12 Days Of Christmas Costs Rise 6% In 2005

[jeffrey]

The cost of the 12 Days of Christmas rose 6% this year due to increased oil and gold prices as well as fears of the avian bird flu. The price for all the items in the classic "The Twelve Days of Christmas" song reached $18, 348.87 this year according to the annual survey conducted by PNC Advisors, a 6.1% increase from 2004.

Rising gold prices hit the 5th day hard. The "five golden rings" given on the fifth day saw their price rise by 27.5% to $325.00, the second highest percentage increase on the list.

The highest percentage increase went to the next item on the list: "six geese a laying" which were up 42.9% over last year to $50.00. Prices for all the birds were substantially higher due to increased delivery costs from higher energy prices.




Domestic breeders of French hens saved the list from soaring into double digit increases this year by supplying the list. The avian flu restricted international shipments of birds, thus making it impossible to purchase "three French hens" from France. Had the domestic breeders not have existed, completing the list would have been extremely difficult this year.

The majority of the workers on the list saw no increase in their income this year. The only workers on the list to see an increase were the "nine ladies dancing" whose wages rose a mere 4% to $508.46 each. The wages for the maids-a-milking, lords-a-leaping, pipers piping and drummers drumming all remained flat with the "eight maids-a-milking" receiving minimum wage again this year.

For those who believe that the best prices are found on the Internet, this year's list shows that online shopping for your gifts can cost significantly more than going to brick and mortar shops. The cost for the 12 items from the Internet came to $29,322.80 which was a premium of 60% over traditional shops.

For those not satisfied with giving the merely the 12 gifts, but all the gifts as repeated in the song, the total comes to $72, 608.02 this year for all 364 items. That's up 9.5% over 2004 when all the items could be had for $66,334.

Here are the costs for all the items on the list:

Item	Cost Per Item	Total Cost	% Increase
Partridge In A Pear Tree	$104.99	$104.99	12.9%
2 Turtle Doves	$20.00	$40.00	0%
3 French Hens	$15.00	$45.00	3.7%
4 Calling Birds	$99.99	$399.96	1.0%
5 Golden Rings	$65.00	$325.00	27.5%
6 Geese-A-Laying	$50.00	$300.00	42.9%
7 Swans-A-Swimming	$600.00	$4,200.00	20.0%
8 Maids-A-Milking	$5.15	$41.20	0%
9 Ladies Dancing	$508.46	$4,576.14	4.0%
10 Lords-A-Leaping	$403.91	$4,039.08	0%
11 Pipers Piping	$186.65	$2,053.20	0%
12 Drummers Drumming	$185.36	$2,224.30	0%
TOTAL	-	$18,348.87	6.1%