Advent calendars filled with everything from beauty products to chocolate, Lego to tea, are as much a staple in the run-up to Christmas as drinking too much and listening to Last Christmas for the 1,237th time.
So, we’ve sniffed, tasted and drunk our way through 12 of them, rating them by their contents, value for money, sustainability and festive factor. And for those who want to swerve products altogether, we’ve rounded up the most beautiful, feelgood paper Advent calendars we could find.
Product Advent calendars 2024: the verdict
***
Lebkuchen
Lebkuchen-Schmidt Advent calendar, £55
souschef.co.uk
First impression
A cheerful cardboard calendar that folds open like a book and measures a sizeable 58 x 40cm. The brightly coloured, graphic cartoons of a snowy Christmas market scene and, inside, a Christmas tree are cute, but suggest this is aimed at under-fives.
What’s in it?
Inside are 24 individually wrapped Lebkuchen of different varieties and sizes – from cinnamon stars (tasty and moist) to classic gingerbread to, err, more cinnamon stars – with plain cardboard behind each door.
How useful are the products?
Not at all, but they’re absolutely delicious, made in – where else? – Nürnberg in Germany, home of the Lebkuchen. It gave me a Christmassy hit every morning: like mince pies, Lebkuchen are almost entirely associated with Christmas for me. 5/10
Good value for money?
You can buy two packs of six large Lebkuchen for £6.99 on Amazon, so that suggests not (my favourite Lebkuchen are from Aldi, though). So, even with the extra thrills of the Advent calendar itself, it feels a little overpriced.
How sustainable is the packaging?
The cardboard box is entirely recyclable, but each biscuit is wrapped in a small, plastic, albeit recyclable at a supermarket, sleeve.
Festive factor
Extremely – if you’re at primary school. Yet, my 10-year-old turned up her nose at the Lebkuchen, finding them a bit too rich and spiced, so the contents are at odds with the design. Perhaps German children just love Lebkuchen more. 9/10
Hannah Booth
***
Tools
Halfords Advent calendar, £29.99
halfords.com
First impression
It’s a box – like a chocolate box, but deeper – featuring an illustration of Santa handling some spare parts.
What’s in it?
The box says “includes 40-piece socket set”. In fact, that’s all it includes – one 40-piece 1/4in metric socket wrench set. On 1 December you open an enormous door to find a blow-moulded plastic case in which to keep your new socket set. Day 2 brings a rather smart socket ratchet handle. Thereafter, it’s mostly wrench sockets of varying sizes – 9mm, 4mm, 13mm, 5.5mm. By mid-month the sense of anticipation will have pretty much worn off.
How useful are the products?
There is nothing in this world more useful than a 40-piece socket wrench set, excepting perhaps a 50-piece socket wrench set. I have often wondered if a decent socket collection would change my life immeasurably for the better. It looks as if this is the year I find out. 10/10
What’s the quality like?
It’s a pretty solid piece of kit – heavy duty, with a lifetime guarantee – and nothing like the cheap tools you tend to get in Christmas crackers. I’m hoping this socket set will last me the rest of my days. 10/10
Good value for money?
At £29.99, it’s £5 cheaper than Halfords’ regular, non-festive 40-piece 1/4in socket set, so it would appear to be a bit of a bargain.
How sustainable is the packaging?
The box has a plastic inside and a cardboard outside, and is “from responsible sources”.
Festive factor
It looks like someone typed “Santa tinkering at his workbench” into ChatGPT. The spare parts on the table are unidentifiable. It’s not terribly festive, but if you had a DIY emergency on Christmas Day, you would certainly find its presence reassuring, not to say provident. 7/10
Tim Dowling
***
Coffee
Pact coffee Advent calendar, £34.95
pactcoffee.com
First impression
A smart, neat box with a bauble print and nicely packaged sachets of coffee stacked inside. No glitter, sparkles or sign of Santa, so this is more suitable for grownups who like the idea of a caffeinated take on Advent but don’t need it to feel overtly Christmassy.
What’s in it?
