Look out shoppers, these geese aren't a-laying for free. Credit: Violscraper, Flickr
We hope you took advantage of some great Black Friday deals last week. Because, according to the bean counters, the price of Christmas sure didn't get any more affordable in 2010, particularly if you're looking to buy the traditional gifts from the Christmas carol.
With the release of its 27th annual Christmas Price Index (based entirely on the gifts listed in "The Twelve Days of Christmas") PNC Wealth Management has determined that, although the recession drags on, the cost of Christmas continues to soar.
This year, purchasing all the gifts mentioned in "The Twelve Days of Christmas" would cost you a whopping $23,439.38 -- a 9.2% increase over last year and the second largest single year increase on record. Look out up there, Santa, because the cost of lavishing gifts on your true love is going straight through the roof.
Oddly enough, some of 2010's loftiest prices came in the bird department. Thanks to the rising price of tutle doves (up 78.6%), partridges (up 20%), and poultry, you can get the gamer in your life a Kinect to use with his Xbox 360 for less than the cost of three measely French hens -- $150, up 233% over last year! Those French sure are proud of their poultry.
In fact, knowing what French hens cost makes some of the other more extravagant gifts on your list look downright affordable. For example, if your true love has been dropping hints about wanting a new iPad for the last eleven months, but you were hoping to distract him or her with, say, four calling birds instead... you may want to reconsider. According to Engadget, you could snag a brand new iPad and download a number of bird-watching apps for less than the $599 PNC says it costs to procure proper calling birds these days.
So what if you're doing a little jewelry shopping this Christmas? You can thank an insatiable worldwide demand for gold for driving the cost of the infamous five golden rings to $650 -- up a whopping 30% over last year. Better start saving some serious money if you don't want to have to explain to your true love how CZs are more ethical than diamonds anyway.
Not all the prices have gone up, though -- the eight maids a milking cost the same as they did last year, a mere $7.25 each. Although once you factor in the cows and the dairy, we're not sure that's really an affordable -- or practical -- gift after all.
