The Twelve Days of Christmas

Ever wonder how much it would cost to purchase all the gifts in the classic Holiday song The Twelve Days of Christmas? Well, the past couple of years we have passed on the tabulation from the folks over at PNC Wealth Management who calculate the PNC Christmas Price Index. Here we go again for 2012, which is the 29th time they have done this index that totals the cost of items gifted by a True Love who repeats all of the song's verses.  

The 2012 Holiday season is the most expensive year ever for this index. Very thoughtful True Loves must fork over $107,300.24 for all 364 gifts, an even more generous jump of 6.1 percent compared to last year.

Swans, which tend to be the most volatile gift in the index, rose by 11.1 percent, continuing the momentum of last year’s 12.5 percent increase, to $7,000. Costs for other gifts in the index moved as follows: Six items (the Partridge, Two Turtle Doves, Four Calling Birds, Eight Maids-A-Milking, Nine Ladies Dancing and 10 Lords-A-Leaping) remained the same price as last year. Sounding an increase, the prices for 11 Pipers Piping ($2,562.00) and 12 Drummers Drumming ($2,775.50) advanced this year, both up 5.5 percent. Economists report that housing prices may have bottomed and this trend is reflected in the Pear Tree, as the home to the Partridge jumped 11.8 percent to $189.99. The Three French Hens were up 10.0 percent and the Five Gold Rings, which soared 16.3 percent, played catch up with the dramatic rise in gold prices in 2011. Maids-a-Milking, as the only unskilled laborers in the index, are paid the minimum wage. With the minimum wage flat at $7.25 per hour, hiring the maids this year will not increase labor costs.

Well, the twelve days of Christmas are almost upon us. Vintages can assure you that a True Love can get by on much less in our shop ... and get much more relevant and wonderful gifts as well.

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