The box contains 25 single-serving sachets of “better than Fair Trade” speciality ground coffee from Pact’s network of small-scale, independent farmers. Each bag is tucked inside a numbered and nicely written information card that tells you about that particular coffee, from the country of origin to the roast, acidity, mouthfeel and tasting notes. Each card also features five blank stars for you to fill in to rate each days brew, which is a nice touch.
How useful are the products?
The coffees are delicious, interesting and varied. The 18g portions make sense for an Advent calendar, but it does mean you need the ability to brew a single portion. I used my Aeropress, which worked well; single portions don’t suit a large French press or a filter machine. And if you usually make coffee for two or more people in the morning, you can’t share this Advent calendar. But really, who doesn’t want a high-quality coffee every winter morning? 8/10
What’s the quality like?
The coffees are excellent, though best drunk black – once you add milk, you tend to lose the subtleties in flavour and aroma and they start to taste the same. Some of the brews are award-winning, and others are made in such small batches, or exclusively for Pact, that this is the only way you’ll get to try this coffee. 10/10
Good value for money?
Very – £30 for 25 different, speciality brews? That would be impossible to replicate elsewhere.
How sustainable is the packaging?
The packaging (cardboard with paper tape), the box and the tasting notes are all recyclable paper or cardboard. But the sachets of coffee themselves are made from a soft plastic that you need to take to a supermarket for recycling (code 5). That’s a bit of a pain.
Festive factor
More functional than fabulous – the bold red and green design is grownup, with a nod to the season. It looks smart enough on the kitchen counter, but it won’t scratch the Christmassy itch if you’re after twinkly lights, Santa or snowy scenes. 4/10
Ruth Lewy
***
Fragrances and candles
Sentier fragrance Advent calendar, £99
sentierfragrance.com
First impression
I love the crisp snow-white cardboard packaging and the beautifully embossed sleeve. It doesn’t feel particularly Christmassy, though, more of a luxe-lifestyle product – but I’m not mad about that.
What’s in it?
The box opens like a book to reveal 12 numbered drawers, each containing either a 60mg scented candle or a 10ml alcohol-free fragrance. I think 12 items is fair because it would be an enormous box if it were to contain 24 gifts. My favourite fragrance was Méribel because I love patchouli and sandalwood – I was even asked what perfume I was wearing by friends. The Golden River candle had a lovely musk scent.
How useful are the products?
My teenage daughter and I almost always have a candle lit in the house, and we wear perfume daily, so we’ve got a lot of use out of the products. We also found the compact fragrance bottles perfect for stashing in our bags. 10/10
What’s the quality like?
There wasn’t a scent I didn’t like. The candles fill a room with a pleasant smell while burning, and the fragrances lasted well throughout the day. 9/10
Good value for money?
Sentier says the calendar is worth £516: it’s difficult to work out if this is accurate because the brand sells its candles only in 150mg for £59 and not the 60mg that comes in the calendar. But I did calculate that six of its 10ml fragrances would cost £192, so you’re already getting more than your money’s worth.
How sustainable is the packaging?
The box, sleeve and numbered boxes are all cardboard, so easily recycled or, better yet, reused. Each box is filled with a product and shredded paper, which can also be recycled. The candles are in glass jars with plastic lids, so they can be recycled or reused. And the fragrance bottles are glass with plastic and metal lids and a plastic atomiser spray, which may be harder to recycle with doorstep collection services but can be easily refilled and reused.
Festive factor
The minimalist packaging is aesthetically pleasing but, save for the snow-white colour and a snow-capped mountain range, it’s not especially festive. That said, it would make an excellent gift for someone whose birthday falls in November. 7/10
Emily Goddard
***
Wine
Virgin Wines Advent calendar, £89.99
virginwines.co.uk
First impression
Wow, this is heavy! And too big to carry long distances without the use of a sleigh. But it covers all the basics of what an Advent calendar should be: a reindeer drawing provides festive cheer, and there’s 25 windows, including a bonus big one for Christmas Day. Does anyone feel more festive seeing a Virgin Wines logo slapped in the middle of it? I’m guessing not.
What’s in it?
Behind each window is a 187ml bottle of wine. We’re not talking Château Lafite Rothschild here, but neither has Santa stuffed it with undrinkable plonk. Beginner wine drinkers should enjoy trying a different style each day. A QR code on the back of the box directs you to more information on each wine.
