Printed Christmas anticipation: print provides 24 surprises

Advent calendars for adults are experiencing a real boom – there is now no topic that is not occupied in one way or another. The spectrum ranges from fishing to tools and from chili sauces to exquisite wine. Knud Wassermann, editor-in-chief of the "Graphische Revue", has set out on a search and compiled his top ten Advent calendars for you.
 
Last year, despite my somewhat advanced age, I received an Advent calendar as a gift. No, not with chocolate, but with 24 small bottles filled with rum from all over the world. The surprise was successful, and I thought I would take up the topic of advent calendars in a blog.
 
Over the year, however, the idea fell into oblivion – but then it suddenly came back. While visiting a print shop last September, I came across the Chili & BBQ Advent calendar from Fireland Foods, which had just been filled with 24 glasses. 5,000 of them were produced and are now sold over the real or virtual counter at Fireland Foods and Amazon for 39.90 Euros.
 

There are almost no limits to the imagination
More and more adults cannot escape the charm of Advent calendars. The portal My Advent Calendar gives a good overview of what is available on the market – the offer is huge. The question is rather which topics are not yet covered. Even dogs do not come too briefly and are spoiled on each Advent day with a treat or toy.
 
There are almost no limits to the imagination: sensual things, jewels, cosmetics, sports, spices and tools. But things have their price – for the most exclusive among the Advent calendars you have to dig deep into your pockets. A whisky Advent calendar in the "Platinum Edition" is listed at Amazon for 2400 Euros – commerce apparently knows no bounds.
 
A popular advertising novelty
The first Advent calendars were created in the middle of the 19th century. 24 pictures were gradually hung up, or chalk lines were added to the walls to wipe them away. The first Advent calendar with pictures to be glued in is said to have been published by Gerhard Lang from Munich in 1903. On Christmas Eve there was a picture of the Christ Child dressed in white.
 
From the 1920s onwards, there were windows to open – first with pictures, then with chocolate. In the 50s, Advent calendars became more and more a mass product and a popular promotional item that has not lost its effect to this day.
 
Difficult to grasp market
Market figures are not really publicly available. According to market researcher Nielsen, around 17.5 million chocolate calendars were sold in food retail and drugstores in Germany in 2018, generating sales of around 100 million Euros. The Swiss company Lindt & Sprüngli is expected to produce a reported 2 million calendars per year, and the German Wawi Group is expected to produce a total of 25 million at eight locations worldwide.
 
However, these figures do not include the consistently high-priced Advent calendars for adults. Here the trend is clearly towards exclusivity and originality. This is also fuelled by the combination of digital and online printing, which additionally opens up the potential of personalization for Advent calendars.
 
Advent calendars for adults are another example of how print is always good for surprises!
 

The Top Ten Advent Calendars