Seasonal merchandise programs tied to perennially favorite Christmas films, TV shows, and books have been strengthening in recent years, with more products available as each holiday season rolls around. This year, the collections seem to be particularly prominent, fueled by a couple of anniversaries, customers’ still-growing taste for pairings of licensed properties and seasonal themes, and innovative product development:
- Warner Bros. Discovery’s film Elf is celebrating its 20th year, which is driving an expansion of its licensing program. The property has a beauty collection with Mad Beauty, for example, with packaging featuring elements like snow globes and the Gimbels logo, supported by a promotion at the Empire State Building. In foods, Brach’s is producing confectionery tied to “the main elf food groups,” including candy canes in maple syrup, hot cocoa, and cotton candy flavors; Keebler is on board for limited-edition baked goods including gingerbread fudge stripe cookies and pretzel pie crusts; and Krispy Kreme is offering a four-donut collection including three new Elf-themed varieties (Christmas lights, snow globe, and Buddy’s breakfast) and its classic Santa belly. Pottery Barn has a 25-piece collection of seasonal bedding, tabletop, décor, accessories, and gifts inspired by Buddy’s green outfit, the food groups, and phrases from the film, while Homesick is selling two candles and a car freshener named for Gimbels, Buddy’s breakfast, and Mr. Narwhal.
- Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ The Grinch has announced a number of major holiday collections in 2023. It paired with BlueStar Alliance’s Justice brand for tween apparel, accessories, and sleepwear, available exclusively at Walmart. The array includes both classic styles and novelty pieces such as Grinch-green sweatshirts and beanies featuring the character’s face and an antler headband à la the character Max. Primark in the U.K. is also on board with 100 pieces for all ages including apparel, accessories, and sleepwear—from matching Grinch pajamas for the whole family to a baby onesie—as well as home goods and gifts; eight Grinch licensees supplied the items. Outright Games introduced a new video game, the first for the property since the mid-2000s; Gemmy released new decorations including inflatable and animated figures; and Crème d’Or expanded on its 2022 launch with additional confectionery pieces available at U.K. retailer Card Factory. The property has also seen an expansion of its extensive publishing program, adding a brand-new official sequel, How the Grinch Lost Christmas!, and a series of graphic novels, both with long-time publisher Random House. And Wondery Kids & Family released a new Grinch podcast as part of a broader Seuss deal.
- The Lumistella Company’s Elf on the Shelf is also gearing up for its 20th anniversary, to be celebrated in 2025. Its recent initiatives include, among others, three limited-edition Pillsbury Funfetti cookie mixes from Hometown Food Company, the baking mix licensee of Pillsbury and Funfetti, incorporating ingredients and flavors like peppermint candy cane sprinkles and hot cocoa. It is also releasing books including middle grade novels and a cookbook from HarperCollins along with a similar program in the U.K. from Harper sibling company Farshore. Other new partners range from Beaches Resorts (for a travel package) to The Frozen Farmer (ice cream). Lumistella recently launched The Elf On The Shelf Santaverse, a storytelling universe focused on the year-round world of the North Pole, expressed through toys, books, games, digital content, and more.
- Peanuts’ A Charlie Brown Christmas holiday special comes to retail annually in holiday collections, occasionally in a dedicated assortment but more often as part of broader Peanuts deals. This year, collectible brand Super7 introduced a box set of its ReAction figures tied to the animated special, including Charlie and Linus (with a blanket accessory), and their sparse and spindly Christmas tree. The company offers other Peanuts figures as part of the line as well. Aéropostale, meanwhile, is offering a holiday-themed collection of gender-neutral t-shirts, jackets, hoodies, caps, and accessories featuring various holiday/winter-themed Peanuts characters. Most of the designs are not tied directly to the special, but there is a pullover hoodie featuring the scene from the show where all the characters dance to Schroeder’s piano music while rehearsing the Christmas play.
- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, the classic film licensed by Warner Bros. Discovery, has a narrower program than the properties cited so far, but it has added limited-edition dog toys with Bark, available to new and current customers of the latter’s BarkBox and Super Chewer subscription services, including Clark Griswold, Eddie’s RV, Aunt Bethany’s lime jello, a moose, and more. And McFarlane Toys added a Clark Griswold figure to its Movie Maniacs line of collectible figures, which it relaunched earlier this year with a WB100 Movie Maniacs range.
This is just a sampling of the world of these properties’ Christmas-related initiatives and of the world of licensed Christmas IP more broadly. Other holiday properties, from The Nightmare Before Christmas to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, also pop up at retail year after year, some more extensively than others.
Pairings of holidays and licensed characters in general, including those without inherent connections to any celebratory occasions, have also been growing in importance. Non-Christmas-related properties are tied to ugly Christmas sweaters, holiday décor, holiday-themed children’s books, seasonal foods, and the like at this time of year. And the pairings are not just limited to Christmas but extend to holidays throughout the calendar. This is especially true of classic properties. Disney alone has married characters such Grogu/Baby Yoda and the Storm Troopers of Star Wars, its standard characters including Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck, and many other properties to merchandise celebrating holidays throughout the year. Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Mother’s Day, Hanukkah, St. Patrick’s Day, Diwali, and other holidays, as well as Christmas, are all of growing interest to licensors.
Comments are closed.