Other traditions include the advent calendar. This takes on different shapes and forms. The calendar can be either store bought or made individually, but the defining feature are 24 sections for the 24 days in December until Christmas Day, with each section containing a small gift for the day. A classic example is a larger cardboard package with small "doors" marked with the date, which can be opened, revealing the surprise behind it. The advent calendar is very popular among children, but adults also happily partake in this tradition, and gift each other various versions. Besides advent calendars, Christmas gifts as such encompassed various product categories. The most popular among them were books, clothing, shoes and accessories, and cosmetics or perfume.
While the population normally starts getting into the Christmas mood later in November, retailers start preparing several months in advance. Despite rising costs across the board of consumer goods and inflation, retail revenue during the Christmas trading period remained stable, with around 120.8 billion euros predicted for 2023. Online Christmas sales revenue, meanwhile, was forecast to reach roughly 21.2 billion euros that same year.
