There are many most popular things at Christmas - top of the list is gifts. There's urgency in the ads - who knows which ones will "sell out" - given gift cards are the top of the list, it doesn't seem likely that they are going to sell out.
Do you know that the top selling toy of all time is Barbie (at a billion). You can see the most wanted toys for Christmas over the decades or years - think Tickle Me Elmo, Cabbage Patch Kids, Furby, LEGO, and don't forget Rubik's Cube.
Shopping-wise, the experts say that it is Christmas-themed things - lights, decorations, trees, all that sort of stuff that actually sell the most at Christmas. Christmas decorations are on sale at the floral store year-round, but would you want to buy your Christmas decorations in July? Michael's had an understanding this year of how popular Christmas items are and how to position Christmas items. They had some Christmas trees and decor out before Halloween. It was a heads-up on what's to come, and a nudge to the early birds to get going.
Christmas is a magnet for all kinds of things to be "beloved" and "most popular" at Christmas. This comes in the form of "tradition" generally. With both a religious event with its traditions and a secular one - Santa and the presents that has generated its own traditions. There are so many things that align to make special meaning. Things like our favourite dinner, favourite dessert, favourite cookies and candies - candy canes in particular. And then expand out to Christmas experiences - Santa Claus Parades, Christmas concerts, Christmas movies. We don't do this the rest of the year to such an extreme. Christmas is the ultimate event for us.
It makes me wonder what would that next level of mass celebration could look like. Who knows?
Here's a Floyd Elzinga sculpture with a few sparkles added. That looks Christmas-y to me. And isn't that because we've squished in the Solstice Celebration of lights into the holiday.
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