Shopping: How Adult Advent Calendars Spark Joy — and Environmental Backlash

What is the “Adult Advent Excess” Trend: The Rise of Grown-Up Countdown Consumerism

This section captures how Advent calendars evolved from simple childhood traditions into high-margin, adult-targeted product ecosystems.

• Luxury calendar explosion: Adult-focused Advent calendars now span beauty, food, lifestyle, alcohol, toys, and novelty items, transforming December countdowns into premium unboxing rituals. High price tags (from £30 to £275+) shift the format into a modern “seasonal luxury lite” where value is perceived more emotionally than practically. This indicates a merging of holiday tradition with contemporary gifting culture.

• Unboxing as entertainment: The popularity of unboxing videos on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube fuels the desirability of Advent products. The calendar becomes content: a daily micro-story that consumers expect to perform online. This converts once-private holiday moments into public digital consumption routines, amplifying demand through visibility.

• Seasonal self-gifting normalization: Adult Advent calendars align with a macro trend: self-care as justification for discretionary spending. Consumers treat calendars as seasonal self-rewards, positioning them as psychological indulgences rather than holiday necessities. This emotional utility drives repeat yearly purchases.

Insight: Adult Advent calendars have evolved into ritualized micro-luxuries with strong emotional payoff.Insights for consumers: Calendars deliver excitement and novelty but often mask low product-to-waste value.Insights for brands: This is a high-margin category — but increasingly scrutinized for waste, ethics, and sustainability.

Why is this topic trending: Sustainability Backlash Meets Holiday Hyper-Consumption

A growing divide forms between mass enthusiasm for adult Advent calendars and rising eco-pushback.

• “Superfluous consumerism” narrative: Environmental groups highlight that adult Advent calendars include few meaningful items and many disposable ones. The waste-to-value ratio is now a public talking point that reframes calendars as ecological liabilities rather than festive joys. Activists position the category as emblematic of broader unsustainable holiday spending.

• Packaging as the villain: Critics note that beauty Advent calendars in particular contain layers of cardboard, plastic inserts, wrappers, and micro-containers that end up in landfills. With 24+ individually packaged items, the carbon footprint is disproportionate to the product value. This creates reputational risk for brands in the sustainability spotlight.

• Consumer guilt is rising: While shoppers love the novelty, many express increasing concern about overconsumption and product waste. This creates emotional tension: enjoyment vs. ethical discomfort. The trend becomes a microcosm of the broader moral friction within lifestyle consumption.

Insight: The conversation is shifting from excitement to ethical accountability.Insights for consumers: Desire for novelty competes with rising environmental consciousness.Insights for brands: Sustainability framing and waste reduction will become differentiators — not optional features.

Overview: A Holiday Tradition Transformed Into a Commercial Engine

Adult Advent calendars represent an intersection of modern consumer psychology, seasonal marketing inflation, and the attention economy.

Brands have turned a nostalgic childhood ritual into a high-margin product category designed for adults driven by novelty, personal reward, and social media influence. Premium retailers, beauty brands, gourmet food companies, and lifestyle firms now treat Advent calendars as essential fourth-quarter revenue drivers. With early launches in September, retailers stretch the holiday season to maximize anticipation and pre-orders. But the trend now faces regulatory and cultural friction: environmental activists accuse brands of ballooning holiday waste through unnecessary packaging and disposable goods, while analysts note the format is becoming financially inaccessible for many. These tensions place the category at a crossroads: beloved seasonal ritual vs. symbol of excess.

Insight: The adult Advent calendar has become a commercial ritual shaped by desire, nostalgia, and digital amplification — but increasingly criticized for waste and elitism.Insights for consumers: The offer is exciting but often overpriced and waste-heavy.Insights for brands: The future of the category depends on meaningful redesign and responsible innovation.

Detailed Findings: The Hidden Costs, Contradictions, and Consumer Tensions Behind Adult Advent Calendars

Adult Advent calendars reveal a complex intersection between emotional desire, marketing engineering, and environmental strain.

• Packaging overload: Most adult calendars include 24+ individually wrapped items inside a larger structural box, often containing layers of cardboard, plastic trays, stickers, and micro-containers. This creates a disproportionate waste footprint relative to the product’s actual utility. Environmental groups argue that these formats are among the most packaging-intensive holiday goods on shelves.

