“The 12 Days of Christmas” may need a 13th verse about “my true love” going broke.
The total cost of the carol’s gifts amounts to $49,263.47 this year, according to PNC Bank’s 41st “Christmas Price Index.”
That’s a 5.4% increase — or $2,500 — over last year, when the price shot up 2.7% from 2022 and is well above the latest annual inflation rate of 2.6% in October.
“Believe it or not, we’re still seeing the cause and effect of the pandemic-inflation hangover, even nearly five years later,” said Amanda Agati, chief investment officer at PNC’s Asset Management Group. “With years of steep price increases, we’d think inflation has nowhere to go, but we’d be wrong.”
The song’s collection of Christmas extravagance totaled $20,023.57 in 1984, when PNC launched the index.
In late 2022, costs increased by 10.5% as commodity prices surged after the COVID-19 pandemic. The only years with bigger increases were 2003 (18.4%) and 2008 (11%).
“With respect to what should be taken seriously, inflation has continued at high levels, unabated, since the government has decided to run trillion-dollar annual deficits,” said Sam Kain, a finance instructor at Walsh College in Michigan. “It will continue until there is a reduction in the rate of money creation.”
The Christmas carol mentions a bevy of birds — turtle doves, French hens — but it’s the gifts of food and labor that drive up costs, financial experts said. Eleven pipers piping would cost $3,714.96 this year, up 15.8% from 2023.
“Inflation hits necessities the hardest because there are fewer substitutes,” said Robert Gmeiner, an economist teaching at Methodist University in North Carolina. “Cheap substitutes for skilled labor are hard to come by, so if you need it when the price rose, you don’t have much choice.”
Experts advised families struggling with inflation to save more, spend less and limit shopping to one day — instead of 12. They also noted that stores are most likely to slash prices just before or after Christmas Day as they look to clear their inventories.
“Create a budget, stay within your budget, and focus on items you need rather than items you want,” said Tom Arnold, a finance professor at the University of Richmond. “Any excess funds should be saved or spent strategically, in that, with uncertainty, there can be an opportunity to purchase something you want at a low price.”
Dating to 18th century England, “The 12 Days of Christmas” refers to the celebration that traditionally begins with the birth of Jesus on Dec. 25 and ends Jan. 5, the eve of Three Kings Day.
The song tells the story of someone receiving an increasing number of whimsical gifts during that period. When its final musical arrangement was published in 1909, the Yuletide carol’s gifts likely cost several hundred dollars, according to an internet search.
By the way, the PNC Bank fudges the song’s list of gifts. Each day the receiver gets whatever “my true love” has given the previous day plus a new gift that follows numerically. Instead of giving 78 items (as per the PNC estimate), “my true love” actually provides more than 350.
That’s a dozen partridges in a dozen pear trees — and 40 golden rings.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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