Influencer Goes Viral for Over-the-Top Labubu Christmas Tree Costing Over $1K (Exclusive)

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas for one Australian influencer. 

Matt Hey, 31, recently went viral for showcasing his Christmas tree featuring about 48 of the popular toys known as Labubus styled as ornaments. The video shared on his TikTok account now has 1.5 million views, as well as 158,400 likes.

Labubus have grown increasingly popular in recent months, as a result of their hard-to-come-by nature and ability to transition between fashion accessory and toy. Labubus can only be officially bought online, from Chinese toy company Pop Mart, but that hasn’t stopped resellers from creating an alternative market for the strange-looking, monster-like figurines known for their toothy grins and furry bodies.

So, it came as no surprise to Hey that the Internet had loads to say about his attempt at Christmas decor. And, for the influencer, sparking conversation was exactly his goal, he tells PEOPLE exclusively.

“Essentially, this is the biggest and best and most successful prank I think I’ve ever made on the internet so far,” he reveals. “So, sorry, spoiler alert, but I did this because I knew that the internet would have a reaction to it.” 

Since Australia, which is in the southern hemisphere, is entering its summer months, Hey’s idea for the Christmas tree came about as he and his partner were in the midst of spring cleaning their decor cabinet.

“I said to my partner as a joke, I was like, ‘Oh, we should just leave the Christmas tree out,'” Hey laughs. “It’s going to be December before we know it, so we may as well just not put it back in the cupboard after we’d cleaned it.”

Hey’s Labubu collection has been growing before his viral Christmas tree stunt, with the influencer saying that he loves “getting around the hype of something.”

“My whole life is what’s happening online,” he says. “So of course I’m going to be obsessed just as everyone else has been this year with Labubus.” 

As an influencer, Hey says that his job centers around knowing and being able to predict what will work well as content online, which is why he knew that his Labubu bedecked Christmas tree would strike all types of chords.

Hey says that, growing up, he was always told that he needed to start a YouTube channel or go on Big Brother in order to “entertain” people. Before the pandemic, he got on TikTok and has made social media his career ever since. He’s also recently gotten into standup comedy as a result of his social media presence, even going as far as to start a podcast.

“I love work and I’m such a workaholic, and it’s something that always keeps me on my toes and something is different every single day,” he says. “So it’s the perfect job for me, and I think that’s why I’m so good at it.”

Of his Labubu Christmas tree, Hey says that the ensuing internet chatter could almost be a “case study” in content strategy.

“I knew that the internet, no matter what side of the fence you sat on, I knew you’d have a reaction to it and it worked,” he says. The reactions online have run the gamut from delight to anger, Hey shares.

“I think that’s another key to the reason that this was so successful is because not only do you have opinions of ‘I hate [Labubus] or ‘I love them,’ there’s so much social conversation around it,” he shares.

People have flooded his comments with all sorts of thoughts on the tree, with questions ranging from “How do you have enough money to afford Labubus?” to “Where did you get your hands on these, because I can’t get my hands on them.”

Some love the look of the tree, Hey reveals, but hate Labubus, while others hate the look of the tree but love Labubus. “The opinions have been so far widespread, which is really such a catalyst to making a video go viral,” he shares.

Not all of the Labubus are his, Hey makes sure to clarify, with many on the tree borrowed from friends or his partner. Some are his, and Hey went as far as traveling to Singapore to retrieve some of them from brick and mortar Pop Mart stores in the area.

In total, he estimates that there are about $1,000 USD in Labubus hanging on the tree; however, with the toys going for around $30 each on the official website, it’s entirely likely that there is upwards of $1,500 worth of Labubus on the tree.

Despite the hype, all viral internet moments do come to an end, and Hey says that the Christmas tree will likely take on a more traditional Christmas tree form as the holiday actually approaches.

“I’ve got little nephews who are going to come over and I think if they see those scary little Labubus on the tree, it’ll give them nightmares,” he jokes. 

Yet, as a result of the virality, Hey says he may just have to consider doing something similar again next year. 

“It may not be Labubus, but whatever the big trend is, I think now the problem with social media is people will now have expectations,” he teases. “I’ll have to continue following the trends, and I’m sure stay tuned. There will be something bigger and better next year.”