Time was when December was a time of plum cakes, rose cookies, carols, visiting malls decked up for the festivals, meeting and greeting friends. But of the last few years,  two unlikely stars dominate the Christmas season: the Advent calendar and the Elf on the Shelf. One ancient, one very new—both now deeply embedded in how we count down to Christmas.

A brief history of Advent calendars

The idea of Advent itself is old—older than Christmas trees. Advent, from the Latin adventus meaning “coming,” marks the four weeks leading up to Christmas in the Christian calendar, a time traditionally associated with reflection, anticipation, and restraint.

In 19th-century Germany, families found little ways to help children visualise this waiting period. Chalk marks appeared on doors. Some households lit one candle a day; others hung up devotional images. By the early 1900s, the first printed Advent calendars were produced—simple paper sheets with numbered windows, behind which lay Bible verses or illustrations.

From chocolate to collectibles

Somewhere in the late ‘40^s, after the Second World War, when food shortages eased and printing techniques improved, Advent calendars with edible treats became widespread.Behind each window of the Advent calendar waited a tasty treat—a chocolate, a sugar plum, a sweet treat. What began as a teaching aid slowly transformed into something sweeter, more enticing, and with a marketing twist par excellence.

Today’s Advent calendars have undergone a full-blown glow-up. No longer confined to children—or to chocolate—they now house everything from artisanal teas and scented candles to skincare serums, craft beers, cheeses, socks, and even whiskies and dog treats. Luxury brands release limited-edition calendars months in advance, triggering waiting lists and re-sale markets.

This boom is no accident. The modern Advent calendar aligns perfectly with contemporary consumer psychology: daily rewards, unboxing pleasure, scarcity, and the gentle justification of indulgence because it’s the festive season. The whole month of December becomes a ritualised month of consumption—measured, paced, and delightfully guilt-free. And of course, culminating in the frenzy of consumerism, eating and drinking on Christmas day.

Ironically, this commercialisation has expanded the calendar’s appeal. Many adults who do not observe Advent religiously still cherish the countdown. Waiting, once an exercise in patience, is now sweetened—literally and figuratively.

Enter the Elf: Mischief, manufactured

If Advent calendars evolved slowly over centuries, the Elf on the Shelf arrived fully formed—and at speed. Introduced in 2005, The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition was a book created by Carol V. Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell.

Neither Aebersold nor Bell were established writers at the time. It was a self-published book which went on to become a tradition–giving hope to all us children’s writers who wait in vain to hear from our publishers!. The book-and-doll set was released through their own company and initially sold through small gift shops and boutiques. Crucially, it was conceived not just as a story, but as a complete ritual-in-a-box: a narrative, a character, a rulebook, and a physical object, all bundled together. Only after it caught on—fuelled by word of mouth and parental enthusiasm—did it enter big-box retail and global markets. The story existed to support the ritual, and the ritual supported the product. Marketing genius!

Performance Pressure

The elf’s premise is simple. A magical scout elf arrives in early December, observes children’s behaviour, reports back to Santa, and relocates every night within the house—often leaving behind evidence of mild mischief. Children wake to surprise; parents stay up late staging scenes.The elf reflects a broader shift in how we experience Christmas: from shared tradition to curated spectacle, from inherited ritual to designed experience.

Unlike Advent calendars, which invite quiet participation, the elf demands performance. Parents become set designers, prank engineers, and continuity managers. Social media has amplified this, turning domestic whimsy into a seasonal arms race of elaborate elf escapades.

For some families, this is joyful creativity. For others, it’s exhausting.

And while children adore it, for many households, the elf reverses the equation, becoming less a surveillance tool and more a test for parents– putting pressure on the parents for performance, rather than on the children for good behaviour!

Why these traditions endure—side by side

At first glance, Advent calendars and elves on shelves seem worlds apart. One is rooted in centuries-old religious practice; the other is barely two decades old and unapologetically commercial. Yet they serve the same essential function: they make waiting visible.

Commercialisation is undeniable, but it isn’t the whole story. Families adapt these trends, soften their edges. Some replace chocolate with notes of kindness. Others ditch the elf’s moral policing and keep only the silliness.

Christmas Cheer

Tradition, after all, has always been fluid. So let us welcome all manifestations, old and new. But not forget the spirit of the season: JOY AND GOODWILL TO ALL!

Merry Christmas!

-Meena