According to the calendar, including today, there are only 21 more shopping days until Christmas. Now I’m sure many of you are wondering what to get me and perhaps you thought that the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” mentions some excellent gift ideas. Of course, you would be correct. After all, who doesn’t want their very own lords-a-leaping, maids-a-milking and geese-a-laying. And considering the price of gold these days, a bunch of gold rings would make for a very thoughtful gift. But while I am touched by your generosity, I do think it’s only fair that you know how much you might have to spend. I realize times are tough so I want you to be able to fit my gifts into your budget.
According to the annual PNC Christmas Price Index, the cost of all 12 gifts this year is $21,465.56, a 1.8% increase over last year. And if you wanted to go big and follow the song to the letter by repeating the verses, that will set you back $87,402.81 for all 364 gifts, a mere 0.9% increase over 2008. PNC Wealth Management shared their process for determining these numbers:
This year, the National Aviary in Pittsburgh provided the cost of some of the birds in the song, including the partridge, geese and swans. National pet chain PetCo provided the price of the calling birds, or canaries. The pear tree price came from Waterloo Gardens, a Philadelphia nursery. Gordon’s Jewelers provided the cost of five 14-carat gold rings, and Philadanco, a modern dance company in Philadelphia, offered the price of ladies dancing. The Pennsylvania Ballet gave the price of the lords a-leaping. Prices for the musicians in the song—the drummers and pipers—were provided by a Pennsylvania musicians union. Lastly, maids a-milking are the only unskilled laborers in the Index, and as such, they reflect the minimum wage.
A word of caution for all you internet shoppers, however: evidently you will pay a premium for the convenience of buying online (not to mention the shipping costs for all those birds). The online cost for the 12 gifts is almost $10,000 more than buying the traditional way and $40,000 more for those that go for the 364 gift option.
So here’s the list. Feel free to print it out and take it with you when you go shopping. The mall can get kind of hectic when you don’t have a plan. Have fun.
PNC Christmas Price Index
| 2008 | 2009 | % change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| One Partridge in a Pear Tree | $219.99 | $159.99 | -27.3% |
| Two Turtle Doves | $55.00 | $55.98 | 1.8% |
| Three French Hens | $30.00 | $45.00 | 50.0% |
| Four Calling Birds | $599.96 | $599.96 | 0.0% |
| Five Gold Rings | $349.95 | $499.95 | 42.9% |
| Six Geese-a-Laying | $240.00 | $150.00 | -37.5% |
| Seven Swans-a-Swimming | $5,600.00 | $5,250 | -6.3% |
| Eight Maids-a-Milking | $52.40 | $58.00 | 10.7% |
| Nine Ladies Dancing | $4,759.19 | $5,473.07 | 15.0% |
| Ten Lords-a-Leaping | $4,413.61 | $4,413.61 | 0.0% |
| Eleven Pipers Piping | $2,284.80 | $2,284.80 | 0.0% |
| Twelve Drummers Drumming | $2,475.20 | $2,475.20 | 0.0% |
| Total Christmas Price Index | $21,080.10 | $21,465.56 | 1.8% |
| True Cost of Christmas in Song | $86,608.51 | $87,402.81 | 0.9% |
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Morgan O’Rourke is editor in chief of Risk Management magazine, where he has worked since 2002. He graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, with a degree in communications and lives on Long Island, where he was born and raised.
