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Best for Bread Lovers
Bonne Maman 2023 Advent Calendar
Best for Self-Care
Lush Advent Calendar
Best-Smelling Advent Calendar
Immortal Perfumes Gothic Perfume Advent Calendar
Best for Chocoholics
Godiva Holiday Classic Chocolate Advent Calendar
There’s something undeniably exciting about Advent calendars. To me, they were the first example of a little treat. I’d get done with a hard day of being an 8-year-old and come home to crack open a cardboard door to eat some powdery chocolate. As an adult, spending just a moment every single day with a special little treat or gift can help you stop feeling overwhelmed by all the tree trimming and gift wrapping—enough so you can start enjoying the ride.
Advent calendars are cooler now than they ever were when I was a kid, and the contents aren’t limited to novelty Santa-shaped chocolates anymore. I painstakingly tore into several cardboard doors to get to the bottom of the best Advent calendars. My favorites are below. Even if you start cracking into your calendar after December 1, don’t worry; a lot of Advent calendars are just 12 days. Plus, who needs rules? Just double up on treats if you start late!
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Photograph: Bonne Maman
Best for Bread Lovers
Bonne Maman 2023 Advent Calendar
The box the Bonne Maman Advent calendar arrives in is heavy. That’s because behind the calendar’s two dozen cardboard flaps, you’ll find 23 mini glass jars of fruit spreads and a jar of honey. Each of the adorable 1-ounce jars contains a flavor bound to shake up your loved one’s palate. Highlights from my tasting included the tangy Mango, Raspberry, and Lime jam, the decadent Caramel Cinnamon spread, and the slightly floral Wild Blueberry with Balm Leaves spread. I’ve tried a lot of things, but I’ve never tried anything like some of these ooey-gooey flavors. Bonne Maman is a French brand that doesn’t use any high fructose corn syrup or preservatives, so this calendar is for somebody who enjoys starting their day with all-natural jam on toast or augmenting their afternoon tea with scones and honey.
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Photograph: Lush
Best for Self-Care
Lush Advent Calendar
I didn’t think it was possible for there to be an Advent calendar that was heavier than Bonne Maman’s, and then this literal trunk from Lush appeared on my doorstep. The design from Trifle Studio is stunning and so are the calendar’s contents. It’s made up of delicious-smelling Lush goodies, including holiday-themed Bath Bombs, Bubble Bars, lotions, lip scrubs, shower gel, and more. There’s even a candle! And 12 of the products are Advent calendar exclusives, so you can’t get your hands on them elsewhere. Lush makes other Advent calendars, but this beautiful box offers a lot of value—and tons of opportunities for a bubble bath.
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Photograph: Immortal Perfumes
Best-Smelling Advent Calendar
Immortal Perfumes Gothic Perfume Advent Calendar
I’m confounded as to how the best-smelling Advent calendar isn’t from Lush. But let me emphasize that I was wholly and utterly shook by this luxurious calendar from the micro-perfumery Immortal Perfumes. The box is stunning, for one, with 25 individual drawers. Each contains a mass of tissue paper, a tiny vial of perfume, and a piece of cardstock explaining the notes and story behind each scent. Day one contains both Hades and Persephone—the former a cologne with notes of opium and belladonna, the latter a sweet blend with white musk and pomegranate. Day 20 has a cologne tribute to Henry VIII with notes of tobacco and balsam as well as its counterpart perfume, Boleyn, with notes of champagne and violets.
You can wear these duo-day scents alone or pair them together. So far my favorite has been Day 13, Voodoo Queen, a single perfume that “smells like a cross between a love potion and a curse.” At once beautiful, morbid, and curious. If you love being the best-smelling person in the room, this calendar is worth every penny.
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Photograph: Godiva
Best for Chocoholics
Godiva Holiday Classic Chocolate Advent Calendar
Kiss that fat-bloomed, powdery chocolate of yesteryear goodbye. Godiva’s chocolate Advent calendar isn’t the most expensive you can buy, but it is frickin’ delicious. My partner and I agreed to split a piece every night—one day a salted caramel dark chocolate delight, the next a nougaty praline masterpiece. Then we decided we were adults and made quick work of the whole thing. There’s a solid mix of white, dark, and milk chocolate distributed throughout the box, and none of the pieces I received were damaged during shipment.
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Photograph: Petco
Best for Fur-mily
Petco Merry Makings 12-Day Catnip Advent Calendar
I’ll be honest: I didn’t make my cats wait 12 days to open this calendar. They were so interested in the box as soon as they smelled it that I didn’t have the heart to explain the concept of delayed gratification, capitalism, or the rules and regulations of religious traditions. But I think they appreciated the calendar’s contents nonetheless. There were several items to play with, including some refillable toys, a tiny bag of catnip, a couple of silvervine sticks, and solid catnip toys that sent my fur babies into an adorable drug-addled frenzy.
