Yahoo Movies The best advent calendars of 2022, from chocolate to Lego and luxury food and wine (and fidgets)
Ask a six year-old what the best advent calendar is and they’ll tell you it’s the one with the most chocolate. Right? Well, maybe in the 1970s. But in 2022 we have Lego advent calendars, fidget advent calendars and calendars filled with every kind of sweet and children's toy you can think of. How can they possibly choose?
For adults, it’s even harder. Do you try to get your hands on one of the best beauty advent calendars, which often sell out as soon as they go on sale? Do you blow the budget on an indulgent food advent calendar or sophisticated drinks advent calendar, and give it to someone as an early Christmas gift? Or do you spoil yourself with a calendar packed with scented candles or spa gifts and make every day of December a mini-holiday?
We’ve tried and tested dozens of advent calendars, filled with all sorts of gifts, from affordable chocs to high-priced cosmetics. Here are the best we’ve found, with plenty of time to buy them before December 1. Unless they sell out! (We’re looking at you, Charlotte Tilbury.)
Best advent calendars
1. Lego Star Wars advent calendar
£29.99, Shop Disney (also available at Amazon and Argos)
Best lego advent calendar
We like: not just figurines but mini building projects
Whoever came up with Lego advent calendars is now rich enough to build their own life-size spaceship. They're astonishingly popular. We've picked the Lego Star Wars one (largely for reminding us of the ill-advised 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special TV show), but could equally recommend the Lego Harry Potter advent calendars, Lego Marvel advent calendars and Lego Friends advent calendars. There are dozens in all, and Playmobil advent calendars now vie for kids' attention too. Plenty of pointy plastic for parents to step on on bleary December mornings.
Inside: eight Lego Star Wars characters, 10 mini-build vehicles and six other mini-builds
£30
Price at
Disney
2. Hotel Chocolat The Grand Advent Calendar
Best chocolate advent calendar
We like: the grown-up version of a classic 24-chocs calendar
The childish excitement of revealing a new chocolate every morning never really goes away, even when you're over 30 and the treats include a cheeky tipple or two. Hotel Chocolat advent calendars start at £8.50, but this 18-inch high range-topper is the one to give as a present. (To yourself, if you must.)
Inside: chocolate slabs, selector packs, truffles, batons, liqueurs, hot chocolate and cocoa-based beauty products
£75
Price at
Hotel du Chocolat
3. Lindt 3D Teddy Advent Calendar
£15, Lindt, also available at Waitrose
Best budget advent calendar
We like: the classic advent gift for sweet-toothed grandchildren
Christmas makes us up our chocolate game, from basic Snickers to refined Swiss fare and Lindt sure know how to capitalise on that. Their Lindor mini advent calendar (£4) is good, but this full-size bear makes a more impressive gift. A sleigh-shaped one is also available.
Inside: 24 chocolates (310g total) including santa, bears, bunnies, snowdrops and truffles
£15
Price at
Lindt
4. Fidget toy advent calendar
Best fidget calendar
We like: bright but traditional design
Given the huge interest in fidget toy calendars, you'd think premium toy brands might have entered the market but it's still dominated by Chinese suppliers. This one is better thought-out than the rest, the 'infinite cube'-shaped calendar functioning as a figet toy in its own right.
Inside: 24 mini-toys including stress relief squeezer, pop it, magic cube, marble and mesh, stretchy noodle, snap and click snake, flippy chain, slow-rising scented squishies etc
£20
Price at
Amazon
5. Kurt S. Adler nutcracker wooden advent calendar
Best reusable advent calendar
We like: durability and classic Victorian looks
Kurt Adler is the 70-year old Christmas ornament specialist and, while this 18-inch high wooden soldier is not exactly Antiques Roadshow-worthy, it should last years and look good on the mantelpiece. There are no gifts included, just 24 drawers you fill yourself with anything walnut-sized. Selfridges has a huge range of wooden, reusable calendars as well as all the usual gift-filled options.
Nothing inside: this is a fill-it-yourself calendar
£75
Price at
Selfridges
6. Snowy Penguin Advent Calendar
Best baby’s advent calendar
We like: soft fabric makes it good to cuddle even when the gifts are gone
With a loop to hang it from a bed or door and 24 soft pockets to fill with sweets or little toys (not included), The White Company's fluffy penguin is the only calendar on our list that you'd actually want to sleep with.
