Pulse Price Report: How Much Does the Twelve Days of Christmas Cost?

While we all know that favorite Christmas tune “The 12 Days of Christmas,” have you ever thought how much it would actually cost to get your true love all of those gifts? Luckily, PNC Financial does the math for you.

Used for 30 years as a fun way to mark inflation, they compile the price indexes of each of the Christmas gifts from the song. This year, you would spend $34,363.49, a 0.7 percent increase from last year. Here’s the breakdown:

• Partridge in a pear tree is down 2.3 percent to $209.99, likely due to the oversupply of game birds
• Two turtle doves shows the greatest increase of 29.3 percent up to $375
• Three French hens have not changed in price at all from 2015, still costing $181.50
• Four calling birds also remained unchanged at $599.96
• Despite massive gold price fluctuations this year, retailers kept the price of five golden rings steady at $750
• Six geese-a-laying will still cost you $360, the same as last year now that we’ve got avian flu under control
• Seven swans-a-swimming didn’t change in price at all, but it will still cost you $13,125. PNC says that bird costs didn’t change much due to the unchanging demand.
• Eight maids-a-milking remains the same at a cost of $58 thanks to the federal minimum wage that has not changed since 2009
• Despite the rising demand for dancers, getting nine of them will still cost the same as last year, $7,552.84
• Ten lords-a-leaping remains unchanged in 2016, at $5,508.70, after an increase in 2015
• Eleven pipers piping saw their first wage increase since 2013, now costing you $2,708.40, a 2.8 percent increase over 2015
• Drummers also saw their first wage increase since 2013, with 12 of them costing you $2,934.10, a 2.8 percent increase from 2015

Since PNC started compiling the price indices back in 1984, costs for these gifts have risen 55 percent.

Crop prices (Dec. 21)

Rio Creek Feed Mill – Algoma

Fox River Valley Ethanol – Green Bay

Basis: The difference between the local cash price for a commodity and the Chicago cash price (where the Board of Trade sets national futures price).

Gas Price Averages

United States: $2.25

United States one year ago: $2.00

Wisconsin: $2.21

Wisconsin one year ago: $1.92

Northern Door: $2.27

Sturgeon Bay: $2.27

Other Commodities

Gold: $1,136.30/troy ounce

Silver: $16.10/troy ounce

Oil: $53.61/barrel

Sources: aaa.com, agweb.com, gasbuddy.com, money.cnn.com, PNC Financial Services