The cost of the items in The Twelve Days of Christmas is on the rise — again.

Buying each item in the song just once — from a partridge in a pear tree to a dozen drummers drumming — will cost you $21,467 Cdn., or 3.1 per cent more than last year, according to PNC Financial Services Group based in Pittsburgh.

However, a True Love wanting to buy the 364 items involved in all of the verses' repetitions would have to pay a record $85,233 this year, up from last Christmas's $82,381.

While prices for the partridge, two turtle doves, three French hens, six geese and seven swans remained the same as last year, higher wages made the lords a-leaping, ladies dancing and pipers piping costlier.

"After years of stagnation, wages for skilled workers, including the song's dancers and musicians, have increased as the labour market has tightened," said Jeff Kleintop, the chief investment strategist for PNC Wealth Management.

The nine ladies dancing earned the equivalent of $5,400 Cdn, four per cent more, according to Philadanco, the Philadelphia Dance Co. The lords a-leaping got a three per cent pay raise, while the drummers drumming and pipers piping earned 3.4 per cent more.

The maids a-milking, however, weren't as lucky. They make the U.S. federal minimum wage, which has been $5.15 US (about $5.84 Cdn) per hour since 1997.

The price of another item remained flat. "A decline in the housing market has dampened demand for luxury goods, such as gold rings," Kleintop said.

Tally could buy a Hummer or Cadillac roadster

Each year, the Pittsburgh-based bank does a tongue-in-cheek tally of how much the swans, geese and drummers would cost if you purchased them at today's prices. PNC has been calculating the cost of Christmas since 1984.

For the price of buying all 364 items, you could get a brand new, fully loaded special edition Hummer 2 sport utility vehicle, a fully loaded Cadillac XLR two-door roadster, a cruise around the world, a five-carat diamond ring or top-of-the-line Cartier or Piaget watch.

Trying to find cheaper deals online won't help. The 364 items online would cost about $142,695 Cdn, including shipping costs, compared to $140,516 in 2005. You would spend $34,412 online to buy each item just once this year.

The nine ladies dancing are the costliest items on the list again. The seven swans a-swimming cost $4,765. And a pear tree saw the biggest jump, going from $102.10 in 2005 to $147.49 this year.

The cheapest? As always, the partridge, still $17.