Nothing inside: this is a fill-it-yourself calendar
£42
Price at
The White Company
7. Rituals 2D advent calendar
Best luxury bath advent calendar
We like: more than a month's worth of 'me-time' products
Indulgent, pampering products make failsafe gifts for her and Rituals have capitalised on that by including candles, scrubs, soaps and body creams in their tasteful-looking advent calendar – basically everything you need for an at-home spa day. It's called 2D to distinguish it from the £105 3D advent calendar and £160 Premium advent calendar.
Inside: bath milk, shower gels, soaps, scrubs, lotions, creams, body oils, shampoos, conditioners, candles
£75
Price at
Rituals
8. Kiehl’s Limited Edition Holiday Advent Calendar
Best grooming advent calendar
We like: the only beauty calendar you can give to your husband (and steal from when he's not looking)
Perennial favourites on Gifts For Him lists, New York's Kiehl's is not specifically a men's cosmetics company but their traditionalist product design definitely appeals to stubbly shoppers. This year's advent box has 24 doors and a Kiehl's formula behind each one.
Inside: unisex cleansers, toners, masks, creams, serums, scrubs and face-washes
£99
Price at
Kiehl's
9. Body Shop Box Of Wishes
Best face and body advent calendar
We like: supports the women in the developing world who help make the products inside
The Body Shop are doing three fairtrade advent calendars this year. This is the most affordable, with 24 gifts worth around £90 in a foot-wide recyclable box. The larger Box Of Wonders is £95 and the Box Of Wishes And Wonders is £145.
Inside: soaps, shower creams, face washes, body butter, sheet masks, shampoo, conditioner, hand creams
£55
Price at
The Body Shop
10. Charlotte’s Diamond Chest of Beauty Stars
Best beauty advent calendar
We like: reasonably priced considering the value of the gifts inside
What is the best beauty advent calendar? Charlotte Tilbury vies with Liberty and Look Fantastic in the 'must get it before it sells out' stakes – and no wonder, when the products are worth £100 more than the ticket price. If you can get your hands on one, you'll be able to add the glow of victory to the youthful complexion afforded by its contents.
Inside: 12 gifts including Charlotte’s Magic Cream, Hollywood Beauty Light Wand and Pillow Talk Push Up Lashes Mascara
£150
Price at
Charlotte Tilbury
11. John Lewis wine advent calendar
Best wine advent calendar
We like: crowd-pleasing wines from interesting producers - a good way of expanding your repertoire
This is where advent calendars start to become advent boxes: you'd have a hard time hanging this on the wall. But with 24 quarter-bottles of carefully chosen wine, John Lewis's selection strikes the right balance of quality, variety and price. Just remember to open a door a day, rather than trying to drink it all on the 25th.
Inside: 11 white, 10 red and three rosé wines including merlots, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, shiraz and a premium malbec
£85
Price at
John Lewis
12. Brewdog craft beer advent calendar
Best beer advent calendar
We like: a cold one for every day of December, for much less than you'd pay for them individually
Beer advent calendars have only been a thing for a short while but there are now hundreds. Brewdog's often sells out so, although they've increased production this year, it's a good idea to put your name down now for dispatch October 3.
Inside: 24 33ml cans of Brewdog's craft lagers, pale ales, bitters and porters including seasonal ales and four beers exclusive to the calendar, plus a glass
£60
Price at
Brewdog
13. Drinks By The Dram Premium Gin Advent Calendar
Best spirits advent calendar
We like: basically a gin-tasting course in a box, with loads that you've never come across before
Master of Malt, as the name implies, do a big range of whisky advent calendars as well as rum and vodka, but perhaps the gin calendars have the broadest appeal. This one, which has 24 different wax-sealed samples of artisan gins from all round the world, is our pick of the bunch.
