Swans are a bargain in this year's pricey noel

By Nicole Ostrow
Bloomberg News Service

NEW YORK — The five gold rings of Christmas song fame got a little more expensive this year, even as retailers reduced the price on seven swans-a-swimming and pear trees because of an oversupply, PNC Advisors said.

For the past 18 years, PNC Advisors has compiled the Christmas Price Index, which includes everything in the song the "12 Days of Christmas," from a partridge in a pear tree to 12 drummers drumming.

The index dropped 7.6 percent this year. Excluding the price of the swans, the index rose 1.7 percent, consistent with the core U.S. Consumer Price Index.

Overall, it costs $12,458 to buy all the goods and services in the song, excluding the swans, compared with $12,249 last year, according to the survey

While retailers discount certain items to get them off the shelves, the cost of labor and gold are up slightly, even as the economy has soured, the survey found. Five gold rings cost $382.50, up from $375 last year.

Ten lords-a-leaping cost 4 percent more this year and nine ladies dancing cost 2.2 percent more, the survey showed. Those numbers are based on figures from the Pennsylvania Ballet and Philadanco in Philadelphia, which had a strong season this year as more people supported the local arts.

Seven swans-a-swimming cost $2,100 this year, down 40 percent from last year, the survey said.

Online shopping for the same items in the song cost 69 percent more than shopping the old-fashioned way because of expensive shipping and handling and travel expenses for laborers, the survey found. A partridge cost 21 percent more online, while five gold rings cost 17 percent more, the survey showed.

PNC Advisors expects the Christmas Price Index to rise next year as hiring and wages improve. PNC Advisors is a unit of Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group.