Luna It's funny you should say that. I've found Danish Christmas to be like that! It starts in October and it gets competitive as all get out. It's all about making the right impression with lights, decorations etc.
Adults distribute very detailed wishlists to each other, and woe betide anyone that goes off-list. In the absence of this, all presents are handed over with "this can be swapped if you don't like it" and December 26th isn't a sales day, it's the day everyone does just that. Why didn't they just hand over 200 DKK and have done with it? Handmade presents can destroy family relations.
Children have advent calendars (sometimes just a sock), that Santa himself puts a new present in every night of advent. There is an aisle of every supermarket that has a big trough of plastic shit that I mistook as being stocking fillers when I was fresh of the boat. (Some parents restrict the advent gifts to just the Sundays). As if Santa didn't have enough to do at this time of year!
The only difference is the Elf on the Shelf. Here, the elf/elves plays pranks on the adults (using the children as catspaws), with such hilarious happenings as adding food colouring to milk or spilling flour. Sometimes leaving treats, depending.
Anyway, it's all about performing hygge now, not about feeling hyggelig.