• Low product-to-value ratio: Experts note that consumers often want only a fraction of the items included — typically 3–5 out of 24. The remaining items become clutter or waste, reducing perceived long-term value. The emotional thrill of opening daily surprises obscures the reality that most included products are samples or duplicates.

• Marketing-driven early launches: Retailers begin promoting Advent calendars in September, extending the holiday season artificially and encouraging premature consumption. This pulls buying decisions earlier into the year, increasing overall holiday spend but also deepening consumption fatigue by December.

• Influencer unboxings as demand accelerants: TikTok and Instagram massively amplify demand via dramatic unboxings, “rating each day,” and surprise-reaction content. This creates fear of missing out, accelerating sellouts — especially for high-end beauty calendars, which can cost multiple hundreds of pounds. The unboxing becomes the product as much as the items themselves.

• Regulatory pressure emerging: Legislation such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) begins holding brands accountable for wasteful packaging. Calendar manufacturers are now financially responsible for disposal costs, pushing the category toward material redesign and reduced plastic.

Insight: The category thrives on emotional value but relies on packaging-heavy formats increasingly incompatible with sustainability expectations.Insights for consumers: The thrill of novelty often blinds shoppers to low product value and high environmental cost.Insights for brands: Regulatory and cultural pressures will require redesign and transparent sustainability strategies.

Key Success Factors of the Trend: Why Adult Advent Calendars Became a Seasonal Powerhouse

The strength of the category depends on emotional triggers, retail timing, and cultural rituals.

• Daily micro-rewards: The “one surprise a day” format taps into psychological reinforcement patterns, making the calendar feel like a self-gifting marathon. This creates built-in engagement and turns a single purchase into a 24-day experience, increasing emotional ROI.

• Nostalgia-powered desire: Adults recreate childhood joy through ritualized countdowns, making the calendar a product of emotional reversion as much as consumption. This nostalgia softens rational scrutiny around cost, waste, or necessity.

• High-margin sample strategy: Beauty brands, in particular, use calendars to distribute samples and travel-size products at minimal cost. The perceived value is high even though the production cost is low, making the category exceptionally profitable for retailers.

• Limited-edition scarcity: The short selling window (September–December) and limited runs fuel hype cycles and induce urgency. Retailers use waitlists and early-access drops to simulate exclusivity and drive pre-orders.

Insight: The success of adult Advent calendars relies on emotional engineering more than product utility.Insights for consumers: What feels luxurious is often psychologically optimized rather than materially valuable.Insights for brands: Emotional triggers drive margin — but must now be balanced with sustainability expectations.

Key Takeaway: The Dual Reality of Joy vs. Waste

The rise of adult Advent calendars highlights the friction between festive delight and environmental accountability.

• Excitement hides impact: The ritual of opening daily surprises overshadows concerns about waste, cost, and practicality. Emotional gratification temporarily outweighs sustainability considerations, allowing brands to market heavily packaged items without immediate backlash.

• Waste drives skepticism: Environmental organizations and increasingly sustainability-aware consumers challenge the category’s ecological footprint. This pushback reframes calendars as symbols of seasonal excess rather than celebration.

• The category must evolve: With regulatory pressure rising and cultural values shifting toward mindful consumption, brands will need to redesign Advent formats — less packaging, fewer unused items, more personalization, and sustainable materials.

Insight: Advent calendars cannot rely on nostalgia and novelty alone — they must evolve to meet new ethical expectations.Insights for consumers: Joy is real, but so is the waste footprint. Conscious purchasing becomes essential.Insights for brands: The future belongs to low-waste, refillable, or customizable Advent formats.

Core Consumer Trend: Sustainability Fatigue Meets Holiday Escapism

Consumers crave festive indulgence but feel increasingly conflicted about waste, overbuying, and environmental consequences. Adult Advent calendars sit at the center of this emotional paradox: they deliver joy, novelty, and ritual but simultaneously trigger guilt around unnecessary consumption. Shoppers want celebration without ecological compromise — a tension that shapes purchasing choices, messaging sensitivity, and brand trust.

Insight: Consumers seek emotional uplift but resent products that feel environmentally irresponsible.Insights for consumers: The search for joy must be balanced with sustainable decision-making.Insights for brands: Emotional appeal must coexist with verifiable sustainability credentials.

