[Since it's now after Thanksgiving and Christmas carols are allowed ... ]
The good folks at PNC Wealth Management apparently have a bit of extra time on their hands at this time of year, so they've computed the costs of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (that is, what it would take to purchase the partridge, the leaping lords, the milking maids, &c.). This year, they report, the total cost is up 4.1% from 2006, to $78,100 (that's if you buy each thing as many times as it's mentioned in the song).
"Buying each item in the song just once would cost $19,507, up 3.1 percent from last year's $18,921. And shopping online would be costlier, with the total for the 364 items costing $128,886, up 2.5 percent from last year's $125,767. You would spend $31,249 online for each item just once this year."
The federal minimum wage hike and higher costs for food and gold this year pushed prices higher. "The price of a partridge ($15), two turtle doves ($40) and three French hens ($40) remained the same, as did seven swans a-swimming, at $4,200, and nine ladies dancing, at $4,759."
PNC first began calculating the costs of Christmas back in 1984; you can see trend-lines here. You can even listen to an mp3 of this year's results, in a form of a "breaking news" alert (here).
