Eleven Christmas pipers piping: for $2200 (plus mileage)

I’ve often wondered what it would cost to actually purchase all the items in the song “Twelve Days of Christmas”. Well, wonder no more.  A New York financial company has been sourcing all the turtle doves, French hens, bagpipers, ‘maids A’milking’, etc. for the past 29 years and the their total for all 78 items in 2012 has been calculated at $107,300! You can thank the price of gold for the hike in cost for the ‘five golden rings’. The swans-a-swimming, a pear tree, french hens and geese a laying have also gone up in price over 2011.

According to PNC Wealth Management, which has been calculating the cost of Christmas’s since the early 1980’s (their interactive website is really worth a look), 11 pipers piping cost $2,562 in 2012; that’s about $233 each.

So, do I have a bargain for you who have everything!

As you can see from my “Paying the Piper” page, my cost to play bagpipes at your Vancouver wedding, funeral, house party, Robert Burns supper or head table is slightly less than that calculated by PNC Wealth Management. I can gather 10 of my bagpiping friends and we can provide “11 pipers piping” for a measly Cdn. $2,200 (mileage not included.)  A few tunes under your ‘partridge in the pear tree’ may draw out nine ladies dancing, a few lords’ a’leaping and maybe even the local police.

As we are drawing near to the Christmas season, booking in advance is a good idea. Also, having a bottle of single malt whiskey to share with the pipers is also traditional. It may be the only way to get them to stop playing in your neighbourhood.

So, if there’s no room under your Christmas tree for any more gifts, music may be the ideal gift for the person who has everything.

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