The economy seems to be a hot button issue this year, and even more so when it comes to individual families, with one of the main questions being, how can we afford Christmas?

Well the official cost of Christmas has been found thanks to the 33rd annual PNC Wealth Management Christmas Price Index. It calculates the cost of someone purchasing all the gifts that are mentioned in the twelve days of Christmas song, and compared to last year, Christmas is more expensive!

For example, the price of two turtle doves jumped from $290 to $375 (USD), and the cost of 11 pipers piping and 12 drummers drumming rose 2.8 percent, but the nine other gifts stayed the same price or became cheaper bringing us to a total of $34,363 USD. Of course the prices change if you want to order them all online mainly due to shipping, I mean, I’ve never shipped a swan before, let alone 7 of them, but i’m sure it’s not cheap. Here’s the list:

 

  • Partridge, $20; last year: $25
  • Pear tree, $190; last year: same
  • Two turtle doves, $375; last year: $290
  • Three French hens, $182; last year: same
  • Four calling birds (canaries), $600; last year: same
  • Five gold rings, $750; last year: same
  • Six geese-a-laying, $360; last year: same
  • Seven swans a-swimming, $13,125; last year: same
  • Eight maids a-milking, $58; last year: same
  • Nine ladies dancing (per performance), $7,553; last year: same
  • 10 lords a-leaping (per performance), $5,509; last year: same
  • 11 pipers piping (per performance), $2,708; last year: $2,635
  • 12 drummers drumming (per performance), $2,934; last year: $2,855

 

 

The study goes on to say:

…the increasing wages of drummers and pipers could signal a march toward higher wages for a broader range of workers in 2017…

That’s good news I’d say! Especially for our musically inclined friends. But apparently it’ll benefit more than just them, with the study saying:

…we could see wage increases coming for the eight maids-a-milking, nine ladies dancing and 10 lords-a-leaping…

Now if you don’t want to source out those things on your own, you could always buy them online. But if you do that you can expect to pay more, a total of $44,603 which is up 2.2% from last year. The main reason for the price difference is the cost of shipping animals and performers. For example, 10 lords a leaping costs $5,509 in person, but $13,373 if you order them online.

If you were to buy all the gifts each time they’re mentioned, you’d end up spending $156,507.

Unfortunately, the study didn’t look into Bob and Doug Mckenzie’s version, but we thought we’d leave it here for you to enjoy.

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Filed under: Big Ginger, Calling Birds, Christmas, Drummers, French Hens, Geese-a-laying, Golden Rings, Kenny, Ladies Dancing, Leaping, Lords, Maids, milking, Partridge, Pear Tree, Pipers, Swans, Turtle Doves, Twelve Days of Christmas, Unbalanced Breakfast