Promotional advent calendars are used by many businesses as a way to show they appreciate their clients. In the digital age of online services where scrooges have replaced Christmas cards with emails, promotional advent calendars might be the only tangible thing a customer gets from your business all year. But you might not know thats there’s a whole lotta Christmas past to this present.
History of advent calendars
Whilst the modern advent calendar counts down to Christmas day, it traditionally referred to the Advent period of the Christian calendar.
The term Advent actually comes from the Latin word Adventus and means ‘coming’. It describes the period before Christmas and is about celebrating Jesus. The religious advent is a four week period that actually begins towards the end of November, unlike our modern advent calendars which begin on December the 1st.
In the 18th century, German Protestant Christians were known to mark the days of advent by drawing marks on doors with chalk or by lighting candles. Ye good ol’ days were pretty wild!
By the 19th Century, German Gerhard Lang printed an advent calendar that featured coloured pictures for each day, however, this was without windows or chocolates – BOO! This early type was distributed in German newspapers as a gift to it’s readers which marks the first use of promotional advent calendars. Later in the 20th Century, Lang devised a calendar with windows, although he still hadn’t discovered a way to add those all important chocolates. Although with chocolate being such an expensive luxury back then, there wasn’t much demand for them to feature in an advent calendar.
It wasn’t until after the Second World War that chocolate became more affordable and by the 1960’s it had become a more common grocery item across Britain. By 1971 Cadbury had a dabble at making their first chocolate advent calendar. Hallelujah! Whilst it was a success, it wasn’t until 1993 that Cadbury committed to mass producing them every year. This year also marked a significant increase in the number of kids becoming excited by Advent, perhaps there’s a correlation?
Advent calendars in 2019
Thankfully for the past 30 years the chocolate advent calendar has been a staple of the Christmas season and with the first generation of children to experience it now grown up, many have carried this tradition over into their adulthood. Whilst the majority have stuck to chocolate advent calendars some companies have branched out and offered luxury advent calendars targeted specifically to adults. These calendars have been known to include everything from cheese, whiskey, make up and even jewellery. In fact the worlds most expensive advent calendar cost a mind-blowing £1.7 million pounds and was filled with diamonds and gold! With an advent calendar this grand we’re stumped for what the recipient got on Christmas day.
Thankfully some folk predict these extravagant none-traditional advent calendars to be a fad and even if they’re not, they’ll never offer as broad an appeal as a yummy chocolate advent calendar.
The Benefits of Promotional Advent Calendars
In a survey conducted by the British Promotional Merchandise Association, the majority of businesses said they use corporate Christmas gifts as a way to show their appreciation (86%) towards their clients. Whats more is 68% intend to have their companies logo printed on these gifts. Whilst promotional advent calendars are by no means the only corporate Christmas gift available, they do have many features that make them a standout choice of festive merchandise which we’ve listed below.
1. We All Love Chocolate
It’s official, we’re a nation of chocoholics! A whopping 8 Million Brits eat chocolate every day (guilty) and a further 17% eat it at least four to six times a week. With only a minute 5% of the population claiming to never eat any chocolate, it really is confectionery that appeals to the masses. The research also showed that chocolate appeals to both genders equally and across all age ranges. So, if you’re only investing in one item of corporate merchandise this Christmas and have a varied client basis, you’ll need a gift that appeals to a diverse range of people. This is something promotional advents calendars, with their daily dose of sweetness, do in abundance.
2. Brilliant Branding Choices
Promotional advent calendars offer a lot of scope when it comes to branding. Large in size and able to offer full digital print, our promotional advent calendars can accommodate complex logos and even full artwork. So if you’ve got a super creative mind and are a dab hand at graphic design, our advent calendars won’t limit your artistic ways. Don’t fret if you’re not a graphic designer, we have an array of templates that we can insert your logo onto.
3. They’re a Seasonal Treat
It goes without saying, promotional advent calendars are only given out in the build-up towards Christmas. They show that your company has made the effort to produce a corporate gift specifically for this time of year and have not just dished out existing merchandise from your stock room. It’s important to make a good impression when giving gifts to your clients, as when receiving promotional merchandise 71% of people said it made them feel appreciated. Gifting thoughtless merchandise to your clients at Christmas however may invoke a less positive reaction.
Get Your Own Branded Advent Calendars
If you’re looking to get your own promotional advent calendars we have a range of options. From our compact Mini Advent Calendar to our Luxury Lindt Chocolate Advent, we’ve got something for every budget. All of our promotional advent calendars offer full printing on the front, meaning that there’s plenty of space for your artwork, logo and festive message! Click the button below to view our promotional advent calendars.
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