Description of the Trend: Premium Gifting Culture Driving Excessive Seasonal Buying

The trend’s core dynamic is clear: adult Advent calendars have evolved from nostalgic childhood tokens into high-margin, packaging-heavy, influencer-driven adult luxury goods that prioritize novelty over need. This shift reflects a broader consumer ritualization of self-gifting, a reliance on unboxing culture, and a rising conflict between indulgence and sustainability.

• Escalating Novelty Consumption

Adult Advent calendars now prioritize unexpected, surprise-driven items across beauty, food, toys, and lifestyle categories. Their appeal comes from the emotional reward of micro-gifting and daily dopamine hits—an effect amplified by social media “day-by-day unboxings.” This creates an expectation for brands to produce more, earlier, and in more packaging-intensive formats. For consumers, novelty becomes the product itself, not the items inside.

• Inflated Packaging Footprint

Environmental groups highlight that most calendars contain 24 individually wrapped items, often housed in rigid-box structures that create disproportionate packaging waste. The environmental cost is invisible at purchase yet becomes highly visible after Christmas, leading to growing scrutiny and backlash. The trend underscores a collision between consumer excitement and mounting ecological anxiety.

• Overconsumption Normalized by Influencers

Influencer unboxing culture drives early-season hype as soon as September, pushing consumers toward impulse buys framed as “value savings.” This dramatized consumption cycle accelerates demand but fuels criticism that brands engineer unnecessary purchases disguised as celebration.

Insights: The trend exposes accelerating tension between festive indulgence and eco-responsibility.Insights for consumers: Desire for joy and self-gifting is rising, but so is awareness of wasteful purchase patterns.Insights for brands: Packaging sustainability and transparency will become as crucial to Advent products as novelty and value.

Key Characteristics of the Trend: Seasonal Luxury, Excess Packaging & Dopamine Gifting

These characteristics define why the adult Advent calendar phenomenon is booming yet controversial.

• High Perceived Value Through Bundling

Calendars bundle 24 products to simulate major savings versus individual retail prices. This perceived value drives purchase justification but masks the reality that many items are unwanted, unused, or redundant. The bundling format is engineered as a psychological reward system rather than a practical acquisition.

• Visually Seductive, Waste-Heavy Design

The packaging is intentionally “seductive,” often acting as décor and status display on social feeds. Yet this design-first philosophy results in some of the most packaging-intensive seasonal SKUs, according to sustainability experts. It becomes a literal symbol of excess once the holiday passes.

• Expansion Into Every Consumer Category

Initially focused on beauty, the trend now spans snacks, alcohol, stationery, toys, instant foods—even mashed potato calendars. The diversification signals that brands treat the format as a seasonal monetization engine rather than a consumer need.

• Self-Gifting as a Socially Accepted Norm

Consumers increasingly purchase calendars for themselves rather than for gifting others. The daily-reveal ritual provides a controlled, predictable dopamine loop at a time of year associated with stress and financial strain.

Insights: The trend is evolving from novelty to annual ritual, creating friction with growing sustainability expectations.Insights for consumers: Daily treats deliver joy, but most items may generate clutter or disposal guilt.Insights for brands: Reducing packaging intensity while maintaining emotional payoff is the new innovation frontier.

Market & Cultural Signals Supporting the Trend: Unboxing Culture, Early Retail Seasons, and Eco Backlash

This trend is reinforced by consumer behavior, influencer cycles, and shifting regulatory pressures.

• Influencer Unboxings Begin in September

Ipsos Synthesio shows online conversation spikes months before December. Influencers drive anticipation by dramatically revealing each day’s item, turning Advent calendars into ongoing content streams. This artificially elongates the holiday buying season and pressures consumers to purchase early.

• Growing Consumer Fatigue With Overconsumption

Environmental NGOs criticize the calendar boom as “superfluous consumerism,” highlighting that calendars pack 2–3 desirable items and 20+ unnecessary ones. This cultural pushback suggests a growing social divide: indulgence vs. responsibility.

• Retailers Accelerate Christmas Marketing

Marketing teams intentionally push Christmas shopping into autumn to maximize revenue windows. Activists argue this shift is strategically designed to increase consumption, not enhance celebration.

• Regulation and Packaging Legislation

New Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rules force brands to bear the disposal cost of packaging waste. This is already pressuring companies to rethink materials, footprint, and the overall feasibility of overpackaged specialty products.

Insights: Culture, commerce, and regulation are converging to reshape the Advent calendar landscape.Insights for consumers: Buying early and impulsively is socially engineered through influencer cycles.Insights for brands: Stronger compliance and sustainable innovation will soon determine competitive advantage.

