We Unboxed This Year’s Top Advent Calendars—These Are Our 20 Favorites

When do advent calendars start?

Traditionally, most advent calendars start on December 1 and last for 24 or 25 days, ending on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. However, some are only 12 days long, so you would start your countdown to Christmas on December 12.

You can’t go wrong with a classic chocolate advent calendar. This Godiva calendar is filled with 24 different gourmet chocolates and truffles, all nicely packaged in a cute snowglobe gift box. Whether you prefer milk, dark, or white chocolate, the calendar includes a variety of classic and unique chocolate flavors to satisfy your sweet tooth while you count down to Christmas.

If you still want to fulfill your sweet tooth this holiday season without downing chocolate every day, this advent calendar is perfect for you. The calendar includes 24 days of Walker’s Shortbread cookies packaged in a cute Christmas gift box. We love the designs on the cookie box, which feature “shortbread elves” hard at work baking cookies in Santa’s workshop. It’s also one of the most affordable advent calendars on our list for those that want to participate in the tradition without spending a fortune.

The Sugarfina Advent Calendar is an ideal option for those with a sweet tooth. The calendar includes 24 drawers, each filled with four pieces of candy to enjoy each day. Whether you prefer chocolate covered cookie dough, sour rainbows, or caramel candies, this candy-filled calendar has something for everyone. Plus, we love that it’s designed to look like Santa’s toy shop when it’s closed, so it makes for a festive piece of holiday decor.

Not a fan of sweets? This advent calendar puts a savory spin on the holiday tradition by offering nine different cheeses from the famous Murray's Cheese. You'll find favorites like English cheddar, Wensleydale with cranberries, and 12-month gouda, plus items to pair them with like mini jams and crackers. 

The back of the advent calendar box also gives you more information on each cheese and its flavor profile. I loved the pairings in this calendar, particularly the spiced cherry and wild blueberry preserves, because they elevated the experience and made each cheese more enjoyable.

This LEGO kit will keep the kiddos in your house on their toes in the lead-up to Christmas. Behind each of the 24 doors is a holiday-themed minifigure or accessory that all come together to create a festive scene. The kit includes 186 LEGO pieces as well as a playmat that kids can use to stage holiday celebrations. Each of the building pieces can also be rearranged and connected to create imaginative new scenes.

Beauty lovers will enjoy unboxing this gift set from Anthropologie. With 12 curated beauty finds, the calendar is packed with useful skincare, makeup, and fragrance minis worth more than $130. The Anthropologie 24 Days of Beauty Calendar is already sold out for the year, so we suggest you snag this one while it’s still available.

The Beekman 1802 Advent Calendar is a skincare lover’s dream—it contains more than $460 worth of the brand’s most popular products for under $200. With a mix of full-size products and minis included in this calendar, you can stock up on bestsellers and try a few new products at once.

While the advent calendar with the reusable box has already sold out for the season, you can still purchase all of the products at a discount. It’s a luxurious way to treat yourself in the 24 days leading up to Christmas, especially for anyone who doesn’t want to clutter their home with extra packaging. And if you already have a reusable advent calendar, you can add these products to it.

Make the countdown to Christmas delicious with this advent calendar that includes 24 jars of mini spreads. In this year’s release, you'll savor new creations, such as caramel with vanilla, strawberry and passion fruit, wild blueberry with maple syrup, and more. Spread them on toast, pancakes, muffins, or whatever baked goods you have planned for the Christmas season.

Each jar is about 1 ounce, giving you a chance to enjoy them without overstuffing your cabinet with full-sized jelly jars. Plus, these flavors are exclusive for the holiday season, so it's a one-time experience that your tastebuds won’t soon forget.

Whether you work an office job, obsess over nice stationery, or just appreciate the art of a handwritten letter, Papier’s advent calendar is perfect for you. The set includes a variety of desk accessories like notebooks, highlighters, paperclips, and sticky notes, all packaged in a cheerful red gift box.

I loved unboxing this advent calendar because it felt truly luxurious and delightful. The box has three drawers that pull or swing out to reveal the paper boxes of goodies for each day, so you can easily see all of the boxes at a glance and get excited for the days to come. And once you’ve opened up your gift for the day, the calendar is compact and easily folds back into a decorative box that you can reuse again and again.

Whether you like candles, perfume, or skincare, this advent calendar includes something for everyone. This design resembles a jewelry box and includes 24 drawers you’ll be excited to open each day. The box is very luxurious and can easily be reused for holiday seasons to come.

I loved opening each of the drawers and discovering what was inside, whether it was a lotion, hand cream, shower gel, perfume, or candle in one of the brand’s elegant scents. The mini products are the perfect way to treat yourself while sampling new or beloved fragrances, and they may even give you some inspiration for holiday shopping.

Cheese lovers will get their fix in the days leading up to Christmas with this advent calendar from the beloved dairy brand Tillamook. It includes two separate boxes, one for the fridge and one for the counter, so you can still count down each day without completely filling up on cheese.

I loved that the calendar not only includes six full-size blocks of cheese, but items to help you enjoy them, like a cheese board and cheese knife. There’s even an adorable butter stick ornament included behind one of the doors, adding an extra touch of holiday cheer.