ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Christmas Price Index

The Christmas Price Index is like a special way of looking at how much it costs to give different gifts during Christmas time. Imagine if you wanted to buy lots of presents for your family and friends, but you only had a certain amount of money. You might want to know which presents are more expensive than others, so you can choose the ones that fit in your budget.

The Christmas Price Index does just that – it helps us understand how much different gifts cost so we can plan our holiday shopping better. It was created by a group of economists who wanted to use what they knew about math and money to figure out the average cost of buying all the gifts listed in the famous song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas.'

The song talks about giving all sorts of interesting gifts, like partridges in pear trees, golden rings, and even lords-a-leaping! Now, you might think it would be pretty hard to figure out how much each of these gifts would cost. But the economists were very smart and creative, and they found a way to do it.

They looked at different stores and websites that sold the items in the song, and they checked how much they cost. Then, they added up all the separate costs for each item, and came up with a total cost for giving all the gifts in the song. They did this every year to see if the cost changed based on things like inflation or the availability of certain gifts.

So, the Christmas Price Index is like a big math puzzle that helps us understand how much it costs to give presents during the holidays. By looking at it, we can better plan our shopping and make sure we get the gifts we want for the people we love, without spending too much money.