the holiday crowds, inventories plummeted by 21 percent in December.

$38 billion

Value of retail sales by electronic shopping and mail-order houses in December 2011—the highest total for any month last year.

22,534

The number of electronic shopping and mail-order houses in business in 2010. These businesses, which employed 311,792 workers, are a popular source of holiday gifts (NAICS code 45411).

$1.03 billion

The value of U.S. imports of Christmas tree ornaments from China between January and September 2012. 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 ($139.9 million worth) during the same period.

73           

Number of establishments around the country that primarily manufactured dolls and stuffed toys in 2010. California led the nation with 10 locations.

525

The number of locations that primarily produced games, toys and children’s vehicles in 2010; they employed 7,374 workers. California led the nation with 85 establishments.

$9.6 billion

The value of U.S. toy imports, including stuffed toys (such as dolls), puzzles and electric trains from China, between January and September 2012. 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 sports footwear ($227.7 million), basketballs ($41.0 million) and roller skates ($31.8 million). China led Thailand as the leading supplier of ice skates ($10.7 million versus $9.5 million), with Canada ranked third ($3.6 million).  

58 percent

Proportion of the nation’s spuds produced in Idaho and Washington during the fall of 2011. Potato latkes are always a crowd pleaser during Hanukkah.  

$1.38 billion

The value of product shipments of candles in 2011 by the nation’s manufacturers. Many of these candles are lit during Hanukkah (Dec. 8 to 16) and Kwanzaa (Dec. 26 to Jan. 1) celebrations.  

More than 315 million

The nation’s projected population as we ring in the New Year.

 

Like Patch on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Sign up for our free newsletter


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here