Have you ever wondered how much “The 12 Days of Christmas” would cost if you bought all the gifts? Brace yourself: it’s a hefty holiday bill!
Start with the partridge in a pear tree. A partridge goes for around $20, but add a pear tree, and it’s about $200. Not a bad start—but things add up fast. On day two, two turtle doves come in at around $750. Day three’s three French hens seem like a bargain for only $330. Then come four calling birds, for another $600. You might want to start reconsidering those bird-heavy gifts right about now!
Day five: five golden rings. Of course, you’d want to consider personal taste in jewelry, but five plain solid gold bands would run about $1250-$1500. Then we’re right back to those high-priced birds: six geese a-laying would cost about $780, but their cousins the swans—WOW! Seven swans a-swimming would set you back around $13,000! Swans are apparently the Rolls Royce of Christmas gifts! Who knew?!
Next, we start hiring. At minimum wage, the eight maids a-milking are earning about $58/day each, so they’re a steal for just less than $500. The nine ladies dancing far outprice the milking lasses and could cost over $8,000 if you want a proper performance. The ten lords a-leaping are even more pricey. The most expensive item on the list, booking skilled dancers or acrobats would likely cost more than $14,500! By eleven pipers piping and twelve drummers drumming, you’re into full musical parade mode! Think $3,000+ for pipers, and $3,000+ for drummers.
In total, buying all these gifts to represent each of the 12 days would cost over $46,000! If you repeated them, as the song does, for each day, it would be more than $200,000! And don’t forget the headache of housing 23 birds and wrangling performers and dancers. The moral of the story? Stick to the eggnog and skip the swans this Christmas!
From the EIL family to your family, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
