Brands can borrow traditions. At some point, though, the tradition becomes nothing more than packaging.

I’m not a massive a traditionalist, and thin skin is a pretty reliable recipe for anguish these days.

Still, I think we’re all allowed to draw a line somewhere.

As a kid, I took Advent pretty seriously.

The season has deep Christian meaning as preparation for Christmas, and early commercial Advent calendars in Germany helped children count down with Bible passages, poems and small gifts.

That didn’t change too much in the Advent calendars of my childhood.

And my wife and I happily stretched that tradition to LEGO Advent calendars for our own kids. Tiny plastic Star Wars characters were okay by me.

Kim Kardashian has found lots of folks’ outer limit.

Her Skims sold a $148, 12-day Advent calendar containing stuff like scrunchies, bobby pins, keychains, hair clips and bra-strap-like headbands.

The backlash from her own fan base got so intense that Skims offered purchasers refunds or store credit. One viral unboxing reportedly passed 60 million views.

Skims isn’t alone. Sephora’s 2024 calendar was mocked for asking customers to spend 2,500 loyalty points on mostly accessories.

Chanel famously took heat in 2021 for an $825 version containing stickers, temporary tattoos and other plainly un-luxurious surprises.

There’s a product lesson behind the door of all this seasonal outrage.

Traditions like this come with ages of emotional equity.

Brands can borrow it, update it and have some fun with it. But it sucks when the original ritual becomes little more than a promo box with daily doors.

(And FYI Kim, there’s supposed to be 24 or 25 of ’em.)

At a certain point, customers start asking whether you’re adding something to the tradition or greedily stealing from it.

Where’s YOUR line?

Mine apparently has a LEGO exemption.

If you’d like help creating and marketing products people feel compelled to buy, the product marketing consultants at Graphos Product can help.