“Santa Baby” by Eartha Kitt was the best selling Christmas song of 1953 and continued to be a top hit in the 2000s and 2010s. But when you listen closely to the lyrics, the song is just one long pricey Christmas list.
Kitt’s Pricey List
In “Santa Baby” Eartha Kitt “tells” Santa she wants a light blue 54′ convertible, a yacht, a deed to a platinum mine, a sable, stocking full of a duplex and check, Tiffany decorations and a ring for Christmas. Clearly this is not your typical Christmas list but rather a pricey unrealistic list.
1954 Convertible
Eartha Kitt says, “Santa baby, a ’54 convertible too, light blue”, which was $2,500 in 1953. Listeners tend to forget how much these items were and still are. Now, this car is $28,500 in 2023 used or new. This specific color of blue was a classic color in the 50s which made its price a little more than other colors in this car. Kitt asks for the most expensive color in this model car.
A yacht
Kitt says, “Santa baby, I want a yacht and really that’s not a lot”. In 1953, a yacht was $1000 in 1953. This may not seem like a lot (like Kitt says) but for this time that was pretty pricey. Now in 2023, a yacht would cost anywhere around $500,000-$10,000,000. Still without a doubt this is a pretty big ask even for its’ time.
A sable
Eartha also says, “Santa baby, just slip a Sable under the tree for me”. Sables are animals used to make fur coats, which were popular at the time and quite pricey. A sable fur coat was $200 in the 50s, but now these coats would be anywhere from $2,000-$3,000. Still these coats may not be in fashion, but people do sometimes wear them like the 50s. You can now find these on ebay.com or thrift stores for a decent price but may have some stains or defects.
A ring
Kitt also says, “Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing a ring, I don’t mean on the phone”. Whether this meant she wanted to marry Santa, or if she just wanted a ring this is still a pricey ask. Big chunky rings were very popular in the 50s. The most popular engagement rings were square cut, Asscher cut, marquise cut, and other unique diamond cuts. Diamonds were and still are popular and expensive.
We sing this song now forgetting how expensive things have gotten over the years. It is a great example to show how much inflation has affected the world. Lots of other musicians have covered this song such as Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Taylor Swift and Trisha Yearwood.
