The Rising Price of “The 12 Days of Christmas”
Is Black Friday Dead?
It is no secret economic times are tough. Of course if you listen to the government leaders, various talking head pundits and the so-called financial experts, you’re probably filled with lots of fear. Lets face it, there’s a lot of fear-mongering going on these days. If we believed all the reports from the people who are supposed to be in the know, we’d all have our heads buried in the sand. There was plenty of doom and gloom with early predictions of a weak Black Friday. Some people even said the name should be changed. Obviously those calling for the name change don’t understand the meaning of Black Friday. The term is not one of doom and gloom. It’s not even used to describe the crazy antics of shoppers. No, instead, it’s a term describing the fact that retailers use the Friday after Thanksgiving as a way to determine if their sales will move out of the red and into the black.
But, could it be the know-it-alls are full of hot air?
According to the Chicago-based research firm, ShopperTrak RCT Corporation, people were opening up their wallets like crazy on Black Friday. Estimates put total sales for the day at close to $11 billion. That’s a three percent increase from the same day last year. What will happen in the coming days? It’s really hard to tell. But, other polls suggest spending will remain at least equal to years past as many parents say they will not cut back on Christmas spending when it comes to their kids.
As a little bit of a warning here, be prepared to hear the opposite when it comes to total Christmas sales. For some reason the financial world wants everyone to believe there’s no money. That’s probably because the big companies with bloated budgets are looking for government handouts. As a result, they need to lie in order to win, what they hope will be sympathy, from government leaders and voters. The experts will probably tell us sales are down this year.
But keep in mind….
The shopping season is shorter this year! Thanksgiving was late, which means there are only 27 shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last year there were 32 shopping days.
But…If You’re Shopping “The 12 Days of Christmas”…That Has Gone Up
According to PNC Wealth Management, all of the gifts in the Christmas carol The 12 Days of Christmas. has gone up. If you plan to impress the loved one in your life, it will cost you $86,609 this year. That’s up from the $78,100 from last year.
For discussion sake, here’s a look at the price of all the gift ideas in the song;
- Partridge – $20 ($15 last year)
- Pear Tree – $200 ($150 last year)
- Two Turtle Doves – $55 ($40 last year)
- Three French Hens – $30 ($45 last year)
- Five Golden Rings – $350 ($395 last year)
- Six Geese a-Laying – $240 ($360 last year)
- Seven Swans a-Swimming – $5,600 ($4,200 last year)
- Eight Maids a-Milking – $52 ($47 last year)
- Nine Ladies Dancing – per performance – $4,759 – (Same last year)
- Ten Lords a-Leaping – per performance – $4,414 ($4,285 last year)
- Eleven Pipers Piping – per performance – $2,285 ($2,213 last year)
- Twelve Drummers Drumming – per performance – $2,475 ($2,398 last year)
Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus
