On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.
On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Three French hens,[5]
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Subsequent verses follow the same pattern, each adding one new gift and repeating all the earlier gifts so that each verse is one line longer than its predecessor:
4 calling birds
5 gold rings
6 geese a-laying
7 swans a-swimming
8 maids a-milking
9 ladies dancing
10 lords a-leaping
11 pipers piping
12 drummers drumming
What would be the total cost of said gifts? (assuming the humans in the verses are rented for Christmas time, not literally bought)
Oh boy do I have the website for you. I heard this story on NPR years and years ago, and have never had the chance to give this answer: according to the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., the current price of all items would be $39094.93.
That number only includes ONE set of each gift, so you don't get A partridge in a pear tree*12. I also don't believe the pear tree is included.
Other notable information: the price of the five Golden Rings has fallen a shade since 2017, the poultry has remained mostly constant since 2013, and the men's labor (ie lords a leaping and drummers drumming) has remained constant for several years. However, I don't think they put that much effort into the numbers, because there is no way that six geese a laying cost 0 dollars in 2009 and 2010. Sure, there was a recession, but come on...