By The “12th Day of Christmas”, You’re Taking a 2nd Mortgage

One of the classic songs during the holiday season every year is "The 12 Days of Christmas" - in case you forgot it's the carol that features what "My true love gave to me" (like 2 Turtle Doves, which are pictured).  Did you ever think to ask yourself how much all those items would cost for your true love?  Get ready to be in the poor house this year as the price tag reaches 6 figures this year!

Every year the financial company PNC puts together what it calls the Christmas Price Index, which adds up the cost of all the items in the song.  They come up with the calculations for these gifts just like any consumer would.  PNC consults the National Aviary in Pittsburgh for a majority of the birds’ prices, including the partridge, two doves, six geese and seven swans, and their shoppers head to PetSmart to buy the more accessible calling birds (four) and French hens (three).

The Pennsylvania Ballet offers the price of the ten lords-a-leaping and a Philadanco, a dance company based in Philadelphia, prices out the services for the nine ladies dancing.  The two retail goods on the list, the pear tree and the five golden rings, are both rung up at Philadelphia stores.  A musicians union calculates the cost of the twelve drummers drumming and the eleven pipers piping.  The last piece of the gifts puzzle takes unskilled maids-a-milking, eight of them, being paid the $7.25 minimum wage for their services.

When all is said and done by Day 12, you would have spent about $101,120 for your true love.  If you're asking how keep in mind that this is based by each days purchases, calculating the cost of buying every item throughout all verses - this represents the "True Cost of Christmas" for the entire song.  Should you do this, you come up with 42 swans-a-swimming (42 Swans at $900 a swan = $37,800), 42 geese-a-laying, and a total of 364 items purchased for your True Love.

This may seem a bit extravagant unless you are starting your own farm, and in these economic times it may not be worth maxing out about 10 credit cards.  Your True Love may be happy with one days worth of goods - that would check out at a more manageable $24,263.  For that kind of money you could bag the 12 Days and just plant the new car in the driveway!

If your True Love has been naughty this year (and not in a good way), you could celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas  in the Canadian style of Bob and Doug McKenzie.  Your True Love would enjoy 112 items that would include 6 cases of beer, 20 pounds of Canadian bacon, 14 turtle necks, 18 pieces of French Toast,  and about a carton of cigarettes just to name a few.  Total Price - between $2,000 to $3,000.