Brandchannel will be back on January 2nd. Until then, happy new year and a safe and happy holiday to all!

Santa's using video chat, apps and GPS tracking (via Bing and other partners) to stay in touch with kids, so it makes sense that kids are counting down to his arrival on digital too.

The origin of the Advent calendar dates from 19th century German Lutherans with the first known one being handmade in 1851. Advent is observed in Western Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. The word is anglicized from the Latin adventus, meaning "coming." In recent years, like everything else, the tradition has gone digital.

And this year, digital advent calendars aren't just for kids, as brand marketers have adopted them; a few examples that have crossed our radar:

• British dessert brand Gü is inviting fans via Facebook to open the fridge that is its digital advent calendar. “This Christmas we wanted to reward our loyal pud lovers and social media communities with a fun, very Gü twist on the traditional advent calendar," says Gü’s Global Creative manager, Lizzie Hanbury-Tenison. "Thanks to some very generous brand partners we have been able to pull together some fantastic prize collaborations made even more entertaining by daily video clues featuring our very own Head Chef, Fred Ponnavoy.”Continue reading...

Coca-Cola's latest variation on its Happiness Machine: The Coca-Cola Sing For Me Machine, in Stockholm, Sweden. The concept: "You sing a Christmas carol for it and it returns the favor with a Coke. Spreading the Christmas spirit one song at the time."

It’s a stellar app from Stella Artois. Fans are invited to log into the Belgian beer brand's Facebook page to send personalized holiday cards featuring actress Alice Eve as “Holiday Carole.”

Incorporating Google Street View, Maps, Places, Directions and Geocoding APIs, Eve travels through your neighborhood (it's available globally) before arriving at your virtual front door to deliver a carol and a holiday gift from Stella Artois.Continue reading...

Forget emailing your list to Santa this season. Verizon's FiOS broadband service is sponsoring a free video chat service with the jolly old guy himself, along with the chance to win a $200 gift card. See the trailer below, along with an important bulletin from the North Pole (and Motorola).Continue reading...

Gap is continuing with its colorful theme this season with its new GapKids TV campaign, touting the neon-bright collection hitting stores and its website on Dec. 10:Continue reading...

McDonald's UK is promoting its limited-time Festive Menu with a holiday campaign featuring "the charming story of a postman — in many ways the modern Santa Claus — who braves the elements to deliver festive joy to the British public. After a tough day's work, he rewards himself for his efforts with a delicious Winter Warmer and some banter with his workmates." Watch it below:Continue reading...

Microsoft is promoting Windows 8-powered Windows Phone with a variety of celebrities including Gwen Stefani and Jessica Alba Its latest celeb, above: Bumble, the Abominable Snow Monster from the 1964 Rankin/Bass classic holiday TV special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It's all part of Microsoft's "Meet the new Windows Phone, Reinvented Around You" campaign.