‘The 12 Days Of Christmas’ Would Cost Over 100 Grand
If you've ever had the urge to bring the lyrics of the seminal holiday song 'The 12 Days of Christmas' to life, this may not be the best year to do it.
That's because the 364 total items mentioned in the carol would cost the ambitious gift-giver $107,000 according to The Christmas Price Index, which is published annually by PNC Wealth Management. That's up 6.1 percent since last year, whereas the cost of goods in general has only risen about two percent.
You can blame the bulk of this inflation on the birds. "The geese were up 29.6 percent, and swans were up 11 percent," explained Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investments for PNC.
None of the items in the tune went down in price. A complete list of the gifts follows. (Remember -- 'A partridge in a pear tree' is purchased 12 times, etc.)
- Partridge, $15; last year: same
-- Pear tree, $189.99; last year: 169.99
-- Two turtle doves, $125; last year: same
-- Three French hens, $165; last year: $150
-- Four calling birds (canaries), $519.96; last year: same
-- Five gold rings, $750; last year: $645
-- Six geese a-laying, $210; last year: $162
-- Seven swans a-swimming, $7,000; last year: $6,300
-- Eight maids a-milking, $58; last year: same
-- Nine ladies dancing (per performance), $6,294; last year: same
-- 10 lords a-leaping (per performance), $4,767; last year: same
-- 11 pipers piping (per performance), $2,562; last year: $2,428
-- 12 drummers drumming (per performance), $2,776; last year: $2,630
Obviously things were different in the 18th century, when the '12 Days of Christmas' became popular. But we can certainly think of a lot more efficient and enjoyable ways to spend 107K in Christmas gift money. Especially on this Cyber Monday.