How Much Would Christmas Gifts From The Classic Song Cost?

For more than 40 years, PNC Bank has has calculated the prices of the 12 gifts from the classic song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas, " making it a holiday tradition for lots of people who would never, ever send partridges, calling birds, or leaping lords to anyone, no matter the season.

I’ve always thought “The Twelve Days of Christmas” sounded festive, right up until you put a price tag on the items in it. Every year, PNC does exactly that with its Christmas Price Index. And for 2025, the numbers are in. No surprises here, just like groceries and winter heating bills across Illinois, the costs went up again.

Here’s the headline number. Buying one of each of the 12 gifts from the song would cost $51,476.12 this year. In 2024, that total was $49,263.47. That’s about a 4.5% jump in just one year. And if you really want to follow the song word for word and buy every gift as it’s repeated, all 364 items, the so‑called “True Cost of Christmas” climbs to $218,542.98. That’s roughly $9,000 more than last year.

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Living In Illinois, Not Many Of Us Are Surprised That The Costs Have Gone Up

From an Illinois standpoint, this all sounds pretty familiar. The biggest increases tend to show up where labor is involved. Ten Lords-a-Leaping and Nine Ladies Dancing reflect higher wages and performance costs, which are the same pressures businesses across our state have been dealing with. In fact, Ten Lords-a-Leaping is the single most expensive line item in 2025, coming in at more than $16,800.

One of the most noticeable jumps this year came from Five Gold Rings, driven largely by higher gold prices. If you’ve walked past a jewelry counter in Rockford, Chicago, or anywhere else in Illinois lately, that probably doesn’t shock you.

The good news? Several gifts didn’t go up at all from 2024 to 2025, including Turtle Doves, French Hens, Calling Birds, and even the famously expensive Seven Swans-a-Swimming.

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