How useful are the products?
The Advent calendar covers red, white, rosé and one mini fizz. Beyond a surprise (and slightly tart) Italian famoso, it’s not very adventurous, sticking to mainstream grapes such as merlot, sauvignon blanc and pinot grigio. It does the job, if wine can ever be deemed “useful”? 6/10
Good value for money?
£89.99 is a fair whack to spend on an Advent calendar, but it’s not a bad price to sample a range of wines. The wines are all drinkable enough without setting the world alight – a Macon-like Aussie chardonnay and French cabernet sauvignon stood out for me in a rather so-so crowd. But the big bottle of Black Pig reserve Australian shiraz on Christmas Day is a stunner, combining fruity accessibility with a backbone of smoke, tobacco and eucalyptus. It’s a great alternative to Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
How sustainable is the packaging?
The box is made of cardboard, so recyclable. 25 (mainly glass) bottles may seem wasteful but I reuse them to store leftover wine in the freezer for stews and risottos.
Festive factor
Providing a big bottle for the Christmas dinner table is a neat idea, but this is essentially a glorified box of miniature wines. 6/10
Tim Jonze
***
Seeds
She Grows Veg heirloom seed calendar, £65
shegrowsveg.com
First impression
The seeds come in a small, beige sack with a green Santa boot printed on the side. It’s not a calendar by any traditional use of the word, and it doesn’t offer much in the way of festive decoration. It could nestle nicely underneath a Christmas tree, though, or hang from a mantelpiece.
What’s in it?
Open the sack, and you’ll find 25 individually wrapped packages, in different kinds of tissue paper. Each contains vegetable seeds, across wild and wonderful varieties, from Himalayan pink bananas to Indian purple daikon, plus some good-quality staples, such as oxheart carrots and Rudolph purple sprouting broccoli.
How useful are the products?
Every seed in the calendar can be planted, and most of the plants eaten, so they are, by their very nature, useful. Each seed packet has a QR code that takes you to a YouTube playlist of tips curated for the specific plant, and I found that genuinely helpful. You’d need a large garden or allotment to plant them all, though, and most of the seed packets will feel a little redundant until their planting season arrives later in 2025. 9/10
Good value for money?
At £65, it’s an awful lot of money, although looking at the price of each seed packet individually, it seems a good deal. The variety appears nicely curated rather than thrown together from the cheapest seeds on the shelf. One advantage of the sowing seasons coming later in the year is that this does seem like a present that will last throughout the seasons.
How sustainable is the packaging?
The fabric sack could, in theory, be reused, and most of the packaging is recyclable, aside from a few ribbons.
Festive factor
The Advent calendar has a lovely handmade feel to it, almost as though someone has taken the time to wrap 25 presents for you, and the quality of the wrapping is excellent. But is it festive? That depends on how you’d feel to open a Christmas present of seeds. If the idea excites you, this is the calendar for you. 7/10
Monica Horridge
***
Tea
Whittard tea calendar, £25
whittard.co.uk
First impression
It’s reminiscent of a classic chocolate Advent calendar, except three times as thick to account for the teabags behind each door. The design is tasteful and fairly festive – not tacky, but not particularly exciting either.
What’s in it?
The front of the calendar opens to uncover 24 doors, behind each are two individually wrapped teabags of the same flavour: good for couples.
How useful are the products?
I have a cup of tea every day and enjoy discovering new flavours, so I definitely got a lot out of it. 9/10
What’s the quality like?
They’re pretty much all black teas in various flavours. Some were weaker than others – for instance, the vanilla chai wasn’t strong enough for me. 7/10
Good value for money?
The calendar’s RRP is £25, which is fairly affordable for a product Advent calendar. It’s a good way to try new flavours, without splashing out on a packet of teabags that you may not like and ultimately shove to the back of the cupboard. That said, many product calendars boast that their contents are worth more than the RRP, but in this case the cost per teabag (52p) is more than if you just bought a pack of them.
How sustainable is the packaging?
The calendar is made of recyclable cardboard, the teabags are wrapped in a paper envelope (also recyclable), and the bags themselves are compostable.