What Is Consumer Motivation: Seasonal Escapism, Dopamine, and the Illusion of Value

Consumers aren’t buying items—they’re buying emotional structure.

• Daily Emotional Reward

The 24-day reveal acts as a controlled dopamine delivery system. It turns the countdown into a ritual of anticipation and micro-pleasure, which consumers increasingly seek during stressful holiday periods.

• Perceived Savings vs Reality

Even high-cost calendars appear “worth it” when consumers see the supposed retail value of all 24 items combined. This illusion of savings overrides rational purchase behavior.

• Self-Care Narrative

Self-gifting is now normalized as self-care. Calendars become a tool for emotional regulation and a buffer against seasonal fatigue.

• Aesthetic & Social Display

The unboxing aesthetic is part of participation in seasonal culture. Consumers validate their purchase by posting reveals, contributing to the trend cycle.

Insights: Motivation stems from emotional reinforcement more than utility.Insights for consumers: Joy comes from the ritual, not the volume of products.Insights for brands: Emotional design must shift from waste-heavy novelty to sustainable delight.

What Is Motivation Beyond the Trend: Anti-Stress Rituals, Identity, and Seasonal Belonging

Beyond the obvious motivations, deeper psychological drivers shape the behavior.

• Controlled Holiday Chaos

Calendars offer structured joy in a chaotic season. Each day provides predictable positive stimulus during a time of social, financial, and emotional pressure.

• Belonging Through Participation

Consumers feel part of a cultural rhythm—everyone is revealing, posting, comparing. It is both communal and performative.

• Identity Expression

Beauty, snack, alcohol, eco-friendly, luxury—consumers choose calendars that signal their tastes and values. The calendar becomes a badge of identity.

• Curiosity & Surprise

Humans are wired for curiosity. Surprise-based consumption delivers a psychological reward divorced from product necessity.

Insights: This trend is rooted in identity affirmation and stress relief, not consumption need.Insights for consumers: Even responsible shoppers fall prey to emotional holiday structures.Insights for brands: Sustainable participation will define the next evolution of seasonal products.

Description of Consumers: “The Ritualistic Seasonal Indulgers”

This consumer segment consists of adults—primarily millennials and Gen Z—who use seasonal rituals like Advent calendars to create emotional rhythm, self-care structure, and social participation during the holidays. They blend nostalgia, dopamine-seeking behavior, and aesthetic-driven purchase habits, with rising awareness of sustainability tensions.

• Profile Orientation:

These consumers actively seek seasonal micro-rituals as emotional anchors during high-stress months. They view Advent calendars as daily moments of joy, self-gifting, and controlled anticipation. Their behavior blends practicality with indulgence—they justify purchases through “value bundles” even when many items are unnecessary.

• Seasonal Identity Expression:

They use calendar categories—beauty, food, luxury, wellness—to signal aesthetic preferences and personal values. Many purchase calendars that align with their online persona or content style. The calendar becomes a shareable symbol of belonging and seasonal participation.

• Sustainability Tension:

While they enjoy the ritual, they also increasingly experience guilt regarding packaging waste and overconsumption. They are not anti-calendar—but they want brands to reduce guilt triggers (plastic, excess, redundant items).

• Influencer-Informed Behavior:

Their purchase timeline is driven by digital hype cycles, often starting in September. Influencer unboxings shape expectations, value perception, and comparison shopping.

Insights: This group uses Advent calendars as emotional infrastructure, not product acquisition.Insights for consumers: Recognition of personal triggers (stress, novelty-seeking) can guide more intentional purchasing.Insights for brands: Emotional fulfillment must be balanced with sustainable design to retain loyalty.

Consumer Detailed Summary

A demographic and behavioral snapshot of the seasonal indulgence segment.

• Who They Are:

Millennials and Gen Z adults who embrace seasonal rituals as part of their lifestyle culture. They enjoy structured countdown experiences, often for self-gifting rather than gifting others. Their consumption blends nostalgia with digital-era novelty.

• Age:

Primarily 20–45, with the highest concentration in 25–38—the demographic most engaged in beauty, wellness, and aesthetic-driven consumption. Younger buyers (18–24) gravitate toward lower-cost novelty calendars.

• Gender:

Predominantly female, though gender participation is diversifying as more general lifestyle, food, and gaming calendars emerge. Social conversations show strong female leadership in trend propagation.

