Merry Vlogmas!

Vlogmas - the clever combination of the words "Christmas" and "Vlog"; a time-honored December tradition.

It's Officially Vlogmas Season!

That magical time of the year where YouTube lover's subscription boxes are filled to the brim with new content in the form of daily vlogs.

Vlogs?

Vlogging is already a popular form of content on the Internet; it entails filming short clips throughout a given day and editing them to create a daily narrative. Daily vloggers upload daily, while other creators upload intermittent vlogs, weekly vlogs, or a rare occasional vlog. Many vlog channels are second channels for content creators who are better known for their staged "main channel videos".

So....what's vlogmas?

Vlogmas is that special time of the year when YouTubers of all kinds partake in daily vlogging in honor of the holiday spirit! This can take all different forms from 12 days of vlogmas (starting midway through December) to 25 full days of daily vlogs (daily vlogs every day of December - including Christmas day!).

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The first ever Vlogmas was started by YouTube royalty (she's been popular since before YouTube was even that cool), Ingrid Nilsen. If you don't watch her videos you might have heard her name from her viral coming out video which garnered more than 16 million views. Today Nilsen creates wholesome content about her life as a member of the LGBTQ community, style and beauty tips, stress relief, and general self care, but back in the day she was a super popular, mainstream, straight-passing beauty guru who started one of the biggest trends on YouTube: Vlogmas!

It started when Nilsen wanted to vlog every day of December to show her followers all the fun holiday themed activities she was doing. Refinery 29 recently interviewed Nilsen about the topic and reported that the idea was originally meant to serve as a sort of digital advent calendar. The article reminds us that daily vlogging was not nearly as popular back in 2011 when Nilsen started the trend, especially not for beauty gurus such as herself.

This may be what drew so many people to the concept in the first place. Regardless of the kind of main channel a creator had, December, aka Vlogmas, was a perfect time to give the audience a peak behind the curtain into the lives of their favorite creators.

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Nilsen told Refinery 29, "I think it really brings out a sense of nostalgia, especially as you get older and you start forming your own traditions, and being able to see other people live out their lives [you get] inspiration from them," Nilsen explained. "Especially around holiday season, which can be such a happy time but can also be a really difficult time for people, different individuals from families from all walks of life show the way that they experience the holidays — the positive, the negative, the happy wonderful moments, I think it really gives people a sense of comfort, and I think it’s a beautiful thing."

Although today Nilsen no longer participates in Vlogmas, hundreds, even thousands of other creators have taken up the tradition, making December the month of full subscription boxes overflowing with spirited holiday content.

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Today some of the most popular vlogmas videos come from equally popular creator Zoella. While the actual content of vlogs are meant to be unstaged and laid back, creators like Zoella have found ways to polish and package vlogmas more professionally. Not only does she appear to go on trips and participate in exciting Christmas activities in almost every vlog for December, she has also become known for her yearly animated Vlogmas intro's depicting her adorable black pug and YouTuber boyfriend Alfie Deyes.

Regardless, fancy intros or not, YouTuber lovers every where are gearing up for the best month of content of the year. Merry Vlogmas to one and all!