It’s too bad Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals can’t be applied to the Christmas carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” because the total cost of every item mentioned is over $100,000.
According to the annual Christmas Price Index compiled by the PNC Wealth Management, the 364 items repeated throughout the popular Christmas carol would cost buyers $101,119, a 4.4 percent increase from last year.
But for those on a budget buying just one set of each item, the cost is just $24,263, a 3.5 percent increase from last year.
Some gift prices are holding steady, such as: French hens, maids-a-milking, ladies dancing, lords-a-leaping, and gold rings. However the cost of pipers piping and drummers drumming has increased.
The partridge is cheapest item in the song, costing only $15 while the swans-a-swimming are the most expensive.
Unfortunately internet shoppers are at a disadvantage. The individual items that cost a total of $24,000 in stores will go up to $39,860 online. Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investment for PNC Wealth Management, says the high cost of shipping live birds explains the drastic price difference.
PNC Financial Group Inc. looks at items in jewelry stores, pet stores, dance companies and other sources to compile the list. This year, two of its sources include the National Aviary in Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Ballet Company.