Petco sells several such Advent calendars, including options for dogs, small animals, and cats that don’t like catnip. Including your pets in the fun makes the holidays feel even more holiday-y.
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Photograph: Vinebox
Best for the After-Hours
12 Nights of Wine Advent Calendar
I aspire to be a Wine Person—it’s a hobby I think I’ll get into when I finally embrace the side of me that’s curious about running marathons and wearing heels all the time. But for 12 glorious nights, this Advent calendar gave me a glimpse of the future. I went with the Chill variation that features whites and blushes, but the Cozy collection focuses on reds—or you can get a deal and snag both boxes together for cheaper than they’d be separate. The box itself is gorgeous and the well-packaged glass tubes of wine feel classy. There are 100 milliliters of each variety, which is slightly less than a standard 5-ounce pour. The included informational card has tasting notes and pairing suggestions, and the back side of it doubles as an art print.
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Photograph: Bean Box
Best for Coffee Cravers
Bean Box 12 Mornings of Coffee Advent Calendar
This Advent calendar from Bean Box features 12 tiny bags of different holiday-themed roasts. Each little bag has enough beans for a few cups’ worth of coffee, and roasts range from the light Winter Solstice blend to the intense Dancing Reindeer blend. (You can choose whole bean or freshly ground at checkout.) The bags feature information on tasting notes and the coffee’s origins, plus a link on the outside of each in case you want to order more. I like that the packaging was minimal and easy to recycle. Yes, the coffee was delicious, but be warned that if your household is full of java drinkers, you might want to keep the bags to yourself—there are enough beans for two people to comfortably try each roast, but pushing beyond that would be a stretch.
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Photograph: LEGO
Best for Families
Lego Friends Advent Calendar
I have a family of admitted Lego maniacs, but this Advent calendar is delightful and gave my 6- and 8-year-old many hours of pure joy when we tested it. Open each box carefully—a large cardboard panel folds down to make a little mise-en-scène. You also have to open each door carefully, as the instructions for each day’s tiny build are printed behind each door. Once the tiny figure has been built, you can incorporate it into the tiny play scene. My children tested the Lego City and Lego Friends sets. Each tiny figure made all of us burst into peals of laughter—the tiny puppy with the tiny cacas and a tiny shovel was a particular hit. Every night, they carefully packed each figure into their tiny door, folded it up, and took it to their bedroom with them. If you also live in a house with Lego fiends, this will be a hit. For licensed options, we’ve affirmed that the Lego Marvel Avengers, Lego Star Wars, and Lego Harry Potter Advent calendars are equally delightful. —Adrienne So
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Photograph: Mattel
Best for Toy Doll Enthusiasts
Mattel Barbie Advent Calendar
We all saw the movie. We’re all still thinking about the movie. It’s the year of Barbie, and this Advent calendar will keep the party going. The calendar comes with a full-size doll. The rest of the days are dedicated to unboxing individual pieces of clothing, necklaces, sunglasses, shoes, and a very cute and extremely smol kitten. I will admit that, as a child, I would have been a bit frustrated by the pacing of the unboxing, so it may be worth letting a few days’ worth of clothing pieces build up at a time rather than opening a cardboard door nightly. But if your family is still singing that catchy soundtrack, or you want a very sweet gift to donate to local toy drives, this calendar is worth a look.
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Photograph: Hot Wheels
Best for Toy Car Enthusiasts
Mattel Hot Wheels Advent Calendar
This affordable Advent calendar includes eight different Hot Wheels cars, plus 16 different accessories, like a tiny snowman, snowplow, and yeti. The front of the cardboard box folds out into a playmat featuring a miniature two-dimensional city with paved roads, souped-up garages, and a brightly lit tree. If your kid is counting down the days ’til they can watch The Fast and the Furious, they might like counting down December with this calendar.
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Photograph: Sephora
Best Affordable Beauty Advent Calendar
Sephora Collection Advent Calendar
Sephora makes and sells several Advent calendars, but this budget-friendly option features picks from the brand’s own label. Usually, makeup Advent calendars don’t contain full-size products, which can be a benefit or a detriment depending on the person that’ll be opening those little packages inside. This Advent calendar has solid value, but be aware that it focuses more on skincare and nails than it does lipstick or mascara. Some highlights include various miniature nail polishes, single-use sheet masks, and the world’s tiniest hand mirror. The product page clearly lists what is included in the “details” section if you’d like the full spoilers.