Column: Are We Selling Whisky Advent Calendars Too Soon?

Nowadays, it seems as if advent calendars are being advertised everywhere. And I'm not just talking about whisky advent calendars, but also ritual, tea, Harry Potter and all sorts of others. Isn't it too early, though? It's just the beginning of November and the first holiday has yet to start. How am I supposed to deal with this?

All the festive holidays and action-filled days kick off this month. I'm already cocking an eye towards Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and even St. Martin's Day. Let's not forget the little ones among us, even though it has nothing to do with whisky (unless you're using a whisky bottle for a lantern).

The reality is that there's a lot going on this month, but it almost feels like marketers already have one foot on Santa's sleigh. It seems as though Christmas is arriving earlier each year, with gift suggestions being advertised increasingly faster, even though Christmas invariably falls on the 25th and 26th of December each year.

For many, Christmas had already started back in August when online shops began selling their advent calendars.

This happens not only with Christmas items, mind you. I remember that this year Easter eggs were advertised incredibly early. The new year had barely begun, yet the Easter bunny was already on everyone's mind.

If Pentecost also starts getting pushed up, then the party will be complete. Then Easter and Pentecost may truly fall on the same day.

I must confess that all these advent calendars are secretly very fun. You get an entire month filled with small gifts. It's as if the inner child in us gets activated for an entire month. What could possibly be inside today's box? Now that's exciting.

But then there's one problem – patience. I wouldn't be able to keep all those compartments closed. And with a whisky advent calendar, that's a bit of an issue. Suddenly, after two weeks, you have 14 different whisky samples in front of you, and you just must taste them!

Personally, it would work better for me to get an advent calendar as late as possible. I just can't stand staring at all those unopened compartments.

So the marketing machine works. And now I secretly kind of want a whisky advent calendar, especially the Japanese one that's out there. Whether I can restrain myself or not, I want gifts!

Lucky for me, I have a trump card to resist buying any Christmas things ahead of time — I'll get gifts on December 5. It turns out, that's my birthday, making me a true St. Nicholas child. Maybe I'll ask for a whisky advent calendar for my birthday. That would make the celebration absolutely perfect!