Every year, PNC Financial Services figures out how much all the presents in the Twelve Days of Christmas would cost. This year, it’s $46,729.86. That’s a record high. It’s up 2.7% from last year, which was the previous record holder. If you’re wondering, ten lords a leaping led the way at $14,539.20. That’s almost a third of the total. I have no idea why lords are so much more expensive than everything else except swans. The swans were almost as expensive at $13,125.00. Those two items are more than half the total. The least expensive item is eight maids a milking. They only cost $58, which is baffling. I don’t know how long and how much effort milking takes, but that’s less than ten bucks per maid. Seems like a pittance.
The funny thing is I have almost no interest in any of these gifts. I don’t want pet birds, I don’t wear jewelry, I don’t drink milk, I have no idea what I’d do with leaping lords. The dancing ladies, piping pipers, and drumming drummers might be OK as long as it was just one performance of each of them. Of course, at $8,308.12, $3,207.38, and $3,468.02 respectively, there’s no way they’re single performances. I don’t know what the arrangement would be, but I don’t think I want any part of it.
If I had to take something, I guess it would be the five gold rings. Not because I have any interest in gold rings, but because they at least can be resold relatively easily. I wouldn’t mind an extra $1,245.00 in my pocket. It would be a nightmare trying to unload the rest of the items on the list.
I don’t know how PNC figured this out. All I do know is I wouldn’t pay $46,729.86 for this haul. I wouldn’t pay half that. For a lot of these “gifts” you’d have to pay me to take them. Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t have anywhere near enough money to have to worry about it.
