TEMPLE, Texas — According to Buddy the Elf, the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.
Wallethub tried a more scientific methodology for ranking the best cities for Christmas though.
The website took the 100 most populated cities in the United States and compared them by looking at traditions and fun, observance, generosity, shopping and costs. Thirteen of those 100 cities are in Texas, of course.
Dallas came in at 10. Houston ranked 16. Austin placed 20. San Antonio ranked 23. And the list goes on.
The score for traditions and fun came from looking at advanced hotel reservations made, Christmas events per capita, Google search interest for 'Christmas Celebration,' Christmas Tree Farms per capita, restaurants per capita, diversity of restaurants, number of attractions, ice skating rinks per capita, nightlife options per capita, bars per capita, and music venues per capita. Looking at just the top five of 13 Texas cities, Dallas ranked the highest at 14 in this category while Houston was 19, Austin was 17, San Antonio was 22 and Fort Worth was 58.
To measure observance, the website considered the share of Christian population and churches per capita. Houston was ranked the highest among the top five Texas cities in this category coming in at 8. Dallas was 15.
Generosity was measured by considering food banks per capita, share of income donated to charity, share of population collecting and distributing food and clothes for the needy, online giving per capita, and Christmas Spirit. Fort Worth took the lead in Texas with a ranking of 27. Dallas ranked 40 in generosity while Austin came in at 67, San Antonio was 71 and Houston was ranked 77 in the generosity department.
The experts considered shopping by looking at Christmas markets per capita, gift shops per capita, shopping centers and outlets per capita, toy stores and hobby shops per capita, candy stores and chocolatiers per capita, cards and stationery shops per capita, and holiday decoration shops and services per capita. Dallas was ranked at 12, Houston was 23, Austin ranked 17, San Antonio was 21, and Fort Worth was ranked at 69.
The final dimension considered in ranking the best cities for Christmas was cost. Cost was measured by average price per Christmas party ticket, cost of a three-star hotel room, restaurant meal costs, number of affordable, high-quality restaurants, average beverage price, and the average price for two tickets to the theater. Ranked first in Texas at 16 was Austin. Houston was ranked at 18, San Antonio was 25, Dallas was ranked at 43 and Fort Worth was 34.
Orlando, Florida was ranked first overall followed by Las Vegas, Nevada and New York City.
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