Festive factor
The packaging is Christmassy in a grownup way, which some may see as tasteful and others might find slightly boring. 5/10
Lily Smith
***
Beer
Woodforde’s beer calendar, £65
woodfordes.com
First impression
It’s chunky, as you’d expect, given the contents. But it’s not the most enticing object and aesthetics seem a low priority here: it’s a box of beers after all.
What’s in it?
A selection of ales, lagers, ciders and stouts from Norfolk’s Woodforde’s brewery. Each day offers up a 500ml bottle or 440ml can, accessed from above via circular flaps. Accessing them is a challenge: the holes are barely bigger than the cans and bottles inside, and they are quite sharp!
How useful are the products?
It depends on how happy you are to drink a beer every day for 24 consecutive days: mine started piling up after a while. Still, it may be a useful calendar for anyone looking to stockpile for Christmas or New Year parties. Woodforde’s is a respected Camra-friendly brewery, with an emphasis on hoppy old-school IPAs and bitters, and it’s clearly very good at what it does. There’s only occasional repetition – and the presence of ciders alongside the beers certainly adds to the sense of variety, as do the limited-edition seasonal beers like the Tinsel Toes Christmas ale. 6/10
Good value for money?
At £2.70 a can/bottle, it seems reasonable, if not spectacular, value. Pleasingly, you get a decent amount of liquid for your buck: there are none of the stubby cans favoured by many craft breweries.
How sustainable is the packaging?
Very: the calendar itself is cardboard, with no extra packaging beyond the outer shell, and the products are either cans or glass bottles. No plastic in sight.
Festive factor
A half-hearted attempt, with illustrations of fairy lights, candy canes and the like – but not the sort of thing you’d want to show off to the neighbours. I found the beers a little too on the hoppy side for my tastes, but I’d happily buy the calendarfor a real ale-enjoying family member. 7/10
Gwilym Mumford
***
Cat treats
Lily’s Kitchen cat treat calendar, £9.99
lilyskitchen.co.uk
First impression
It’s a fairly standard Advent calendar, but with cartoon pictures of cats bedecked in tinsel where a baby Jesus or Rudolph might usually be. Deep, but disappointingly light; cat treats don’t have the heft of Lindor.
What’s in it?
Behind the cardboard windows is a layer of what appears to be plastic that’s scored to make it easier to retrieve the treats behind. Once inside, you scoop a finger, somewhat awkwardly, into a cavernous hole containing a few – five-ish – cat treats rattling around inside.
How useful are the products?
If you’re a cat, very. But as much as this is my cat’s type on paper, I think these treats have been deployed as bribery to bundle him into carriers to take him to the vets on too many occasions, meaning he is deeply suspicious every time I go to open the day’s window. 6/10
What’s the quality like?
There’s no doubt that these treats are of a superior quality to most cat treats. The ingredients are tempting, almost: salmon, chicken and turkey with sweet potato and cranberries (that is until you dig deeper into their composition and read phrases like “hydrolysed chicken protein”). But there’s no getting away from that pong or the dusty texture that seems to be a feature of all cat treats. 8/10
Good value for money?
A 60g packet of Lily’s Kitchen treats is £2.50 and this 42g of treat is nearly a tenner. Call me Scrooge, but that feels like quite a high mark-up for some festive messaging that is lost on my cat, if not all cats.
How sustainable is the packaging?
The outer layer is cardboard, the film layer strikes me as a thin kind of plastic, and the inside structure holding the treats in their slots is certainly plastic. I’d struggle to know whether that can go in the recycling along with the cardboard, but I’ll probably err on the side of caution and put that in my regular rubbish bin for fear of voiding a whole bag of recycling. Sadly, none of it has a use I can think of beyond 25 December, although crafty types may beg to differ.
