December is only hours away, and Christmas carols have already made it to our playlists. However, one particular carol – “The Twelve Days of Christmas” – has been busy making headlines. The popular carol lists out a series of Christmas gifts to be presented over the twelve days of the festival. According to PNC Wealth Management’s annual Christmas price index, all 364 items listed in the song will cost $101,119 this year. The over-$100K figure marks a 4.4 percent increase over last year.
If you are looking for a luxurious gift idea for the holiday season, the song throws up plenty of options. Merely limiting your Christmas shopping to a single verse from the song will set you back by $24,263 this year. That represents inflation of 3.5 percent over the last year. Take a look at some of the individual sets of items. Seven swans-a-swimming is currently priced at a whopping $6,300. You can save some money by going in for a musical experience instead – eleven pipers piping will cost $2,427. If even that is too much for stretched finances, why not buy the five gold rings for $645? The price last year was $650. You will also get one pear tree for $169.99 and six geese-a-laying for $162.
Cheaper still are eight maids-a-milking – at $58, this is a clear indication of how wages continue to remain low this year. The cheapest item is the partridge at $15.
If you are looking to buy all 364 gifts, online shopping will make you poorer still. The basic list costs about $24,000. But online shoppers will discover prices closer to $39,860. Then again, Christmas is a time for indulgence. While you are at it, why not pick up the most expensive Christmas tree as well?
