Advent calendars have got pricey - but I'd still prefer Cadbury chocolate behind my doors anyway

Advent calendars have evolved a lot since the creation of the first chocolate advent calendar in the 1950s, or back in the day when they simply concealed a picture or a Bible verse behind their doors. But it appears as though our consumerist society didn’t seem to be satisfied enough with this.

So many advent calendars are extortionately expensive, seemingly, another consequence of the commercialisation of Christmas. This year’s most famous being Dior’s £570 calendar and Swarovski’s Disney version, which is on sale for £1,100. Every year more companies have tried to capitalise on this hugely successful market, with different brands launching new calendars yearly, regardless of the nature of their product, resulting in advent calendars transcending the typical confectionery market.

Nowadays, anything can be hidden behind the doors, ranging from G&T to jewellery, to pet treats or LEGO. In fact, many are actually targeted more at adults than children. What appear to be the most successful however, are the beauty advent calendars, where competition is fierce. In a 2022 survey, it was revealed that after chocolate, cosmetics/ beauty-themed Advent calendars were the most popular in the UK.

Luxury department store in London, Liberty, has benefitted from this beauty advent calendar ‘craze’ after creating its highly sought after advent calendar in 2014, that contains over £1,040 worth of product and retails for around £250. It has been wildly successful, with the retailer claiming that on the launch day this year, people were waiting outside the store as early as 6am, with queues reaching around the block. There were over 100,000 people on its waiting list, and unsurprisingly, it’s already completely sold out.

One reason for the vast appeal of these calendars is down to the savings offered through buying the calendar, rather than buying each of the products individually, and at the same time, customers get to test these products before purchasing the full-sized alternative. Other beauty brands have been trying to compete, with Harvey Nichols claiming 1 in 50 of their advent calendars contain a surprise £100 gift card. This war of one-upmanship between beauty brands leaves me wondering what sort of surprises are in store for next year.

You can even see advent calendars creeping into stores in October, before Halloween or Bonfire Night have even passed. People can’t seem to wait to purchase one, or, it seems, open them. According to a YouGov study, around a quarter of Brits (26%) say they are looking forward to opening their calendar. People really are going crazy for them.

Even influencers have swiftly jumped on to this trend, often filming videos of them opening their calendars to their followers. It doesn’t seem like this craze is over either, as Liz Morgan, Fortnum and Mason buying director said: “the advent calendar market has expanded hugely in recent years and shows no signs of abating.”

I don’t know about you, but I’d say that you can’t beat the classic Cadbury advent calendar; I’d choose that any day over the ostentatious Dior or Pandora ones. They just seem to be out of touch with everything Christmas stands for: simple pleasures.