Inside: 24 miniatures - famous names include Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, Hendricks' and No.3 but most are from small-batch artisanal distilleries
£100
Price at
Master Of Malt
14. Biscuiteers Advent Biscuit Tin and Cloth Calendar
Tin of biscuits £60, Sophie Conran cloth advent calendar £135, sold separately at Biscuiteers
Best biscuits advent calendar
We like: the keep-it-forever limited edition cloth calendar (although it's highly likely to sell out)
Being endlessly personalisable, iced biscuits are a popular gift – but to keep 24 of them fresh, you really need a tin. Biscuiteers' solution is to team up with designer Sophie Conran on on a limited-edition cloth calendar with 24 embroidered pockets, with the biscuits sold separately.
Inside: 24 individually designed vanilla biscuits, total weight 275g. 100cm x 60cm embroidered cloth calendar sold separately
£60
Price at
Biscuiteers
15. Bonne Maman advent calendar
Best jam advent calendar
We like: something different on your toast every December morning
We had to include this, having never come across a jam advent calendar before. French confiture kings Bonne Maman probably supply a million tiny pots of preserves each month to hotels around the world, but it's nice to have 23 of them to sample as the mornings get gloomier - plus an extra treat on day 24.
Inside: 23 different 30ml jars including fig with cardamom, strawberry with verbena, orange with cinnamon, plum with spices, apple with caramel
£26
Price at
Bonne Maman
16. Paxton & Whitfield Artisan Cheese Advent Calendar
Best cheese advent calendar
We like: at last, an advent calendar for fromage fanatics
Cheese, they say, is chocolate for boys. But let's not be sexist. Anyone lacking a sweet tooth is so cruelly neglected by the majority of advent calendars that this savoury salvo from the 225 year-old London cheesemongers is like the cavalry coming over the hill. Each cheese is hand-cut, had-wrapped and sealed in an individual box. They arrive in three separate deliveries to keep them super fresh.
Inside: 24 75g cuts of artisan cheese including gruyère, Stilton, Lancashire, Perl Las, Cheddar and new, exclusive Cullum
£150
Price at
Paxton & Whitfield
17. The Cartwright & Butler advent calendar
Best giant advent calendar
We like: enough Christmas food to feed a family of 30 or a medium sized business
The price may seem high but it figures when this advent calendar arrives. You are looking at well over 20kg of biscuits, preserves, cakes, hot drinks, confectionery and prosecco in 24 drawers, standing almost two feet high. Definitely not the advent calendar you remember from your childhood, this is a serious investment in festive over-indulgence. In fact it might work best as a workplace advent calendar, with a treat each day for the whole company to share.
Inside: 24 full-sized Cartwright & Butler products including shortbread, biscuits, fudge, cakes, tea, mulled wine bags, toffees, sweets, preserves and prosecco
£220
Price at
Cartwright & Butler
18. Fortnum & Mason feasting advent calendar
Best Christmas food advent calendar
We like: the abundance of cinnamon, ginger and festive spices in this ultra-traditional foodie gift
Also stretching the budget a very long way, Fortnum & Mason's Feasting advent calendar is essentially one of their famous Christmas hampers in calendar-form. 24 doors hold Christmas classics like figgy pudding, Damson gin and cognac butter. Behind the 25th is a quarter bottle of champagne. F&M also do a beauty advent calendar, a spirits and liqueurs advent calendar, a tea advent calendar and (of course) a dog advent calendar, as well as wooden and paper reusable calendars. They do luxury Christmas crackers, too. Quite a Christmas-oriented shop, in other words.
Inside: 25 miniature and full-sized Christmas food and drink products including preserves, chocolates, biscuits, liqueurs, Christmas teas and coffees
£200
Price at
Fortnum & Mason
19. Diptyque Advent Calendar
£370, Diptyque Paris (pre-order for delivery October 12)
Best candle advent calendar
We like: a year's worth of gifts disguised as a calendar
Now are really are at the top end (although last year there were some luxury advent calendars over £600). If you can afford it, Diptyque's selection of candles, perfumes and soaps will keep your loved one in heavenly scents for the best part of a year. Even the box is like a fragrant atelier on the Boulevard St Germain.
Inside: one 70g limited edition sapin candle, two exclusive and 10 iconic 35g candles, five travel size eaux de parfum, three travel size eaux de toilette, one solid perfume, one body balm, one soap, three gilded decorations
£370
Price at
Diptyque
