It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like a PR Disaster

"And visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads."

Until they opened an advent calendar and found a candle lid.

Welcome to the wonderful world of LUXURY advent calendars!

Confession: The only advent calendars I've ever bought myself were chocolate ones. As an ADULT!

And NO, not Lindt.

I'm talking bargain-bin supermarket chocolate. Basically pure sugar.

Is it good? YES. The best chocolate I've ever eaten? HAHA. No.

Growing up in a Jewish family, we didn't have advent calendars at home.

But at school? We had a cheap chocolate one. Every day, the teacher picked someone to open a door.

Was I ever picked? NOPE.

So adult me bought her own. Little me was THRILLED.

Somewhere along the way, advent calendars became BIG business.

Naturally, I fell down a rabbit hole… AGAIN.

There are calendars for skincare, coffee, LEGO and even TINNED FISH.

And TikTok has turned unboxings into Christmas entertainment.

Especially when they're TERRIBLE.

Remember Chanel's $825 calendar in 2021?

STICKERS. Actual stickers.

Dior's $3,500 calendar in 2022?

Day four: A candle. Day six: THE CANDLE LID. Day thirteen: THE CANDLE STAND.

I'M SORRY, WHAT?

For $3,500, I would expect that candle to take me out for dinner.

And possibly pay my electricity bill.

Then Dior faced backlash AGAIN in 2025. A $1,000 calendar with miniatures that reminded people of FREE beauty-counter samples.

So tiny, I wondered if Dior had designed it for the mouse from 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

"Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse."

WELL, THAT MOUSE WAS STIRRING.

He's at the Dior counter demanding a refund and questioning his life choices.

Now SKIMS has entered the chat with its $148, 12-day accessories calendar.

Keychains. Hair ties. Bobby pins. A bra-elastic headband. A squishy toy.

I'M SORRY, WHAT?

The packaging? ADORABLE. Little woodland animals and pretty Christmas colours.

The contents? Apparently, my bathroom drawer has been a luxury advent calendar this entire time.

The wild part? SKIMS sold a $450 underwear advent calendar last year.

So it's not like the brand has nothing else to put behind those doors.

To be fair, SKIMS DID list the accessories in its product description.

But knowing what you're buying and feeling like you got your money's worth are two different things.

And here's the plot twist: despite the backlash, the calendar reportedly SOLD OUT in some markets.

So SKIMS made the sale. But did it win over the customer?

THAT'S where my marketing brain kicks in.

Every advent calendar door is a chance to delight your biggest fans.

Or become TikTok's next punchline.

Brands control what's behind the doors.

They DON'T control the unboxing.

Because going viral and earning customer trust are two VERY different things.

Personally, I'll stick to my cheap chocolate.

At least I know what I'm getting.