Business

Items in ‘12 Days of Christmas’ Now Top $100K

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The price of partridges, pear trees and turtle doves has spiked, pushing the cost of every item mentioned in the carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas” above $100,000 for the first time.

Holding mostly steady this year: maids-a-milking, ladies dancing, lords-a-leaping and gold rings.

Items in 12 Days of Christmas Now Top $100KThe 364 items repeated across all the song’s verses would cost $101,119, an increase of 4.4 percent over last year, according to the annual Christmas Price Index compiled by PNC Wealth Management. The broader government Consumer Price Index increased by 3.9 percent over the same period.

Those with the money to spend would end up with 12 drummers drumming, 22 pipers piping, 30 lords-a-leaping, 36 ladies dancing, 40 maids-a-milking, 42 swans-a-swimming, 42 geese-a-laying, 40 gold rings, 36 calling birds, 30 French hens, 22 turtle doves, and 12 partridges in pear trees. (The price does not include bird maintenance.)

But buying just one set of each verse in the song will cost $24,263 this year — a moderate 3.5 percent rise.

Eleven pipers piping will set you back $2,427, but that’s a relative bargain compared to seven swans-a-swimming, which cost $6,300. That’s a 12.5 percent rise over last year.

Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investment for PNC Wealth Management, said the core rate of increase is less than half the 9.2 percent jump last year.

“The story in general is wages are still a very sluggish part of this economy,” said Dunigan, who noted that the price of eight maids-a-milking at minimum wage was $58 — the same as in 2009.

Five gold rings even declined a bit, Dunigan said, to $645, from $650 last year.

But last-minute shoppers who turn to the Internet may be in for some surprises. The core list that costs about $24,000 in stores will come to $39,860 online — a whopping 16.1 percent increase over Internet prices last year. Dunigan said the high cost of shipping live birds explains some of the difference.

Six items didn’t go up in cost this year: French hens, calling birds, gold rings, maids-a-milking, ladies dancing and lords-a-leaping. Pipers piping and drummers drumming rose 3 percent. The partridge is still the cheapest item, at $15, and swans the most expensive.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. checks jewelry stores, dance companies, pet stores and other sources to compile the list. Some of its sources this year include the National Aviary in Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Ballet Company.

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Online:

http://www.pncchristmaspriceindex.com

Comments (7)

  • scrapadapolis
    Posted on November 28, 2011 at 10:27pm

    And this helps America how??The song should be sung..on the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me..that damn partrage eating my pear tree on my platter.on the second day so on two turtle doves the second night for dinner..third day..three french hens on my dinner plate for dinner..and as for those four calling birds thats thursdays dinner..and enough for company.and by the way since I have to hunt for food the five golden rings were pawned to pay my morgage..Yea and the six geese a-layin I have two left the rest are in the freezer.the seven maids a milkin,nope my kids wanted to OWS so I kicked them out.Ok you see where Im going..

    Report Post » scrapadapolis  
  • OniKaze
    Posted on November 28, 2011 at 1:51pm

    I would like to hear if anyone has EVER gone out and bought the contents of the song, and distributed the goods as instructed in the lyrics…. Just curious… Anyone know?

    Report Post » OniKaze  
  • Conservophiliac
    Posted on November 28, 2011 at 12:52pm

    No need to get all uber-spiritual. it was meant to be light-hearted and funny. It succeeded, you did not. If you want to be a scrooge then fine, sit there in your rocking chair (hopefully not too comfortable a chair lest ye fall into sluggardom) reading your King James Version Bible while frothing over how satanic the rest of the pathetic world is for exchanging gifts. I will be enjoying the time with my family and reading my NASB version Bible explaining how giving shows us in a small way what Christ did for us. Oh, and I won’t be whining about people gathering candy on Halloween, or presents on Christmas.

    Report Post » Conservophiliac  
  • pennsy.357
    Posted on November 28, 2011 at 10:19am

    Someone actually had the time to calculate this?

    Report Post »  
  • Sibyl
    Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:21am

    Mere material gifts. The items in Christianity’s Twelve Days are priceless:

    Here they are sung in Carroll Roberson’s wonderful baritone voice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqIMiLKmfGA

    Report Post »  
    • Sibyl
      Posted on November 28, 2011 at 8:27am

      I should add, these Gifts don’t wear out and they are ETERNAL, which means you CAN take them with you!

      Report Post »  
  • Meyvn
    Posted on November 28, 2011 at 7:56am

    Christmas has turned into a tawdry embarrassment packed with greed. Christ is my King but we’ve ruined the holiday. Like we do most things. Waiting for the Kingdom.

    Report Post » Meyvn  

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