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December 23, 2010 at 08:27 AM
Thinking of giving your beloved the magnificent panoply of gifts depicted in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”? You might want to think again, unless you were one of the lucky folks this year with a big bonus—because, despite the tough economy, the price of the 12 Days of lore has gone up. A lot. In fact, it saw the second highest jump ever, according to PNC’s Christmas Price Index.
How much shall you pay for it? Let us count the ways. Thanks to PNC, we have a wonderful compendium of prices and percentages.
| The Twelve Days of Christmas Index |
||
| Gift |
Price |
% Change |
| Partridge in a Pear Tree |
$161.99 |
1.3% |
| Two Turtle Doves |
$100.00 |
76.6% |
| Three French Hens |
$150.00 |
233.3% |
| Four Calling Birds |
$599.96 |
0% |
| Five Golden Rings |
$649.95 |
30% |
| Six Geese A-Laying |
$150.00 |
0% |
| Seven Swans A-Swimming |
$5,600.00 |
6.7% |
| Eight Maids A-Milking |
$58.00 |
0% |
| Nine Ladies Dancing |
$6,294.03 |
15% |
| Ten Lords A-Leaping |
$4,766.70 |
8% |
| Eleven Pipers Piping |
$2,356.20 |
3.1% |
| Twelve Drummers Drumming |
$2,552.55 |
3.1% |
| TOTAL |
$23,439.38 |
9.2% |
You might be surprised to see that the fauna have some of the biggest price increases, when you factor in percentages. While you will be paying in the thousands for the pipers, drummers, dancers, and leapers, bear in mind how many people are involved in these operations. In contrast, the fowl component is definitely pricey for what you get (especially if you calculate by the pound), and has seen the biggest price increases percentage-wise of the lot—partially thanks to increases in the cost of feed. Dollarwise, you’ll pay far more for the ladies to dance; they’ll split an $820 increase among themselves.
Now, on to specifics. While the change for the partridge in the pear tree gift is small this year (only 1.3%), in 2009 it had fallen by 27.3%—not its largest drop, by the way; that was in 1990 . . .
when it lost 31.2%—and in 1998, it actually rose by 133.3%. The price is for both together; the cost of the pear tree was stable, but the partridge alone rose by 20% to $12.
Two turtle doves? Generally extremely stable, showing no change year over year for most of the years since 1984 that PNC has tracked the index, this year they shot up 76.6%. (In 2004 they lost 31%—a bad year for doves, evidently.)
Three French hens? Get out your wallets. Also usually very stable, this year they’re up by 233.3%. In 2004 they rose 200%—what was with 2004, anyway?
Pricey fowl, those four calling birds. Although they’ve held at that level for three years, they tip the scales at $599.96.
Five golden rings—now, you might think that, given the price of gold this year, they would be the most expensive of the gifts. But they’ve only increased by 30% over last year, PNC calculates, when their price rose 42.9%. Their single biggest increase was in 1987, when rings shot up 172.7% to $750.00. Compared to then, they’re actually a bargain. And, of course, how much gold is in just five rings, anyway? (Maybe Miyamoto Musashi knows; I could check his book. . . .)
