IllustrationLyrics · meaning · dates · cost
The 12 Days of Christmas
- When
- Dec 25 – Jan 5
- Gifts in all
- 364
- On day 12 alone
- 78
- Cost in 2025
- $51,476
Sing along
On the twelfth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
Day 12: 78 gifts arrive · 364 so far — that's 364, one for nearly every day of the year.
Which gift do you get most of?
Each gift repeats in every later verse. Geese and swans win: 42 each.
- 🐦 Partridge in a pear tree12
- 🕊️ Turtle doves22
- 🐔 French hens30
- 🐦⬛ Calling birds36
- 💍 Gold rings40
- 🪿 Geese a-laying42
- 🦢 Swans a-swimming42
- 🥛 Maids a-milking40
- 💃 Ladies dancing36
- 🤸 Lords a-leaping30
- 🎶 Pipers piping22
- 🥁 Drummers drumming12
Full lyrics
The standard modern words (Frederic Austin, 1909). Traditional, public domain.
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,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the fourth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the fifth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the sixth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the seventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the eighth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the ninth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the tenth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the eleventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
On the twelfth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.
What each gift means — and what it would cost
Prices from PNC's Christmas Price Index, which has priced the song every year since 1984. One set of all twelve cost $51,476.12 in 2025; all 364 gifts, repeated as in the song, $218,542.98.
1. Partridge in a pear tree
A game bird perched in a fruit tree — the one gift given every single day, so there are 12 of them by the end.
2025: $420.18 · +13.5% (the pear tree +14.3%)
2. Turtle doves
Doves that mate for life — a traditional symbol of love and faithfulness.
2025: $750.00 · no change
3. French hens
Hens of French breeds, a small luxury in 18th-century England.
2025: $346.50 · no change
4. Calling birds
Originally "colly birds" — an old English word for blackbirds (coal-colored). "Calling" crept in later.
2025: $599.96 · no change
5. Gold rings
Usually sung as jewelry. Some historians think it once meant ring-necked pheasants, since every gift in the first seven verses is a bird — but there's no proof either way.
2025: $1,649.90 · +32.5%, the biggest jump of 2025
6. Geese a-laying
Geese busy laying eggs — a gift that keeps on giving.
2025: $930.00 · +3.3%
7. Swans a-swimming
In old England swans were a luxury served at royal feasts. Still the priciest birds on the list.
2025: $13,125.00 · no change
8. Maids a-milking
Dairy maids with their cows — the first human gift. Priced at federal minimum wage, it's the cheapest item.
2025: $58.00 · no change
9. Ladies dancing
A troupe of dancers for the Twelfth Night party.
2025: $8,856.88 · +3.5%
10. Lords a-leaping
Noblemen leaping in a dance — the most expensive gift of all in the price index.
2025: $16,836.14 · +8.1%
11. Pipers piping
Musicians playing pipes or flutes for the celebration.
2025: $3,797.48 · +2.2%
12. Drummers drumming
The grand finale: a drum corps to end the twelve days.
2025: $4,106.08 · +2.2%
Is it a secret code?
You'll read that each gift hides a lesson of the Catholic faith — two turtle doves for the Old and New Testaments, and so on — taught in secret when Catholicism was banned in England. It's a lovely story, but it traces back to a 1982 article and has no historical evidence behind it; Snopes rates it false. The oldest printed version, in the 1780 children's book Mirth Without Mischief, calls it a memory game played on Twelfth Night — the player who forgot a gift paid a forfeit.
The twelve days in 2026–27
They start on Christmas Day — not before it — and end on Twelfth Night. The Three Kings arrive the next day.
- Day 1 · 🐦 Partridge in a pear treeFri, Dec 25, 2026
- Day 2 · 🕊️ Turtle dovesSat, Dec 26, 2026
- Day 3 · 🐔 French hensSun, Dec 27, 2026
- Day 4 · 🐦⬛ Calling birdsMon, Dec 28, 2026
- Day 5 · 💍 Gold ringsTue, Dec 29, 2026
- Day 6 · 🪿 Geese a-layingWed, Dec 30, 2026
- Day 7 · 🦢 Swans a-swimmingThu, Dec 31, 2026
- Day 8 · 🥛 Maids a-milkingFri, Jan 1, 2027
- Day 9 · 💃 Ladies dancingSat, Jan 2, 2027
- Day 10 · 🤸 Lords a-leapingSun, Jan 3, 2027
- Day 11 · 🎶 Pipers pipingMon, Jan 4, 2027
- Day 12 · 🥁 Drummers drummingTue, Jan 5, 2027
- Epiphany · 👑 Three Kings DayWed, Jan 6, 2027
Celebrate all twelve at home
Some families spread Christmas out: one small gift or one special thing a day, so December 25 isn't over in an hour.
- 1Christmas Day: open presents slowly — one at a time, everyone watching.
- 2Leftover picnic on the living-room floor, and a board game.
- 3Write thank-you notes (or draw them) while the gifts are fresh.
- 4A winter walk to see the neighborhood lights one more time.
- 5Movie night with the new pajamas.
- 6Bake something with a new cookie cutter or recipe.
- 7Kindness day: donate a toy or visit someone who's on their own.
- 8Build something big with the new building sets.
- 9New Year's Eve: a kids' countdown at 8 pm — noon in another time zone.
- 10New Year's Day: write three wishes for the year and seal them.
- 11Take down one decoration each and tell its story.
- 12Twelfth Night (Jan 5): a king cake or a crown-making party — the Three Kings arrive tomorrow.
Questions
- When do the 12 days of Christmas start?
- On Christmas Day, December 25. The twelve days run to January 5 — Twelfth Night — and the next day, January 6, is Epiphany, when the Three Kings arrive. They are the days after Christmas, not the days before it.
- What are all the gifts in the 12 days of Christmas?
- A partridge in a pear tree, two turtle doves, three French hens, four calling birds, five gold rings, six geese a-laying, seven swans a-swimming, eight maids a-milking, nine ladies dancing, ten lords a-leaping, eleven pipers piping and twelve drummers drumming.
- How many gifts are there in the 12 days of Christmas?
- 364 — one for every day of the year except one — because each verse repeats all the earlier gifts. On the twelfth day alone the true love sends 78.
- How much would the 12 days of Christmas cost?
- PNC's Christmas Price Index put one set of the 12 gifts at $51,476.12 in 2025, 4.5% more than in 2024. Buying all 364 gifts as the song repeats them would cost $218,542.98.
- Is the song a secret Catholic catechism?
- Almost certainly not. The story that each gift hides a teaching (two turtle doves = the Old and New Testaments, and so on) traces back to a 1982 article; there is no historical evidence for it. The earliest printed version, in the 1780 children's book Mirth Without Mischief, presents it as a memory-and-forfeits game for Twelfth Night.
- What are calling birds?
- The original words were "colly birds" — an old English name for blackbirds. The line changed to "calling birds" as the old word was forgotten.
Sources: PNC Christmas Price Index 2025 · Snopes — The Twelve Days of Christmas. Checked 2026-09-30.