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For 36 years, we've calculated the prices of the twelve gifts from the classic carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas." The result is the PNC Christmas Price Index®, a unique and whimsical holiday tradition that makes learning about the economy fun.
2019 GIFT PRICES ABOUT THE INDEX FOR EDUCATORSFOR MEDIA ACTIVITY BOOK D.I.Y. CRAFTS
TOTAL CHRISTMAS PRICE INDEX (CPI)
$38,993.59(0.2%)
The Geese and the Gold would have stretched True Love's budget if it weren't for those two darling doves who dropped in price. This year a modest increase of 0.2% makes the twelve gifts a feather's weight higher than 2018, but a 95% increase from the first Christmas Price Index in 1984.
"CORE" INDEX (EXCLUDING SWANS)
$25,868.59(0.3%)
This version of the CPI removes the most unpredictable gift from the index - the Swans-a-Swimming.
The PNC Christmas Price Index® shows the current cost for one set of each of the gifts given in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas."
It is similar to the U.S. Consumer Price Index, which measures the changing prices of goods and services like housing, food, clothing, transportation and more that reflect the spending habits of the average American.
The goods and services in the PNC Christmas Price Index® are far more whimsical, of course. And most years, the price changes closely mirror those in the U.S. Consumer Price Index. It’s a fun way to measure consumer spending and trends in the economy. So, even if Pipers Piping or Geese-a-Laying didn’t make your gift list this year, you can still learn a lot by checking out why their prices have increased or decreased over the years.
The PNC Christmas Price Index Through the Years
*Revised: 2014 traditional price adjusted to better reflect open-market pricing.
History of the Index
It all started 36 years ago as a way to engage clients of PNC’s predecessor, Provident National Bank in Philadelphia, during the traditionally light holiday weeks. What hatched as the creative brainchild of the bank’s then-chief economist has since grown into one of PNC’s most popular and anticipated economic reports.
TRENDS: HOW THE INDEX HAS CHANGED SINCE 1984
Over the years, trends have emerged, and the PNC Christmas Price Index® (PNC CPI) has often increased or decreased at a rate consistent with the U.S. Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation produced by the U.S. Department of Labor. Three factors have largely driven changes in the index over the past 36 years[1]:
- The Internet makes it easier to find the gifts from the song online, but these goods and services tend to be expensive, mainly due to added shipping and handling costs.
- The price of services overall has increased, while the price of goods has slowed.
- Fuel costs have a major effect on the cost of shipping. And, as we know, fuel prices have been especially volatile over the last few years.
Meet the Team
REBEKAH MCCAHAN
Vice President and Investment Strategist
PNC Asset Management Group
Rebekah McCahan serves as a member of the Investment Strategy team for the PNC Asset Management Group and Institutional Investments. She is responsible for developing asset allocation models, directing asset allocation changes, analyzing new investment instruments for consideration in client accounts, and helping to create quarterly and monthly investment outlooks and reviews.
AMANDA AGATI
Chief Investment Strategist
PNC Asset Management Group
Amanda Agati is the Chief Investment Strategist for the PNC Financial Services Group. In this role, she oversees all investment strategy-related activities for the Institutional Asset Management, Wealth Management, and Hawthorn (ultra-high-net-worth) businesses, totaling approximately $150 billion in assets under management, as of December 31, 2017. In addition, she helps lead the team that establishes overall strategic and tactical asset allocation guidance of client portfolios, manages the evolution of investment processes, provides thought leadership on key investment issues, and is the author of numerous publications.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between the Total Cost of Christmas and the True Cost of Christmas? Who figures out the prices for the PNC Christmas Price Index? The answers to all these questions and more can be found here.
What is the Christmas Price Index®, anyway?
The PNC Christmas Price Index (PNC CPI) shows the current cost for one set of each of the gifts given in the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas."
What is the "True Cost of Christmas?"
The True Cost of Christmas is the cumulative cost of all the gifts when you count each repetition in the song, reflecting the cost of 364 gifts. This cost has measured even wider fluctuations over the years.
Why did PNC start tabulating the Christmas Price Index®?
It all started 36 years ago as a way to engage clients of PNC’s predecessor, Provident National Bank in Philadelphia, during the traditionally light holiday weeks. What hatched as the creative brainchild of the bank’s then-chief economist has since grown into one of PNC’s most popular and anticipated economic reports.
Who is the holiday shopper at PNC?
Since 1986, Rebekah McCahan of PNC Asset Management Group has handled our shopping duties, putting a price tag on French hens, maids-a-milking, gold rings and all the other items in the PNC CPI. She has evaluated some distinctive economic trends along the way.
Where does McCahan do her shopping?
