Each year, the folks at PNC Bank pull together an estimate of the cost of fulfilling all the gifts mentioned in the holiday song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” from those drummers drumming and maids-a-milking (no doubt hard to track down in this age of automated dairy production) to that curiously fruit-loyal partridge in a pear tree. For the record, the two turtle doves alone run about $750. In all, the tab comes to a whopping $49,263, PNC’s crack accountants inform us, which is 5.4% above last year’s total, yet another sign of inflation.

Now, as amusing as it is to imagine some frustrated parent wrangling hens and partridges to fulfill some spoiled child’s dream, it’s curious how giving and receiving gifts so dominates our thoughts at this time of year. And it’s not just about the Christian tradition of presents offered to a newborn Jesus or the eight-night Jewish holiday of Hannukah which kicks off the same day as Christmas this year and often includes gifts as well. Even the non-religious among us expect a little something. Nor do we blame retailers. Well, at least not entirely. Most shop owners aren’t pushing $49,263 package deals including leaping lords and swimming waterfowl. They are just trying to meet payroll.

In the end, we suspect it comes down to this: We want to be able to show each other how much we care whether it’s our kids, our wives, our friends, the mail carrier or our Great Aunt Hattie. Often, words fail us. So we shop, we wrap, we mail — or, better yet — we gather together under a decorated tree or perhaps to light the Menorah and read scripture and then share our treats. Sure, the kids will seem more excited by their Red Ryder BB gun (the object of desire in “A Christmas Story”) but what they’ll really remember is the love.

Baltimore is as fine a place as any to feel that affection this time of year. Just look at one of Baltimore’s more beloved holiday traditions, the “Miracle on 34th Street” rowhouses adorned with Christmas lights.

It’s not just fun, it’s kitsch. Look past the model trains and Christmas trees to find the decorative hubcaps and the inflatable alien standing by the manger. You won’t catch that addition at your local church.

You don’t need to pay big bucks to enjoy such decorations. You can walk the sidewalks and see for yourself (at least until New Year’s Day). There’s no admission charge. There are many such opportunities — the Christmas tree outside City Hall or perhaps the one in Fells Point’s Broadway Square or the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon, the annual lighting of which has been a major city event since 1971.

Since around Thanksgiving or so, Baltimoreans have had their choice of special treats from the Kwanza celebration last Saturday at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum to the Christmas Gardens and ice skating along the Inner Harbor that is still open daily through Jan. 20. Sure, some cost a little extra but there’s no charge to watch the skaters. A scenic stroll can be its own reward.

Wait, have we been getting all fuzzy and nostalgic? Thank goodness we aren’t going on and on about the good old days of Christmas at Hutzler’s Department Store and “Breakfast with Santa” and such. They’ve been gone since 1990. Wouldn’t that make us sound old? Better to just remind our readers that we’ll be back in our regular more Scrooge-like mode afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted soon enough. For just one day, how about a little peace on earth, goodwill toward men and all the joy that comes from knowing you don’t have to clean up after all those, swans, hens, geese, calling birds, dancers, pipers and drummers?

Happy holidays, hons.