美国国家公共电台 NPR--The evolution of the advent calendar（在线收听）

The evolution of the advent calendar

Transcript

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

OK, we're nearly a week into December, which means many of us are working our way through Advent calendars.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Oh, yeah. You open a little door on a cardboard panel every day for the 24 days before Christmas, and behind each door is a treat, traditionally a little chocolate.

MARTIN: But these days, Advent calendars are going far beyond chocolate,

INSKEEP: Oh, yeah. Beef jerky - beef jerky - or socks, even beard oil.

MARCIA MOGELONSKY: They're everywhere. They're just everywhere. Everything's an Advent calendar now.

MARTIN: You're so excited about the beef jerky.

INSKEEP: (Laughter).

MARTIN: Marcia Mogelonsky is an expert on consumer behavior at the market research firm Mintel.

MOGELONSKY: It's a great way to sell stuff, especially little samples of stuff.

INSKEEP: For example, beef jerky. She says getting those little samples to customers is important to companies right now.

MOGELONSKY: It's especially difficult to sell new products when the economy is not the best in the world because you're reluctant to spend a big amount of money on something you might not like.

MARTIN: Brands hope their Advent calendars get customers buying more, whether it's beer or art supplies or makeup.

MOGELONSKY: So if you like it, after Christmas, you can go buy the big thing that came with a little thing, like the whole makeup kit that came with the one lipstick.

INSKEEP: Some of these Advent calendars are getting wild. There is a luxury calendar by British jeweler C W Sellors that costs $23,000.

MARTIN: Despite how absolutely out of control that sounds, Marca Mogelonsky says Advent calendars are actually a great way to give gifts.

MOGELONSKY: We all need the gift of time, and this is a way of slowing us down. So it kind of prolongs the experience, as the original Advent calendar concept was when it was developed in the late 19th century. It was a way of marking the days till Christmas.

INSKEEP: In fact, Mogelonsky thinks Advent calendars do not have to be just for Christmas anymore.

MOGELONSKY: A countdown to your birthday, a countdown to your kid's graduation. Instead of one big gift, draw it out. Slow time down a bit by counting the days till this happens.

MARTIN: Counting down days with the gift of your choice.