With only three days to go, The Weekly understands that our readers’ time may be at a premium. So, in pursuit of haste, here are just twelve completely random numeric facts about Christmas.

26.9 billion - The expected overall cost (£) of buying Christmas presents in Britain this year.
781 million - The number of mince pies likely to be eaten by British families over the coming holidays.
154 million - The number of crackers which will be pulled this Christmas. The first ‘firework’ table cracker* was invented by Tom Smith in 1861.
10 million - The return of Gavin & Stacey is expected to attract over 10 million TV viewers this year, but it will be way short of the record 21.4 million who watched The Mike Yarwood Christmas Special in 1977.
6 million - The number of rolls of Sellotape that will be sold in the run-up to Christmas… but you won’t be able to find the end of any of them!!
1938 - The year that Rudolph, the ninth reindeer, first appeared. His red nose followed ten years later.
366 - The number of days next year (yes... it’s a leap year) The Weekly hopes are happy, prosperous and healthy for our readers.
336 - The year that Christmas Day was first set on 25 December. It was at the time of Roman Emperor Constantine.
72 - The rent (€psm) that Santa will need to pay if he requires additional distribution space in Oulu in Lapland this year. This is equivalent to £5.50 psf. Even so, he will still have a decent trek to get there from his workshop in Rouvaniemi which is 205 km to the north. Anyway, we might hope that during this season of goodwill, the landlord would let him have it rent-free!
8 - The overnight temperature (Degrees) forecast for Bethlehem this Christmas Eve. For most of the UK, Christmas Day is expected to be overcast and showery.
3 - The number of occasions since 1960 when the whole of Britain has ‘enjoyed’ a White Christmas. And for this year? Yet again, according to the Met Office, a nationwide white-out is not on the cards.
0 - There is zero evidence that any turkeys have ever voted for anything... let alone Christmas.

The Weekly won’t be disturbing your Sunday morning next week. We will be back though on 5 January 2020. Meanwhile...

Have a wonderful Christmas.

PS. * It is not recorded what, if any, joke or riddle was included in the first firework table cracker, but the three worst-ever cracker jokes, as chosen by The Weekly’s editorial team, are as follows:

Q. How does Santa keep track of all the fire-places he visits?     A. He keeps a log-book.

Q. Why did no-one bid for Rudolph and Blitzen on eBay?   A. They were two deer.

Q. Who is Santa’s favourite singer?   A. Elfis Presley.