Christmas cookies by the numbers: Guess how many cookies Santa eats on Christmas Eve?

[libertybele]

I usually only bake cookies at Christmas. Mostly, thumbprints, peanutbutter kisses and sugar cookies.   

Christmas cookies by the numbers: Guess how many cookies Santa eats on Christmas Eve?

Christmas and cookies: They go together like — well, like Christmas and cookies (and milk!).

Think about it: What American household doesn't have some form of holiday cookie in the works around this time of year? And never mind all the goodies that bakeries, restaurants, delis, and diners churn out for all of us as well.

Which brings us to this: Do you know how many Christmas cookies Santa Claus eats on Christmas Eve? It's a fascinating piece of Christmastime data worth, um, digesting.

The number of cookies eaten by Santa on one night every December in America is estimated at 300 million, according to no less an authority than Paul Deen, host of Fox Nation's "At Home with Paula Deen." 

Added Deen jokingly about Santa's cookie consumption during one of her recent programs, "That's a lot of cookies, y'all! No wonder he's got a little paunch to him."

Others, by the way, say the number of cookies eaten by Santa on Christmas Eve is even higher than that — more like a belly-busting 336 million cookies. ..................

.............The tradition of putting out cookies and milk for Santa came about in the 1930s, during the Depression, one theory goes. Historians believe it was something that parents encouraged their children to do, as part of helping them learn to share with others and extend charity during very hard times. ...................

https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/christmas-cookies-by-the-numbers-cookies-santa-christmas-eve

[mountaineer]

Since he doesn't come to my house, he will get none of my chocolate-covered oatmeal bars nor the gingerbread cookies. So there.

[libertybele]

Since he doesn't come to my house, he will get none of my chocolate-covered oatmeal bars nor the gingerbread cookies. So there.

Yummm....your chocolate covered oatmeal bars sound wonderful.

[mountaineer]

They are. I just had a couple of small ones. ;)

[mystery-ak]

So far I have made 14 different kinds...not counting fudge, puppy chow...

Santa should be full by the time he leaves here...

[mountaineer]

I've really scaled back on baking this year, otherwise I'll really be tipping the scales (if you know what I mean).

[mystery-ak]

I've really scaled back on baking this year, otherwise I'll really be tipping the scales (if you know what I mean).

I know...I divide all these up for my two sons and their families..

Dec 20th we are having our Christmas and they will all take home cookies..made all their favs.

[libertybele]

So far I have made 14 different kinds...not counting fudge, puppy chow...

Santa should be full by the time he leaves here...

You are one busy woman.  I haven't started baking cookies yet. I'll be lucky to get a couple of dozen of each baked.

I am going to make a Peppermint Chocolate Cheesecake too. (Provided I can get the cream cheese -- our stores around here have put limits on the amount of cream cheese you can buy, so it's going from store to store or picking up a couple of packages a few days in a row - the recipe calls for  6 packages of cream cheese).

[mystery-ak]

You are one busy woman.  I haven't started baking cookies yet. I'll be lucky to get a couple of dozen of each baked.

I am going to make a Peppermint Chocolate Cheesecake too. (Provided I can get the cream cheese -- our stores around here have put limits on the amount of cream cheese you can buy, so it's going from store to store or picking up a couple of packages a few days in a row - the recipe calls for  6 packages of cream cheese).

That cheesecake sounds delish!

Not even close but I made chocolate sugar cookies...dipped in peppermint chocolate

[libertybele]

That cheesecake sounds delish!

Not even close but I made chocolate sugar cookies...dipped in peppermint chocolate

 Those cookies sound excellent and I would find it difficult not to eat cookies all day long. 

[mystery-ak]

Those cookies sound excellent and I would find it difficult not to eat cookies all day long. 

I don't eat that many...although I could especially sugar cookies...lol

[massadvj]

OK, I don't have a PhD for nothing, so let me give this a shot.

World population is 7.9 billion
World average household size is 4.9
That gives us 1.6 billion households
percent of world that is Christian is 31.1%
so that gives us 500 million Christian households, give or take.

Now comes the hard part. What percentage of Christian households put out cookies for Santa?  We have no hard data on this, so I am going to guess it is 60 percent, which I think is generous.  That gives us 300 million households that put out cookies.  The next question is how many cookies? Probably not much variance from two, but I see more people going for three or more than just one, so I say the average is going to be around 2.25 cookies. So let's do the math.  Carry the two....

That is around 675 million cookies by my calculation. About double what the article estimates.

[libertybele]

OK, I don't have a PhD for nothing, so let me give this a shot.

World population is 7.9 billion
World average household size is 4.9
That gives us 1.6 billion households
percent of world that is Christian is 31.1%
so that gives us 500 million Christian households, give or take.

