Shopping List
One of the popular songs this time of year is the “12 Days of Christmas”…but how much would it cost to give your true love everything in that iconic song?
For 42 years now, PNC has calculated the prices from the song…with their PNC Christmas Price Index itself becoming a holiday tradition.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, PNC says the Christmas Price Index this year is $51,476.12…a 4.5% increase from last year.
The simple partridge in a pear tree is up a whopping 13.5 percent from last year…but PNC notes it’s not the bird’s fault…the increase is solely due to the pear tree being impacted by land, labor and fertilizer costs.
Birds are a good buy, relatively speaking…two turtle doves, threE french hens, and four calling birds each remained the same price as in 2024.
Not surprisingly, as the price of gold has gone up, so has the price of five gold rings…up a whopping 32.5% from last year.
While six geese-a-laying cost 3.3 percent more this year, seven swans a swimming are the same cost.
The eight maids a milking make minimum wage…and that has not gone up. But nine ladies dancing did raise their rates, up 3.5 percent…so did ten lords a leaping, up 8.1 percent…and the most expensive item on the list at more than $16,800 alone.
Musicians are costing more… eleven pipers piping, and twelve drummers drumming, each up 2.2 percent.
All that for $51,476.12…and you still need to buy a card.