• Income:

Ranges from middle-income to upper-middle-income, with discretionary budgets for seasonal indulgence. Many justify premium calendars as “value savings,” not luxury splurges.

• Lifestyle:

Digitally active, aesthetic-driven, wellness-oriented, and heavily influenced by seasonal cultural cycles. They enjoy rituals, “moments,” and creating shareable experiences.

Insights: Consumers justify Advent purchases through emotional ROI and perceived savings.Insights for consumers: Awareness of what genuinely adds joy vs. clutter reduces regret purchases.Insights for brands: Segment wants indulgence, but with eco-alignment and genuine value.

How the Trend Is Changing Consumer Behavior: From Décor Rituals to Dopamine Purchases

This trend reshapes how adults plan, shop, and emotionally navigate the holiday season.

• Earlier Seasonal Purchasing:

Unboxing culture pushes consumers to start shopping months before December. This shifts the retail cycle forward and normalizes autumn holiday consumption.

• Rise of Self-Gifting:

Consumers treat Advent calendars as personal wellness tools rather than gifts for others. Daily unwrapping acts as a mental-health rhythm.

• Greater Tolerance for Micro-Indulgences:

Daily “treat yourself” moments accumulate into bigger spending across the season. The ritual justifies small luxuries.

• Packaging Guilt Awareness:

Consumers are becoming more conscious of the waste footprint but feel torn between joy and responsibility—leading to rising demand for low-waste, refillable, or compostable formats.

Insights: The trend creates new seasonal rhythms that merge self-care with consumption.Insights for consumers: Intentionality helps reduce regret and environmental conflict.Insights for brands: Innovation must center around sustainable indulgence.

Implications Across the Ecosystem

For Consumers

• Increased Emotional Spending:

Consumers spend more for emotional payoffs and ritual structure. This increases holiday budgets and shifts behavior from gift-giving to self-gifting.

• Higher Environmental Awareness:

Consumers now consider waste aftermath as part of their decision-making. Packaging guilt influences brand loyalty.

• Shift to Comparing Value Per Item:

Consumers expect breakdowns, unboxings, and value charts before buying. Transparency is now part of the product.

For Brands

• Sustainability Will Define Competitiveness:

Regulation and consumer scrutiny force brands to reduce packaging and redesign formats sustainably.

• New Opportunities in Eco-Advent Innovation:

Compostable trays, refillable structures, digital-first hybrid calendars, and minimalist formats will differentiate leaders.

• Earlier Marketing Seasons:

Brands must adapt to a September–December hype cycle, aligning releases with influencer-driven demand.

Insights: The ecosystem is shifting toward regulated sustainability and emotionally driven commerce.Insights for consumers: Ethical options will grow but require consumer signaling.Insights for brands: Sustainable redesign is not optional—it’s a competitive mandate.

Strategic Forecast: The Future of Adult Advent Consumption

A look at where this trend is heading over the next 3–5 years.

• Sustainable Advent Will Become a Category Driver:

EPR regulations will push brands to dramatically cut packaging, innovate materials, and reduce item redundancy. Eco-calendars will become mainstream.

• Digital & Hybrid Advent Experiences Will Grow:

Apps, AR surprises, digital rewards, and experiences will reduce physical waste while maintaining the dopamine structure.

• Multi-Brand Collabs Will Expand:

Joint calendars (beauty + wellness, snacks + entertainment, luxury + eco) will increase perceived value without increasing waste.

• Self-Gifting Rituals Will Intensify:

Economic stress paradoxically boosts ritualized micro-indulgences, driving category growth even amid financial constraints.

Insights: The category will evolve into a hybrid of joy, sustainability, and digital delight.Insights for consumers: New formats will offer indulgence with fewer guilt triggers.Insights for brands: Innovation must unite emotional payoff with ecological responsibility.

Areas of Innovation: Designing the Next Generation of Responsible Rituals

• Refillable Advent Calendars:

Brands will create durable keepsake calendars that consumers refill each year—reducing waste and increasing emotional value.

• Compostable & Minimal-Packaging Formats:

Fully biodegradable trays and wrappers will become category differentiators.

• Experience-First Calendars:

Digital rewards, QR-linked experiences, and hybrid digital/physical calendars reduce product clutter.

• Modular Calendars With Fewer Items:

Brands may offer 7-day or 12-day formats emphasizing quality over quantity.

• Circular Return Systems:

Some brands may allow customers to return packaging for recycling or repurposing.

