Advent Outrage: The Sudden Demand to Swap Chocolate for High-end Luxury brands
This holiday season has seen an enormous increase in overpriced advent calendars, but this isn’t something new. Once starting as a simple countdown for kids accompanied with delicious chocolate surprises has been seen over the years to turn into a ritual of luxury beauty and high-end product reveals for all. But with designer surprises, comes designer prices.
P.LOUISE ADVENT CALENDAR
Now continuously pouring more money than ever, parents are really starting to face the pressure to keep up with this trend, but at what cost? A standout example of this year is the P.Louise 2025 Advent Calendar. Sitting at around £250 and marketed as a makeup enthusiast dream, the calendar itself was seen to be posted by multiple influencers, yet the videos uploaded did in fact receive some backlash…
With viewers commenting “If only I could afford it” and “What happened to normal chocolate advent calendars”. Whilst the calendar itself claims to include products worth over £700, not everyone can afford it. Is this unfair?
Other luxury department stores have of course also jumped in on the trend. Brands like Giorgio Armani released their ‘Beauty Advent Calendar’ for over £200, just another example of extortionate pricing from what once was a £5-£10 chocolate countdown. The demand for more continues to grow, having to purchase an expensive calendar as well as presents is seeming to be overwhelming. The major shift simply reflects broader societal changes within consumer culture. Many adults, for instance, no longer find any excitement in a piece of chocolate each day. Instead, they seek the discovery of a pampering experience and high-end self-care.
On the lower end, brands such as No7 ‘The Ultimate Beauty Advent Calendar’ offer a slightly better price of £169 but arguably this is still too much and even so the high-priced calendars keep dominating the headlines. Harrods 2025 beauty calendar, estimated to include over £1,500 worth of products for £250, therefore consumers saw the huge benefit in purchasing.
The marketed value doesn’t always match perceived reality, and high-end calendars have been called out for often only continuing miniatures of the luxury items, which brings about the question, is it worth it?
Would you choose to spend around £200 on an advent calendar, or stick to the basics and treat yourself to some chocolate?
Written by Haydn Davis
