12 Days of Christmas Gifts Top $100,000

And apparently everyone had gardening on their minds this year, to send the cost of pear trees up 13.3%. (Maybe that explains why my pear trees cost so much last spring!) All I know is, at those prices, they had better produce lots of pears next year, or come 2013 people might have to add a hive of bees to the list.

What might surprise you, though, is the fact that the gold rings actually dropped in cost: where they cost $649.95 last year, this year they were only $645—a drop of 0.8%. According to James Dunigan, managing executive of investments for PNC Wealth Management, that is due to near-record-high gold commodity prices, which has put a bit of a damper on the retail gold market.

The pipers and drummers must have gotten a bit of a raise, with both items costing 3% more; however, the poor milkmaids, stuck at minimum wage, stayed right where they were. So did the dancing ladies, although they were certainly better paid for their work.

Should you be planning such a rampant act of generosity for your own beloved, or if this is your idea of the ideal Christmas present, you might be curious to see what all the other items cost, and how their prices compare to last year. So we have included a helpful little table for you to take with you as you check that bargain-shopping app on your iPhone.