What are you doing Christmas Day? Depends where you are

• How the West celebrates differently from the East
• Head South if you want a really laid-back Christmas
• Party hearty this holiday in the Northeast

Where you are right now could have a lot to do with what you do Christmas Eve.

Want to party? Boston's your town. Want to open a present early? Head to St. Louis. Don't really care about any of it? Go South and chill. And if you want to do absolutely nothing at all, the West is your land.

CivicScience, a polling and data collection company in Pittsburgh, recently analyzed more than 90,000 responses to survey questions about Christmas traditions across the USA. It discovered that some of the biggest differences depend on where people live.

"While you could visit any part of the country and find a Christmas vibe that suits you, clearly people adopt the traditions and styles of the region they call home, " says John Dick, CivicScience's CEO.

Among the findings, by region:

The Midwest: The Balancers

Midwesterners enjoy their holidays, but they're still working through the season: 35% plan to work most of the week between Christmas and New Year's, by far the largest group to do so. But their offices apparently aren't fun places to be; they're the least likely to work for a company that has a Christmas party. Some 46% will attend a Christmas gathering with more than 10 people. They're 25% more likely than the national average to open at least some of their presents on Christmas Eve. "Midwesterners definitely seem to strive for that more idyllic, traditional Christmas experience," says Dick.

The Northeast: The Partiers

Northeasterners are full-blown Christmas socialites. Unmatched by any other region, 39% will eat Christmas dinner at a friend's or family member's house. They're also the most likely (30%) to attend a Christmas Eve party. In fact, they party hearty all season long, attending 40% more holiday parties than folks from the South or West. Where do they find the time? They're efficient: 34% of Northeasterners finished most of their gift-buying 10 days before the holiday.

The South: The Chillers

Southerners don't stress about their holidays. They're the most likely to host Christmas dinner, typically for fewer than 10 people. If they travel more than 100 miles for Christmas, they're 30% more likely to get there by car. They're also the least likely to work between the holidays (29%), but 64% will attend an office Christmas party. The relaxed pace catches up with them eventually, though: Only 29% had completed most of their shopping 10 days before the holiday. "Christmas in the South is a great counter to the hectic, party-non-stop approach in the Northeast," says Dick.

The West: The Non-Traditionalists

Transient Westerners are twice as likely to travel more than 100 miles for the holiday or eat Christmas dinner at a restaurant or club. They attend the smallest Christmas Day gatherings of any region (four people or fewer) and 22% attend no gathering at all. What will they be doing instead? Westerners (38% of them) are the most likely to take in a movie in theaters.

"It stands to reason that Westerners have more of a more scaled-down Christmas experience, given that many are transplants from other regions or live in less-dense communities," says Dick.