Cleveland ranks among best cities to celebrate Christmas in US for 2nd year in a row

CLEVELAND — They say there's no place like home for the holidays! And for those of us in Cleveland, we have proof that it's really the case here. 

For the second year in a row, WalletHub has ranked Cleveland among the top 20 in the nation in its "Best Cities for Christmas" survey. This year, Cleveland checks in at No. 18.

In order to determine the best places to celebrate Christmas, WalletHub compared the 100 most populated cities across five key dimensions: 

• Traditions & Fun 
• Observance
• Generosity
• Shopping
• Costs

Cleveland scored highest in the 'Observance' dimension, finishing No. 9 in the country. 'Observance' measures churches per capita and share of Christian population.

Pandemic or not, there is no shortage of good places to go to enjoy this holiday season in Northeast Ohio. In the costs dimension, Cleveland ranked No. 1 in the nation for the number of "Affordable, High-Quality Restaurants."

Here are your Top 10 best cities to celebrate Christmas for 2021: 

1. Atlanta, GA
2. Orlando, FL
3. Las Vegas, NV
4. Pittsburgh, PA
5. San Francisco, CA
6. Seattle, WA
7. Los Angeles, CA
8. Cincinnati, OH
9. New York, NY
10. Portland, OR

Here's how the rest of Ohio's cities fared in the survey:

• Columbus -- No. 58 
• Toledo -- No. 77

As I always say, if I couldn't be here in Cleveland to celebrate Christmas, please send me to Honolulu, checking in at No. 16 this year.

Mele Kalikimaka, friends!

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• Can you help? Salvation Army in need of bell ringing volunteers for red kettles in Northeast Ohio