By Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Last fall, I financially blacked out and splurged on a luxury lifestyle advent calendar. I blissfully uncovered a new face serum or silk eye mask or bath oil daily. Naturally, I fell down the rabbit hole and dove into the advent universe. I strolled aisles of festive-patterned packages in the likes of World Market and devoured online reviews and the unboxings that have helped fuel advent-calendar mania.

It was like seeing the holidays through the looking glass: a method of celebrating that I’d never considered in adulthood, and one it seemed millions of people around the world were increasingly living. For those who’ve embraced the advent-calendar lifestyle, every day is a celebration beginning Dec. 1.

For roughly a century, children

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