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A trip through the holiday-themed inbox:
With Christmas less than two weeks away, the push is on to acquire all of those last-minute gifts.
And with the anticipated rush likely will come some concern about just what everything is going to cost.
When all of that shopping is completed, estimates show that total spending will likely exceed $1 trillion.
Just how much of that each person will budget depends on a lot of factors, including where you happen to live. That led WalletHub, the Washington, D.C.-based personal financial website, to look at nearly 560 cities across the United States and come up with some estimates of what people will be spending this year.
After all of the data -- which includes income, age and savings-to-expenses ratios -- is crunched, you find that our region comes in somewhere near the middle of the pack.
Pittsburgh is ranked 217th, with an average holiday budget of $1,484. While that's greater than Columbus, which is ranked 280th with a budget of $1,304, it's significantly better than Cleveland, which is ranked 495th overall with an average budget of $868.
Palo Alto, Calif., is ranked first on the list with an average of $4,485, while Elizabeth, N.J., is 558th with an average of $212.
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Coming up right after Christmas, of course, is New Year's Eve, and, according to WalletHub, Pittsburgh is ranked as the 13th best city in which to ring in the new year. Pittsburgh stands at 27th in the entertainment and food category, 31st in overall cost and 35th in safety and accessibility.
That's a better showing than Columbus, which is ranked 38th overall (46th in entertainment and food, 24th in overall cost and 56th in safety and accessibility) and Cleveland, which is ranked 69th overall (62nd in entertainment and food, 15th in overall cost and 84th in safety and accessibility.)
Orlando, Las Vegas, New York, Seattle and Los Angeles make up the top five in the listing of 100 cities, while San Bernardino, Calif.; Gilbert, Ariz.; Memphis, Baton Rouge, La.; and Glendale, Ariz., are ranked at the bottom.
Breaking down things a little more, Pittsburgh ranks among the cities having the highest prices for a glass of wine, coming in at 91st and finishing just ahead of Buffalo and Philadelphia.
Our area ranks among the top when it comes to the number of luxury shops and gourmet food stores per capita -- Pittsburgh stands at third on the list. Orlando is first and Honolulu is second.
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When it comes to the New Year's Eve, WalletHub said 69 percent of Americans consider it to be their favorite holiday. That said, the numbers show that 63 percent of Americans plan to spend at least $50 on food and drink on New Year's Eve. -- and 32 percent plan to eat out or order food for pick-up or delivery. About 55 percent say they will celebrate with family and friends, 24 percent plan to celebrate at home and 35 percent say they won't celebrate at all.
As always, the center of attention will be Times Square in New York City, where more than 1 million people are expected to gather to watch the ball drop to mark the beginning of 2026. Most of us won't be there, but we'll still be watching -- it's predicted that 175 million people in the United States will watch the ball drop on TV, as will more than 1 billion people around the world.
Alcohol plays a big part in the celebration -- numbers show that more than 360 million glasses of sparkling wine and champagne will be consumed on New Year's Eve.
But that imbibing can lead to trouble -- the average BAC on New Year's Eve is 0.095, making it the most drunken night of the year.
That makes it no surprise that 8 percent of emergency room visits on New Year's Eve are related to drugs or alcohol. Sadly, 20,400 people likely will be injured in car crashes during the holiday period and the numbers say to expect 179 traffic fatalities on New Year's Eve.
New Year's Day is the most popular day for auto thefts (an average of 2,320), while New Year's Eve comes in fourth with an average of 2,201. Labor Day is second at 2,222 while Presidents Day is third at 2,204.
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When it comes to alcohol and the holidays, a study released by the law firm of Bisnar Chase offers up some sobering information: 20 percent of the 2,002 people polled believe that holiday cocktails don't count toward the drink and drive limits, and 57 percent say they have unknowingly had more to drink at holiday parties because the drinks were festive or didn't taste strong.
In our Tri-State Area, the survey shows that 42 percent of Ohioans say that classic festive holiday cocktails have the same strength as low-alcohol beer.
It's also 42 percent of Pennsylvanians, while for West Virginians, the number is 46 percent. All of those numbers are higher than the national average of 38 percent, according to the California-based firm that specializes in personal injury cases.
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As a reminder of why that knowledge is important, the Ohio State Highway Patrol reports that since 2020, there have been 69.061 crashes on Ohio roads where alcohol or drugs played a factor. Those crashes, the patrol reports, have resulted in 3,896 deaths, a number that accounts for about 54 percent of all motor vehicle deaths.
And, the patrol adds, troopers have issued 95,000 OVI-related citations since the beginning of 2020, and nearly one-quarter of those have involved a motorist who was impaired by marijuana or other drugs.
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Some things to think about as the holiday season shifts into high gear.
(Gallabrese, a resident of Steubenville, is executive editor of the Herald-Star and The Weirton Daily Times)