An Advent calendar that delivers

Advent calendars have long helped build excitement and anticipation on the countdown to Christmas, typically revealing a pretty picture or piece of chocolate behind the cardboard door for each December day along the way. Charles and Marie‘s Holiday Calendar, on the other hand, apparently aims to blow all others out of the water by delivering luxury gifts to one’s front door instead. Available for preordering from the German-American shopping curators between October 22nd and November 16th, Charles and Marie’s Holiday Calendar service delivers “a very, very large” gift box containing 24 wrapped gifts, one for each day through Christmas Eve. The products contained are were selected for Charles and Marie by euro design duo Alissia Melka-Teichroew—best known for her acrylic jewelry and her InsideOut Bar-ware collection—and Jan Habraken, of Flow Chair and Trestle Table fame. Planned scarcity is also part of the service, as the products included are available through the site only in this holiday package. Pricing is EUR 1350 / USD 1800 for the luxe version, or EUR 500 / USD 600 for the more accessible Cosmopolitan Edition, with delivery available around the world. As we’re fond of saying, there’s nary a thing in this world that can’t be upgraded and made more exciting for consumers who are spoilt for choice. Upscale advent “calendars” are a case in point, and you can bet there are consumers willing to pay the far-from-trifling price. What other holiday traditions can be super-sized, luxified, gravanitized, massclusified, or otherwise elevated to new heights? Spotted by: Emma Crameri