Shopping For The 12 Days of Christmas List Will Cost This Much

PNC Financial Services is out with it's Christmas Price Index, the tabulation on what the final price tag would be on all the gifts mentioned in the famous tune "Twelve Days of Christmas"

Your true love would have to spend an all-time high $46,729.86 on this year's list of gifts.

PNC's Christmas Price Index is a 40 year holiday tradition based on the Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Shoppers completing their !2 Days of Christmas List will take the biggest hit on two turtle doves, up a whopping 25% The other bird, a partridge in a pear tree which PNC noted is up nearly 14% because it lives in a tree. That ties it to housing costs so you see how PNC takes a little liberty with the calculations.

The list was always a lavish selection of gifts according to the first Christmas Price Index. In 1984, PNC calculated the cost at $20,069.58. In 39 years, the Christmas Price Index has increased 133% while the actual Consumer Price Index has jumped 191%.

And for the purists who argue the real cost should include every time an item is mentioned or 364 times! That works out to $210, 972.66 this year

If you think $46,729.86 is high, just wait until you see the “true cost of Christmas in a song,” which factors in every single time the gifts are repeated in the carol. That comes out to $210,972.66 for 364 total items. Other than all those gold rings, one set is plenty, right?

The Christmas Price Index

Gift	2022 Price	2023 Price	% Change
One partridge in a pear tree	$280.18	$319.18	+13.9%
Two turtle doves	$600.00	$750.00	+25%
Three French hens	$318.75	$330.00	+3.5%
Four calling birds	$599.96	$599.96	0.0%
Five gold rings	$1,245.00	$1,245.00	0.0%
Six geese-a-laying	$720.00	$780.00	+8.3%
Seven swans-a-swimming	$13,124.93	$13,125	0.0%
Eight maids-a-milking	$58.00	$58.00	0.0%
Nine ladies dancing	$8,308.12	$8,308.12	0.0%
10 lords-a-leaping	$13,980.00	$14,539.20	+4%
11 pipers piping	$3,021.40	$3,207.38	+6.2%
12 drummers drumming	$3,266.93	$3,468.02	+6.2%
Total Price	$45,523.27	$46,729.86	+2.7%

Table: PNC Financial Services

PNC's report shows the 2023 Christmas Price Index increased 2.7% from their 2022 Index It soared 10.5% between 2021 and last year so the easing inflation rate is some consolation. Lat month inflation was at 3%, down from a rate of 7.1% 12 months ago according to an AP report