The Christmas tree at Fountain Square Photo: Aidan Mahoney

Cincinnati is home to some of the jolliest people in the country, according to a new study.

The Queen City ranked No. 12 out of 100 cities in WalletHub’s 2024 report on the Best Cities for Christmas. Claiming the top five spots were Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Las Vegas and Orlando. Neighboring cities like Indianapolis ranked 44th, Louisville 49th, Lexington 76th and Columbus ranked 79th. Dayton did not make the top 100 rankings.

To figure out the merriest of the cities, WalletHub looked at 28 metrics across five key dimensions, including Traditions & Fun, Observance, Generosity, Shopping and Costs. When it comes to Cincinnati, we ranked 24th in Traditions & Fun, 13th in Observance, 53rd in Generosity, 17th in Shopping and 32nd in Costs.

WalletHub also highlighted some of Cincinnati’s rankings within the 28 metrics. We were No. 1 for the number of affordable, high-quality restaurants we have. In fact, CityBeat just highlighted downtown’s Fountain District and how you can experience the holiday magic and enjoy some delicious meals at the diverse selection of restaurants there, so we have to hard-agree with this ranking.

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As for some of the other indicators, Cincinnati ranked ninth for number of churches per capita, 18th for restaurant meal costs, 24th in online giving per capita and 35th for food banks per capita.

While I understand there is data that goes into these rankings, I want to take a moment to delve into what I believe makes Cincinnati such a special place at Christmas.

For holiday-themed traditions and fun, Cincinnati has plenty of ways to make merry for those who celebrate. We’ve got ice rinks galore — from Fountain Square and The Banks to Fifty West Brewing and Summit Park. There are also incredible light displays at the Cincinnati Zoo for the Festival of Lights, Deck the Y’alls at Thomas More Stadium, Nights of Lights at the Clermont County Fairgrounds and many more. For those who want to slow down and connect with nature during this season, there’s Light in the Forest; or you could have a good, old-fashioned Christmas at the farm with Santa at Great Parks’ Holidays on the Farm. And for those who enjoy a little drunken revelry, we also have SantaCon and the Ugly Christmas Sweater Bar Crawl. Something for everyone.

But let’s not forget the real heart behind the holiday and Christmas seasons: taking care of one another. On the generosity side, while Cincinnati ranked in the bottom half of the cities, I’ve personally seen the work that goes into making the holidays special for those who don’t have as much as others — from Good Plates Eatery making full Christmas dinners and handing them out at no charge, no questions asked to the number of toy drives at local churches, organizations and small businesses and the Freestore Foodbank’s fundraising and distribution efforts. Not to mention, Cincinnati Magazine just held its ninth annual Cincinnati Gives challenge and raised a historic $584,460 from 2,844 donors. While data doesn’t lie, sometimes it doesn’t present the whole picture, and I’d like to continue believing Cincinnati is full of some of the most generous people you’ll meet.

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I hope you take my small observations and heartfelt sentiments with you from here throughout the rest of the year (and hopefully into the next). Maybe do something kind for your neighbor; donate some of your time and money to a good cause; take a moment to respectfully talk to and listen to someone who isn’t like you and has a different perspective. It doesn’t have to be something big. The small kindnesses are the ones that make a difference over time, and that’s what Christmas is all about, Cincinnati.

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This article appears in Dec 11-24, 2024.

Katherine Barrier is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s journalism program and has nearly 10 years of experience reporting local and national news as a digital journalist. At CityBeat, she...