Insights: Innovation will balance indulgence with environmental relevance.Insights for consumers: Future calendars will prioritize joy without excessive “stuff.”Insights for brands: The winning products will be sustainable, experiential, and emotionally rich.

Summary of Trends: The Rise of Responsible Ritualism

A concise breakdown of the core trend dynamics.

Core Consumer Trend: Redefined Seasonal Indulgence

• Trend Description: Consumers are shifting from gift-giving to self-gifting, using Advent calendars as emotional rituals.• Insight: Joy is derived from structure, not volume.• Implications: Brands must optimize emotional value while minimizing waste.

Core Social Trend: Anti-Waste Awareness Colliding With Holiday Excess

• Trend Description: Society is more aware of overconsumption and packaging crises.• Insight: Sustainability expectations are rising across demographics.• Implications: Packaging transparency will become a demand, not a bonus.

Core Strategy: Sustainable Innovation as Holiday Differentiator

• Trend Description: Brands compete through materials, minimalism, and hybrid digital models.• Insight: Eco-design enhances brand equity.• Implications: Holiday SKUs must adapt to regulatory and cultural pressures.

Core Industry Trend: Regulation-Driven Packaging Reform

• Trend Description: EPR rules force brands to redesign Advent products.• Insight: Waste now carries cost and reputational risk.• Implications: Calendars will shrink in size but grow in innovation.

Core Consumer Motivation: Emotional Stability Through Ritual

• Trend Description: Consumers seek daily emotional reward in high-stress months.• Insight: Rituals outperform product utility.• Implications: Emotional design must accompany sustainable design.

Core Insight: Excess Is No Longer Festive

• Trend Description: Excess packaging now undermines perceived joy.• Insight: Indulgence must evolve to remain meaningful.• Implications: Brands that reduce waste will increase desire.

Main Trend: “Sustainable Indulgence Reimagined”

The dominant trend reshaping the adult Advent calendar space is the collision between indulgent seasonal rituals and rising sustainability expectations. Consumers still crave emotional micro-rewards, nostalgia, and countdown culture—but they now recognize the environmental cost of excess packaging and unnecessary items. This creates a transformed landscape where joy must coexist with responsibility. The future of the category lies in formats that provide daily delight without the burden of waste.

Trend Implications for Consumers & Brands: “The Joy–Waste Paradox”

The core strategic tension is clear: consumers want festive magic, while society pushes back against excessive consumption. Brands must engineer experiences that preserve anticipation, novelty, and perceived value—without contributing to the waste crisis. This means fewer items, better items, refillable structures, biodegradable materials, and hybrid digital formats.

Consumers benefit from more intentional, less cluttered indulgence. Brands benefit from stronger trust, regulatory alignment, and long-term category sustainability. The winners will be those who turn eco-responsibility into emotional desirability, not sacrifice.

Insight: Emotional reward must be delivered without ecological guilt.Insights for consumers: Choosing value-driven, low-waste calendars enhances enjoyment while reducing waste.Insights for brands: Sustainability and sentiment must merge into a unified strategy—not separate goals.

Final Thought (Summary): “The New Holiday Equation: Joy x Sustainability”

The adult Advent calendar trend has evolved far beyond novelty—it has become a cultural ritual rooted in emotional wellbeing, seasonal identity, and dopamine-driven micro-indulgence. Yet environmental critique now challenges brands to rethink how these moments are delivered. Consumers are no longer content with 24 plastic pods of mini-items; they want meaningful, responsible joy.

This trend reveals a powerful truth: modern indulgence must be conscious. Emotional delight remains non-negotiable, but so does reducing waste, increasing value-per-item, and offering formats that feel good and do good. The new holiday marketplace will be defined by brands that innovate responsibly while retaining the magic that makes seasonal rituals irresistible.

Final Insight: Emotional Rituals Must Evolve Into Responsible Rituals

Consumers are not rejecting Advent indulgence—they are rejecting waste. The winning formula is clear: less clutter, more meaning, deeper emotional payoff, and dramatically reduced environmental impact.

Insight: Sustainability amplifies—not diminishes—holiday joy.Insights for consumers: Thoughtful choices create rituals that feel authentic and guilt-free.Insights for brands: Innovation must fuse emotional storytelling with eco-conscious design to remain culturally relevant.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/nov/22/adult-advent-calendar-trend-alarms-green-groups-waste-crisis