What would the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ gifts actually cost you? $1,200 more than last year
Ever wanted to buy one partridge in a pear tree or seven swans-a-swimming for your true love? It would cost you more than $46,000 to buy all of the “12 Days of Christmas” gifts this year.
The 40th annual “Christmas Price Index,” which measures how much the prices of the gifts in the holiday carol change, released by PNC Bank, is up 2.7% this year. That’s lower than this year’s 3.2% Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s also lower than the 10.5% Christmas Price Index increase in 2022.
You’d have to spend almost $46,730 to purchase the gifts — up more than $1,200 from last year. That jumps to nearly $201,973 for 364 presents when you count each verse. It’s also first time the cost has crossed the $200,000 threshold.
The total cost in 2022 was about $45,523, or a cumulative $197,071 for all 364 gifts.
If you buy online, it would cost 4.8% more than it did in 2022, bringing your total to about $52,024. That’s because “the convenience of shopping from home is still impacted by elevated shipping and packaging costs that have yet to ease since the pandemic,” according to the PNC news release.
The prices of five gifts — the four calling birds, five gold rings, seven swans-a-swimming, eight maids-a-milking and nine ladies dancing — didn’t increase at all. The cost for a partridge didn’t change either, but the price of a pear tree jumped 15%.
The rare turtle doves were the most volatile gift with a 25% price increase. The cost for gold rings was flat for the first time in over five years and the eight maids-a-milking reflect the unchanged federal minimum wage.
Lords-a-leaping were the most expensive gift, followed by swans.
Here’s how the gift costs break down:
• A partridge in a pear tree: $319.18 (+13.9%)
• Two turtle doves: $750 (+25%)
• Three French hens: $330 (+3.5%)
• Four calling birds: $599.96 (0%)
• Five gold rings: $1,245 (0%)
• Six geese-a-laying: $780 (+8.3%)
• Seven swans-a-swimming: $13,125 (0%)
• Eight maids-a-milking: $58 (0%)
• Nine ladies dancing: $8,308.12 (0%)
• 10 lords-a-leaping: $14,539.20 (+4%)
• 11 pipers piping: $3,207.38 (+6.2%)
• 12 drummers drumming: $3,468.02 (+6.2%)