Remember when advent calendars were nothing more than a small piece of chocolate you’d sneak before school each December morning. They were simple, fun, and honestly something I looked forward to every day. My friends and I would compare which shapes we got, was it a stocking, a Santa face or a snowflake today? These days, though, the advent calendar options feel endless. You can upgrade to full size chocolate bars, or choose calendars filled with toys, books, and all sorts of surprises. And for adults, the market has exploded even further, with calendars offering everything from beauty products to gin. The big question now is, which one will you buy this year?
To help make this a little easier here are some of our favourites
Simple can still be the best
These Cadbury Dairy Milk ones are the ones I remember from my childhood and the ones my children still get. Don’t get me wrong some years they have had others ones along side these but to me this is THE advent calendar. Plus they are usually priced between £1-3 so they are super affordable too.
A chocolate upgrade
For those that want a bit more of a sophisticated chocolate advent calendar then this Dairy milk one is the one for you. You will receive 24 individually wrapped chunks of Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel and Cadbury Dairy Milk Whole nut. Not quite a full bar of chocolate but definitely bigger the original calendars and very delicious!
If dairy milk isn’t for you then how about the vey tempting Toblerone one. It contains a mixture of mini Toblerones in a variety of flavours including
- Milk Truffles
- Milk Chocolate
- White Chocolate
- Crunchy Almond
Personalised Advents
If you are buying an advent calendar for someone else as a gift then personalised ones are great. Especially if they are for grandparents as it’s also a lovely way to give them an updated family picture they can have up in the house for a month. This one from Vistaprint allows you to upload a picture in either landscape or portrait and then contains 24 chocolates with a choice of either
- Milk Chocolate
- Kinder Choclate Minis
- Milka Favourites
- Toberlerone
- Lindt Lindor Truffles .
These are easy to design and you can upload images from your computer or even from your phone.
Although I find it hard to believe that some people don’t actually like chocolate it is true and luckily there are some incredible alternatives available.
Sweets
If sweets are your thing then it has to be the Swizzels Sweet Shop advent calendar. This one contains 24 sweet treats from your childhood including
- Palma Violets
- Refreshers
- Love Hearts
- Drumsticks and so much more
Popcorn
Never before have I seen a popcorn advent calendar but I am so here for it. This one is from Popcorn Kitchen and is the 12 days of Christmas filled with 12 full sized bags of 9 different flavoured bags of popcorn, all of which sound delicious.
- Salted Caramel
- Chocolate Orange
- White Chocolate & Raspberry
- Lemon Drizzle
- Chocolate Mint
- Chocolate Brownie
- Cheddar Cheese
- Cherry Bakewell
- Blueberry Muffin
The Coffee Advent
Oh yes you read that right! There is now a coffee advent and it has made my day. As someone who loves nothing more than a good cup of coffee to start my day the thought of an advent dedicated to delicious flavoured coffees is perfect. The Beanies advent contains
- 2 x Mystery Jars (Flavour will vary)
- 44 x Beanies stick sachets (2 per day; assorted flavours)
The Beanie’s coffee is delicious and they have so many amazing flavours. They are also low calorie, sugar free, nut free and suitable for vegans.
The Beauty Advent
If you want an advent calendar that is full of sweet treats of a different kind then how about checking out what the The Body Shop have on offer. This year they have not 1 but 3 different advents for you to choose from, each one full of their gorgeous products. The one featured below is the Advent of Wonders and has been designed with a super cute pop up scene and contains 24 body-loving surprises from across the range. I don’t want to spoil the surprise but whatever your favourite Body Shop scent is you are bound to have at least one of them in here as there is such an excellent selection.
Book advent
This advent might just be one of my all time favourites. It’s perfect to gift to a child but also to have as a family advent that you can open and enjoy together. The Little People BIG DREAMS advent is fun and educational. It contains 24 mini books detailing the lives of some of the most influential people in the world. You and your children can enjoy reading about everyone from groundbreaking musicians like Sir Elton John to visionary artists like Frida Kohl, world class athletes like Muhammad Ali and scientists like Albert Einstein. Once finished you can save these books and read them over and over again all through the year.
Fill your own advent
If none of these advents are hitting the mark then how about filling your own. This beautiful cloth advent is from My 1st Years and comes ready to hang featuring 25 numbered pockets, perfect for hiding tiny treats, festive notes, or little chocolate surprises each day. It is made from soft, durable fabric in a dreamy blush pink, and is decorated with lots of beautiful festive accents and can even be personalised with your little one’s name or family name at the top in sparkly writing.
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