'12 Days of Christmas' Items Cost Almost $100,000

If you tried to buy your true love all 364 items mentioned in the song "12 Days of Christmas," from the 12 drummers drumming to the partridge in the pear tree, it would cost you $96,824, according to the annual Christmas Price Index compiled by PNC Wealth Management.

That's considerably more than last year, despite almost zero core inflation. Why is true Christmas love so pricey this year? Blame birds and gold.

Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investment for PNC Wealth Management, said that's because the whimsical holiday price index looks at a much smaller group of goods and services. Even within the index itself, there are some goods that have seen small increases and others that have seen larger ones, he said.

Also, gold prices are high _ which pushed the cost of five gold rings up 30 percent to $649.95 _ as was the cost of hiring entertainers. Not to mention the birds.

"There's no doubt that our feathered friends in general make up a good portion of the increase," Dunigan said. The price of feed and availability led to a 78.6 percent increase in the price of two turtle doves, to $100, and a whopping 233 percent increase in the cost of three french hens, to $150.

Read the full story from the Associated Press.