Have you ever thought about buying all the gifts mentioned in the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas?” This year the cost will top $100K according to PNC Wealth Management that calculates the cost each year. They also produce an annual Christmas Price Index. Here’s the findings (pdf) this year:
A sluggish economy coupled with weak demand has kept the 2011 PNC Christmas Price Index® (PNC CPI) to a moderate gain of 3.5 percent in the whimsical economic analysis by PNC Wealth Management based on the gifts in the holiday classic, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
According to the 28th annual survey, the price tag for the PNC CPI is $24,263.18 in 2011, $823.80 more than last year and less than half the increase seen in 2010. Still, that comes on the heels of a more modest 1.8 percent increase two years ago at the end of the recession.
The results were revealed this morning on an enhanced web site (www.pncchristmaspriceindex.com) that includes an interactive train journey through a “winter wonderland” setting. The web site also reflects PNC’s commitment to education by teaching economic trends through the PNC CPI.
As part of its annual tradition, PNC Wealth Management also tabulates the “True Cost of Christmas,” which is the total cost of items gifted by a True Love who repeats all of the song’s verses. This holiday season is the most expensive year ever: very generous True Loves have to fork over $101,119.84 for all 364 gifts, a 4.4 percent increase compared to last year.
You can find a handy table with costs listed and compared to 2010 here (pdf). Only the three French Hens, Eight Maids-a-Milking, Nine Ladies Dancing, and 10 Lords-a-Leaping were the same price as last year. Need the lyrics? Try here.