How Many Houses?

So just how many houses will I have to visit on Christmas Eve? That is a question I hear at least once at every mall I visit and at every media interview I conduct. The answer changes every year. And, in fact, the exact number changes right up until the Christmas Eve Launch as kids can move on & off the "Naughty" & "Nice" lists. This year, the range will be between 301 million and 303 million. As of just the last flight scenario, we had 301,871,061 qualified and targeted houses (or apartments, condos, etc... i.e. primary dwellings).

So how did I get to that number? As of Christmas Eve, there will be 1,826,754,283 children worldwide aged 14 and under. Yes, that's 1.8+ BILLION. And yes, only those 14 & under fit in the standard qualifications. This is probably the main reason we have such high "unbelief" numbers. I do make some exceptions for those 15 & older... but more on that later.

Of the 1.8B children worldwide, 609,232,003 actually celebrate Christmas. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then I don't visit. There is a very small percentage, less than 1%, that celebrate Christmas but their parents do not give us permission to visit. You may not have known this but since 1927, our legal department has required written parental consent for us to visit on Christmas Eve. Those who have not given us permission are also counted in the "not celebrating Christmas" category.

So, of the 609M children who are part of families that celebrate Christmas, only 541,202,396 still believe in me. They are the ones who understand that I - Santa Claus - am real as long as they believe. Only when no one believes will I cease to exist.

Then there is the whole Naughty/Nice thing.... of the remaining group, 392,432,379 are currently on the nice list.

And because of extraordinary belief and extraordinary goodness of heart, there are a few over the age of 14 who qualify each year. This year, there will be roughly 102M above the age of 14 who will qualify for visits from Santa.

So this represents a final number of approximately 1.3 children per household. So there you have it.... 302 million houses! What fun it is!