12 days (gifts) for your true love

For those of you not paying attention to the Santa Claus countdown calendar, today marks the annual kickoff of the mother lode of holiday hauls, officially known as "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

You probably already figured that out if you received a dozen drummers drumming or a partridge in a pear tree this morning.

And if you did, you really must have a true love. Inflation has taken quite the toll on the price of this present package since the carol debuted on the Top 40 Christmas Hits Chart centuries ago. According to PNC Bank advisors, the current bill for the 364 items mentioned in the song — including all the lords-a-leaping, the geese-a-laying and the swans-a-swimming on multiple days — is a whopping $66,334.

And you thought a sweater and perfume were expensive.

If you're on a budget and don't repeat the gifts — for instance, you only give four calling birds on the fourth day instead of on nine different days — the cost is a meager $17,296.91.

But don't feel too bad if you skimp this way, it is the thought that counts.

If you're still mulling over the perfect gift (or 12) for your true love, you might not choose to use "The Twelve Days of Christmas" as a literal list. In an unscientific study of shoppers in a downtown mall, the majority of those polled struggled to remember half the items from all the days. And they weren't mentioning them to Santa, either.

Days 5 and 9 were the noted exceptions.

"I think you'd like the nine ladies dancing," Allison Redman told her boyfriend, Vito Maiurano. "And I'd like the five golden rings."

Twaundella Taylor, in town for a convention from Chicago, chuckled when told that hummingbirds were not part of the traditional tune. She preferred her version which also included five diamond rings anyway.

"I am a woman after all," she said.

Timmy Anderson would prefer treasures from heaven, saying, "I'll take God's blessing."

He wouldn't turn down some gold rings, though. He is a man after all.

Karen Palmer's true love might get off easy. The South Jordan resident would opt for turtle doves because they depict the love she has for her family, she said. And if he doesn't buy her that, counting her wedding ring and bands, she's only two rings away from the suggested set of five.

"Thanks," said her husband, George. "You've solved my Christmas for me."