Now comes the hard part. What percentage of Christian households put out cookies for Santa?  We have no hard data on this, so I am going to guess it is 60 percent, which I think is generous.  That gives us 300 million households that put out cookies.  The next question is how many cookies? Probably not much variance from two, but I see more people going for three or more than just one, so I say the average is going to be around 2.25 cookies. So let's do the math.  Carry the two....

That is around 675 million cookies by my calculation. About double what the article estimates.

It is difficult to eat just one cookie; that's like trying to eat just one potato chip or one kernel of popcorn. No way. 

[massadvj]

OK, I don't have a PhD for nothing, so let me give this a shot.

World population is 7.9 billion
World average household size is 4.9
That gives us 1.6 billion households
percent of world that is Christian is 31.1%
so that gives us 500 million Christian households, give or take.

Now comes the hard part. What percentage of Christian households put out cookies for Santa?  We have no hard data on this, so I am going to guess it is 60 percent, which I think is generous.  That gives us 300 million households that put out cookies.  The next question is how many cookies? Probably not much variance from two, but I see more people going for three or more than just one, so I say the average is going to be around 2.25 cookies. So let's do the math.  Carry the two....

That is around 675 million cookies by my calculation. About double what the article estimates.

OK I have done more thinking on this extremely important issue for our times.  It turns our that around 55 percent of all households have no children.  I seriously doubt many households without children will put out cookies for Santa.  So, assuming that only households with small children are likely to do it, let's say that 50 percent of the households with children worldwide put out cookies.  I think this gives us a more realistic 112.5 million households that comply with the Santa Cookie Paradigm.  Now, applying the 2.25 cookie standard, that gives us (drum roll):

253 million cookies

I think the article's 336 million estimate is too high.

[libertybele]

OK I have done more thinking on this extremely important issue for our times.  It turns our that around 55 percent of all households have no children.  I seriously doubt many households without children will put out cookies for Santa.  So, assuming that only households with small children are likely to do it, let's say that 50 percent of the households with children worldwide put out cookies.  I think this gives us a more realistic 112.5 million households that comply with the Santa Cookie Paradigm.  Now, applying the 2.25 cookie standard, that gives us (drum roll):

253 million cookies

I think the article's 336 million estimate is too high.

 In other "cookie" news ....

Feast Your Eyes on This Infographic That Reveals the Most Popular Cookies by State (I live in FL , orange cookies?  I think not).

Most popular cookie in each state @ link.

https://www.brit.co/most-popular-cookies-in-every-state/

[libertybele]

OK I have done more thinking on this extremely important issue for our times.  It turns our that around 55 percent of all households have no children.  I seriously doubt many households without children will put out cookies for Santa.  So, assuming that only households with small children are likely to do it, let's say that 50 percent of the households with children worldwide put out cookies.  I think this gives us a more realistic 112.5 million households that comply with the Santa Cookie Paradigm.  Now, applying the 2.25 cookie standard, that gives us (drum roll):

253 million cookies

I think the article's 336 million estimate is too high.

So far @mystery-ak has made the most Christmas cookies. I can only imagine that many cookies to choose from and eat!

[massadvj]

In other "cookie" news ....

Feast Your Eyes on This Infographic That Reveals the Most Popular Cookies by State (I live in FL , orange cookies?  I think not).

Most popular cookie in each state @ link.

https://www.brit.co/most-popular-cookies-in-every-state/

Well now, this is interesting.  Confining Santa to only the United States, based on the earlier data I estimate that 27.5 million households put out cookies for Santa in the USA.  That gives us 62 million cookies that Santa gets from Americans.  Based on this new information, at least half of these cookies are chocolate chip.  But what is really interesting is that in Kentucky he will be eating about 840 thousand bourbon spice cookies that night. So don't be surprised if there is a bit of confusion with wrong gifts left for wrong children in the Louisville area.

Sadly, I happen to know Santa's favorite cookie is Oatmeal Raisin, and he will only be getting around 175 thousand of those, thanks to the generous children of Idaho.

[libertybele]

Well now, this is interesting.  Confining Santa to only the United States, based on the earlier data I estimate that 27.5 million households put out cookies for Santa in the USA.  That gives us 62 million cookies that Santa gets from Americans.  Based on this new information, at least half of these cookies are chocolate chip.  But what is really interesting is that in Kentucky he will be eating about 840 thousand bourbon spice cookies that night. So don't be surprised if there is a bit of confusion with wrong gifts left for wrong children in the Louisville area.

Sadly, I happen to know Santa's favorite cookie is Oatmeal Raisin, and he will only be getting around 175 thousand of those, thanks to the generous children of Idaho.

 

[mountaineer]

I love oatmeal raisin cookies. They don't get the respect they deserve.