The partridge and dove prices came from a national bird supplier. Hatcheries provided the cost of the hens and swans. The price of the geese came from a waterfowl farm. A national pet chain provided the price of the calling birds, or canaries. The pear tree price came from a New Jersey nursery. A national jewelry chain provided the cost of five 14-carat gold rings, and PHILADANCO, a modern dance company in Philadelphia, offered the price of ladies dancing, while Pennsylvania Ballet supplied the cost of the Lords-a-Leaping. Maids-a-milking are the only unskilled laborers in the PNC CPI and, as such, they reflect the federal minimum wage.Year after year, the sources for the prices remain the same for the most part for consistency, but they have changed on occasion due to changes in the market or business landscape.
What has changed since 1984?
Many things. First, the Internet. Today, it’s easier for us to find the goods and services listed in the song online. This convenience comes at a price, however: goods and services from the survey that are purchased online tend to be more expensive than those purchased in a more traditional transaction, mainly due to added shipping and handling costs of the specialty items. In 2015, we adjusted the current prices of the turtle doves and swans to better reflect open market pricing, and revised the historical data to correlate. Second, over the last 36 years, the price of services in general has increased, while the price of goods has slowed. In the 1984 PNC CPI, goods were by far the more expensive component of the Index — today it’s services. Since 1984, the PNC CPI has increased 95%. Also related to services, in 2007, federal laws increased the minimum wage and gave the maids-a-milking their first raise since 1997. The wage increased again in both 2008 and 2009, and is now holding steady at $7.25 per hour. Third, fuel costs. As fuel prices go up and down, they have a major effect on the cost of shipping.
Will shoppers spend more than ever before…again?
Looks like it, but that’s because inflation usually makes the PNC CPI a little more expensive each year. The underlying inflation in this year’s core PNC CPI (where the volatile cost of swans is excluded) is up 2.1%. PNC calculated the 2019 price tag for The PNC Christmas Price Index at $38, 993.59, just $67 or 0.2 percent more than last year’s cost.
In which year could a shopper afford to be a scrooge?
The cheapest PNC Christmas Price Index® in dollars occurred in 1995, when the cost of Christmas was just under $15,600[1].
The PNC Christmas Price Index® is a simple, yet entertaining way to introduce basic economics to classrooms around the country. By pricing out each gift from “The Twelve Days of Christmas” year after year, we are able to provide a snapshot of our current economy, lessons on inflation and other economic trends.
Activities
These self-contained activities from The Stock Market Game™ give you everything you need to use the PNC Christmas Price Index® as an effective teaching tool. The Stock Market Game™ is a program of the SIFMA Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational organization dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of the financial markets for individuals of all backgrounds.
CHRISTMAS PRICE INDEX HIDDEN PICTURE ACTIVITY BOOK
Take a Break from the Holiday Hustle & Bustle
The holidays are a special time to find the perfect gifts for the ones we treasure most. But finding the right gift can be a fun challenge –just like our holiday Hidden Picture activity.
Don’t worry! It won’t take you all twelve days of Christmas to find the sixteen gifts tucked away in the festive scene.
Important Legal Disclosures & Information
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In 2015, we adjusted the current prices of the turtle doves and swans to better reflect open market pricing, and revised the historical data to correlate. In 2018, we adjusted the prices for 10 Lords-a-Leaping and revised the historical data to correlate.
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. ("PNC") provides investment and wealth management, fiduciary services, FDIC-insured banking products and services and lending and borrowing of funds through its subsidiary, PNC Bank, National Association, which is a Member FDIC, and provides certain fiduciary and agency services through PNC Delaware Trust Company. PNC does not provide legal, tax or accounting advice.
PNC Asset Management Group is the combined marketing name for the asset management and banking activities conducted by PNC Bank, National Association (“PNC Bank”) under the marketing names PNC Wealth Management®, Hawthorn, PNC Family Wealth®, PNC Institutional Asset Management®, PNC Retirement Solutions®, Vested Interest®, and PNC Institutional Advisory Solutions®, by PNC Delaware Trust Company or PNC Ohio Trust Company, and by PNC Capital Advisors, LLC and PNC Realty Investors, Inc., registered investment advisers. PNC Asset Management Group includes personal wealth management for high net worth and ultra high net worth and institutional asset management clients. Personal wealth management products and services include customized investment management, financial planning, private banking, and tailored credit solutions as well as trust management and administration for affluent individuals and families. PNC Institutional Asset Management provides investment management, custody, and retirement planning services. The clients served include corporations, unions, and charitable endowments and foundations, located primarily in our geographic footprint. PNC Asset Management Group does not provide legal, tax, or accounting advice unless, with respect to tax advice, PNC Bank has entered into a written tax services agreement. PNC Asset Management Group does not provide services in any jurisdiction in which it is not authorized to conduct business. PNC Bank is not registered as a municipal advisor under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Act”). Investment management and related products and services provided to a “municipal entity” or “obligated person” regarding “proceeds of municipal securities” (as such terms are defined in the Act) will be provided by PNC Capital Advisors, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PNC Bank and SEC registered investment adviser.
“PNC Wealth Management,” “Hawthorn, PNC Family Wealth,” “Vested Interest” “PNC Institutional Asset Management,” “PNC Retirement Solutions,” and “PNC Institutional Advisory Solutions” are registered service marks of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
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