LaplandUK, the brand behind the UK’s most beloved Christmas event, launched its first official advent calendar to incredible fan reception. In an unprecedented example of Christmas in July excitement, fans flocked to the online store when the announcement was made on the official LaplandUK Instagram account on Wednesday 10th July, with calendars going on sale at midday on Thursday 11th July. By 4pm, 10,000 calendars retailing at £39.95 had been sold. Plus they have achieved over 200K views, and 7K comments!
In a move as magical as the fictional search for Willy Wonka’s Golden Tickets, LaplandUK has hidden Golden Invitations behind one of the doorways of five elven calendars. The invitations invite Small Folk to visit the sold out 2024 LaplandUK experience, where they will be enveloped in the world of Father Christmas, helping the elves to prepare for the biggest night of the year. With tickets to this year’s event selling out in under three hours in March 2024, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the lucky ticket finders.
The official LaplandUK ‘Sleeps To Christmas’ calendar, which is a miniature version of the famous LaplandUK toy factory, was created in partnership with Susan Lucas, the designer behind the eminent Fortnum & Mason and Liberty calendars. In a continuation of LaplandUK’s seamless ability to marry tradition and futurism, the advent calendar will incorporate AR technology to deepen the interaction between Small Folk and the Elves throughout advent. Behind each doorway, Small Folk will be able to activate an AR ‘Elfie’ moment, in which an elf will appear each day with a new message from LaplandUK.
Alongside their ‘Elfie’, Small Folk will find a chocolate “jingle”, the official currency of LaplandUK, as well as a secret puzzle for them to solve. The calendar also features a ‘Sleeps To Christmas’ clock, which Small Folk can tick down each morning, as they await the biggest night of the year.
Home to a community of 620K LaplandUK fans, comments on social media demonstrated the extent of the excitement surrounding the much anticipated and highly requested calendar. With the announcement reel already amassing over 200K views, and 7K comments, fans swooned over the design. “Just look at that detail” said @la_dolce_vita_11, “children are only little for a short time…these type of things add to those Xmas memories which will last a lifetime”, “whilst @sherishortnsweet added “Absolutely beautiful – I can already picture it next to my laplanduk tree – to wish is to believe” and @studio1_mua exclaimed, “This will make my small folks year!”
The success of the launch pays further testament to the British public’s adoration of LaplandUK, and the Christmas spirit the brand embodies.
We wondered what would happen if we could create a single physical product that fully encapsulated everything that LaplandUK stands for. The Lapland ‘Sleeps until Christmas’ Advent is that product. Deeply rooted in making magical memories and to beautifully stand proud in any home. It took us 6 months to get it perfect but it was worth every second. The response has blown us away and is incredibly exciting as we take the magic and attention to detail of the live experience into new realms. Lots of treasured Christmas memories will be made this Christmas!
– Matt Battle, Director of Brand & Product, LaplandUK
