Father's Day Facts & Figures

In honor of Father's Day, Patch pulled together some facts and figures about Father's Day that you can share over the BBQ this weekend:

• The National Retail Federation predicts consumers could spend $11.1 billion on fathers this year, up 13 percent from Father's Day a year ago. The average spending on dad is expected to reach $107 per dad this year.
• Consumers are expected to spend $2.1 billion on activities, including a trip to the movies or a dinner out, and $1.4 billion on gift cards. $653 million will be spent on sporting goods and $3.9 billion will be spent on electronics, clothing and home improvement items.
• Sonora Dodd, of Spokane, Washington, is known as  "the mother of Father's Day." In 1910 she wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who was left to raise his six children on a farm.
• The rose is the official flower for Father's Day. Wearing a red rose signifies a living father, while a white one represents a deceased father.
• When it's time to buy Father's Day gifts, female shoppers spend approximately 50 percent more than men on presents.
• While Father's Day is typically celebrated on the third Sunday of June in many countries around the world, Australia honors dads the first Sunday of September, the Finnish people celebrate on the second Sunday of November and December 5 is the big day in Thailand.
• Nearly 95 million Father's Day cards are given each year. Sons and daughters send 50 percent of the Father's Day card to their dads. Another 20 percent of Father’s Day cards are purchased by wives for their husbands.  The remaining 30 percent of the cards are given to grandfathers, sons, brothers, uncles and “someone special.”
• According to Hallmark, Father's Day is the fourth most popular card giving holiday behind Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.
• There are more than 66.3 million dads in the United States.
• The most popular gift of Father's Day in the U.S. is the necktie.
• In 2009, a Harris Poll asked people who is their favorite TV dad. The top dad was Cliff Huxtable of "The Cosby Show," followed by Ward Cleaver of "Leave It to Beaver," Jim Anderson of "Father Knows Best," Andy Taylor of "The Andy Griffith Show" and Ozzie Nelson of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet."