If you actually wanted to give your “true love” all of the items in the holiday classic song “The 12 Days of Christmas”, it would cost you 3.5% more this year.   

The PNC Christmas Price Index shows the price of that partridge in a pear tree has gone up, as has the turtle doves, geese a laying and swans a swimming.    The price of swans a swimming rose 12.5%, turtle doves are up 25%, driving the higher costs.

Maids a milking, ladies dancing and lords a leaping saw no increase.  French hens held even.  Gold rings were down .8%.

Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investments for PNC Wealth Management, says the total cost of the items in the song has topped the 100 thousand dollar mark for the first time. Shopping for on line deals won’t help with this list; the total internet price is over 174 thousand, thanks mostly to shipping.

Dunigan says there is a correlation with the real consumer price index, and the Christmas Price Index can be used as an educational tool.  At pncchristmaspriceindex.com, there are interactive tools for educators to use to engage middle and high school students at this time of year in lessons about economic trends.

Dunigan says the slow recovery is showing up in this index as well. He says weak demand is keeping prices down, which is why they saw only a moderate increase. Wages were flat in the index and he says we see that in the economy as well with wages up overall by just 1.6%.

It’s the 28th year for the PNC holiday season index.