I miss Vlogmas

Christmas during the golden age of the internet

On December 1st, the internet transforms into a 24/7 livestream of holiday prep. Elaborate shopping hauls, meticulously curated wishlists and Christmas tree decorating content fill our feeds. Welcome to the most wonderful time of year: Vlogmas.

Or, some variation of that.

While Vlogmas has enjoyed a resurgence on TikTok the last few years —largely as an engagement hack to appease the algorithm— many Millennials best remember it as a hallmark of YouTube’s “Golden Era” (which, depending on who you ask, was sometime between 2010 and 2018).

It was a time of peak Millennial optimism, when YouTube seemed to welcome the wonderfully weird, innovative, and earnest content. Vlogging went mainstream; unboxing videos and hauls became all the rage. It was the perfect storm for the birth of Vlogmas, which was coined by Ingrid Nilsen on her now-defunct vlog channel all the way back in 2011. The trend became a fun challenge and a way for creators to connect with their audience on a more intimate level. Different people from all walks of life could show the ways that they experience the holidays — the good, the bad, the happy and the stressful moments that make up the festive season.

I ate that shit up. In high school and college, I tuned into creators like Zoella, Aspyn Ovard and Lindsey Hughes on a near daily basis like it was my own personal advent calendar of content, eagerly feeding my own excitement of the impending holidays. These creators felt like casual friends — nothing like the intense parasocial relationships common online today. I saw pieces of my family, my holiday celebrations, my life reflected back at me. Many of these girls were around my age, dipping their toes into the nascent creator economy for the first time. While some of these original creators have continued to post Vlogmas videos, either on YouTube or on their TikTok pages, many more have chosen not to continue (or, have backed away from content creation altogether). Nilsen herself stopped participating in Vlogmas in 2015, explaining that the grind of daily vlogging had “crossed a personal boundary.”

Still, every December, hordes of new creators gear up for 25 days of nonstop posting. The difference in 2025 is that this behavior isn’t anything new. In the golden years of YouTube, vlogging every day was somewhat of a novelty. Now, it’s expected. Vlogmas is no different from the other 11 months of the year where creators feel pressure to churn out relentless amounts of content on a daily cadence.

While this TikTok interpretation of Vlogmas may appeal to the nostalgia of many Millennials and Gen Z, is that early YouTube energy really still being preserved? Much like we try to recapture the magic of childhood christmases past in adulthood, perhaps we’re trying to recapture those magic golden years on YouTube. When the internet was still fun and fresh and new, the content was non-ironically joyful and not overtly sponsored. There was excitement and anticipation, much like we once felt opening presents on Christmas morning.

The paradox is that the original Vlogmas videos were both high-production yet still felt very lo-fi. They had elaborately designed intros and beautiful thumbnails. Creators went all out on their presentation. But the content itself had kitschy vibes. It was endlessly warm, friendly, reminiscent of watching someone else’s home movies. The content was not perfect or over-edited or filtered to the high heavens. It was not, for instance, a 30 second video quickly edited together with a blasé detached voiceover. Or a gift-guide filled with affiliate links. Nor was it a cash grab attempt to get five Vlogmas videos from one day of footage. There was a slow, deliberate, almost methodical approach to connecting with viewers. And yes, there was still a lot of overconsumption but it was like $5 trinkets from Target and $15 twisted peppermint candles from Bath and Body Works.

I’m willing to concede that there’s a time and place for both — the luxuriously long vlogs, and the fast-paced TikToks. But something about the Christmas season just makes you want to stretch the time just a little more. Make the season last just a little longer. I want to see a 20 minute tutorial on how to get the perfect Christmas Eve smokey eye using red and green eyeshadow!! I want you to take me on your hour-long Target shopping trip and debate the intricacies between different Christmas ornaments!! I want to see you, your partner, your kids and your cat open their Christmas presents in chronological order so I can vicariously absorb their joy!!

Maybe we just don’t have the attention spans for that anymore (algorithmic feeds certainly wrecked that). But if today’s bite-sized Vlogmas videos are the equivalent of fast food, the Vlogmas videos of YouTube’s golden age are a nourishing wholesome meal. And I’m sorry, but I won’t be consuming your 30 second junk interpretation of Vlogmas.

If you’re looking for me this month, you can find me rewatching old Vlogmas videos on Youtube. If Christmas has taught me anything, it’s that sometimes the oldest traditions are the ones worth cherishing the most.

If you used to watch Vlogmas videos on Youtube, who were your favorites??? I want to know :)