Tuesday 8 December 2009

Price of Twelve Days of Christmas Shows Modest Increase

Yeah I thought it was that time of year again to report on the Christmas Price Index, the index with looks at a basket of 12 goods (13 if you count the partridge and the pear tree as separate entities) preformed over last year.

Well if you really have a two love who repeats all 364 gifts over the traditional 12 loops the cost is up a mere 0.9% at $87,402.81, this is the smallest increase since 2002 when the index actually showed deflation. The price for only one of each gift rose 1.8% to $21,465.56 up $385.46.

The rise is gold is the main contributor to the rise, with a whooping 42.9% jump over last years prices they come in at $499.95, which has to be repeated 8 times.

Those swimming swans who rose by 33% in 2008 were down 6.3% this year, and those people at the CPI decided to remove this volatile commodity on your true love's shopping list to come up with an underlying rate of 4.8%.

Fowl News Is Good News

After last year the flock of birds that true loves had to spend being a major inflationary pressure on the price of Christmas this year they are dropping helping to keep the costs down.

  • Partridge in a Pear Tree is down 27.3 percent to $159.99. (Partridge down 50%, tree up 25%)
  • The Six Geese-a-Laying are down a sizable 37.5 percent to $150.00.
  • Four Calling Birds was even with last year at $599.96.
  • Two Turtle Doves, which rose a paltry 1.8 percent to $55.98
  • Three French Hens though flying up 50 percent to $45.00; the largest percentage increase in this year’s index. Rumours that next year these will be called Three Freedom Hens by hard pressed Americans has yet to be verified.
Pay Rises and Freezes

The milk maids benefited from another rise in the Federal Minimum wage in the US for the third year running (they had none for the decade before that). Their total hire fee is $58.00 up $5.80 on last year. Though the Drummers Drumming ($2,475.20), Pipers Piping ($2,284.80) and Lords-a-Leaping ($4,413.61) all suffered the fate of many and took a pay freeze this year. But the Ladies Dancing saw the best deal from their union coming in 15% up on last year at $5,473.07.

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