LOS ANGELES — As it cools down outside and the holiday season is heralded with kitschy decor and Christmas jingles around the clock, the 24 days leading up to Christmas have traditionally been filled with many things; sex toys are not the first to come to mind.
As retailers hope to cash in on big holiday spending, one dark horse product has received a truly magnificent rebrand in recent years, and has since emerged as a top player in the space.
“Advent calendars have historically been mostly intended for children," Kate Nightingale, founder of consultancy firm Style Psychology, related to Wired in a recent article exploring the trend.
That's right — the little cardboard boxes with cheap chocolate hidden behind their paper doors have undergone a major glow-up and now run in the hundreds of dollars price range. What's contained inside is also decidedly not intended for children.
Cheese, gin, beauty products and even luxury jewelry can now be purchased in glammed-out packaging, making for a lovely daily sampler, a veritable smorgasbord, if you will, of treats and tapping into a nostalgic tradition with a luxe grown-up spin.
Pleasure product companies, too, have joined in on the fun, with brands offering sexy advent calendars for the adventurous buyer hoping to unwrap a gift that keeps on giving long after the shopping mall Santas have retired their red coats for the year.
Although Advent is already six days in, XBIZ is celebrating with a list of some of our favorite naughty advent calendars to get you off during the holiday season.
- Lovehoney's Best Sex of Your Life Couple's Sex Toy advent calendar, priced at $130 for 24 items, including a We-Vibe couples vibrator is already sold out this year. However, they also offer a smaller Twelve Nights of Seduction kit, which at $88 offers a streamlined selection.
- For those looking for something that feels ultra-chic without breaking the bank, try Bijoux Indiscrets' 12 Sexy Days, packed with the brand's classic alluring style of soft bondage items.
- EDC Wholesale's Naughty & Nice advent calendar, described as "the perfect high-end Christmas gift," offers 11 toys, five intimate cosmetics, four soft bondage items and four accessories.
- With four options to choose from, including a Self-Love, Beginners, Experienced and "Special for Women" option, Amorelie's selection of decked out calendars presents up to an 860€ value at a fraction of the cost.
- Finally, Orion Wholesale is touting its Luxury and Fetish advent calendars, for both the sex-positive spirits and festive fetishists on everyone's list.
