The Unhappiest Season of the Year

By Jacob Solomon

It’s finally December! The temperature is dropping and most of us are beginning to settle into our Christmas decorations with some hot cocoa. It truly is the happiest season of the year! Well, that is until Chanel entered the picture.

For this year’s Christmas season, Chanel dropped an advent calendar. Being Chanel...an $825 advent calendar. Following the drop, people, like me, went Oh! That’s cool and would look great in my house! Though I did not purchase one myself, those who did, especially TikToker Elise Harmon, were completely underwhelmed. 

In a series of viral Tik Tok videos, Harmon revealed what was inside the plastic Chanel No. 5-shaped calendar. Most of the boxes are filled with knick knacks. Harmon started off with box number 7 which revealed stickers. Yes. Stickers. In an $825 Chanel advent calendar. Harmon’s excitement lessened as she revealed a crappy plastic bracelet, a cheap plastic keychain, and a lousy plastic paperweight. While these items were understandably not well received, Chanel put the icing on the cake with an empty dust bag complementarity with purchase. 

Mind you, there were some actual items of value in the calendar. For instance, some rouge lipsticks (though they were not full size), a hand cream, nail polish, and a bottle of Chanel’s signature No. 5 perfume. But for $825 one would have expected much more from Chanel. Considering the luxury fashion house blocked Harmon on social media, it is safe to say Chanel is not open to criticism, though they should be. 

Overall, the calendar was most definitely a learning experience for Chanel. Even though they are one of the biggest luxury brands in the world, its name alone could not sustain the wrath of social media as a result of cheap, crappy, holiday “gifts.”