Organizational Magic and the Making of Christmas: On Glamour, Grottos and Enchantment

Drawing on qualitative research into the design, delivery and organization of Christmas grottos this paper offers a critical understanding of the role that a functional belief in organizational magic plays in their manufacture and operation. Utilising classic anthropological research into the cultural production of magical belief systems, I attend to how such magic is produced through a network of sociomaterial practices conducive to the commercial values of the Anglo-American Christmas. I additionally draw on contemporary literature on aesthetic and atmospheric organization in order to analyse the practical accomplishment of organizational magic as a mode of captivation and re-enchantment. The article concludes by emphasizing the increasingly commercial utility of a functional belief in magic as an organizational resource, highlighting the need for further empirical scrutiny, as well as conceptual and theoretical analysis.