Festive factor
There are baubles, a robin, holly, a drum, a tree, a crown, a cracker and something of an in-joke for felines: a fish wrapped up as a gift. Plus, lots of red, green and gold – it looks festive enough to me. My cat, however, seems unmoved. I feel pretty confident he’d be just as happy with the treats without the countdown. 5/10
Ellie Bramley
***
Spicy snacks
Chili Klaus Spicy Xmas Advent calendar, £60
souschef.co.uk
First impression
The calendar is adorned with the face of its eponymous Chili Klaus, AKA Claus Pilgaard, a Danish musician turned chilli influencer with a long-running and popular YouTube channel in which Danish celebrities eat chillies.
What’s in it?
I assumed there’d be at least a couple of mini hot sauce bottles contained herein – but it’s actually variations of a few sweet snacks: spicy chocolate, spicy liquorice, spicy sweets and even more spicy liquorice. Most windows have a little “wind force” heat rating, so you can share them with those with a low tolerance – but there are a few, well-labelled, heat surprises to wake you up on a cold December morning. There’s also the “burning Santa” liquorice ball, which – and I’m really not a spico-masochist – was still on the pleasant side of heat. Proper Scoville-busters may be disappointed.
How useful are the products?
I’d assumed this would – for £60! – at least give me a few fun new spicy condiments to keep in the cupboard for the next few months, but instead it was all eat-on-the-day sweets treats. Which is fine, but £60! 2/10
What’s the quality like?
All the sweets are excellent – especially the liquorice balls, a beautifully Scandi mix of sweet chocolate and salty liquorice, with differing degrees of chilli tang on the back of your tongue. However, half the fun of eating pricey Scandi sweet treats is the fancy glass jars they come in – it’s not quite the same with one or two in little individual plastic bags. 9/10
Good value for money?
No. Give me a couple of hot sauces and maybe a little chipotle ketchup or two, and then we’ll talk.
How sustainable is the packaging?
The box is all cardboard, but each day’s treat is individually wrapped in soft plastic which is, in theory, recyclable but often burned in the UK.
Festive factor
It looks slightly more upmarket than a standard supermarket chocolate calendar and features a picture of a nice man in a Santa hat. It’s festive enough, but it’s not exactly Bjarke Ingels in terms of Danish design cool. Sorry, Klaus! 3/10
Will Dean
***
Smellies
Lush Advent calendar, £190
lush.com
First impression
This is a big beautiful box, designed to be repurposed when the festive season is behind you. The first friend to catch sight of it immediately asked if she could have it when we were finished – although my daughter complained the packaging wasn’t Christmassy enough for her taste. It’s also pretty big (about 35 x 35cm) and, like a Lush shop, gives off quite a strong sweet smell, but if you’re into Lush, you’ll be into it.
What’s in it?
A total of 24 Lush goodies, festively themed: Father Christmas bath bombs, candy cane bubble bars, “Yog Nog” body lotion, Merry Kissmas lip scrub, a Christmas lights soap, shower gels, a perfume. You get the idea …
How useful are the products?
You can have a festive wash every day in the run-up to Christmas, and the contents will probably keep you going into January. 9/10.
What’s the quality like?
There’s lots of fizzy fun inside with berry, spicy, cinnamon smells. And, of course, Lush opts for sustainable ingredients and has an environmental policy, which is reassuring. 8/10
Good value for money?
Let’s face it, this is not cheap. I tried to work out whether the individual cost of the contents added up to the hefty price tag, but some of the items seem exclusive to the Advent calendar, so it’s not easy to do like for like. My back-of-the-envelope sums suggest the whole package is slightly more than you’d pay for the contents individually – but then again, you get the lovely reusable box. Lush is also trialling an Advent calendar refill this year, so those who bought last year’s calendar can refill the box with this year’s products. Presuming they’ll offer the same next year, this may help justify the cost.
How sustainable is the packaging?
It’s all cardboard and reusable.
Festive factor
It’s very pretty even though it doesn’t feel Christmassy on the outside (and the contents make up for that). 5/10
***
Spices
Terre Exotique spice discovery calendar, £34.99
souschef.co.uk
First impression
Tasteful. Grownup. Niche. French.
What’s in it?
It’s essentially a sampler of the global flavourings sourced by spice merchant Terre Exotique over 25 years, filled with tiny plastic sachets of salts and spices. If you’re wondering what timur berry from Nepal, Breton curry or white Penja pepper from Cameroon are like, this is your fantasy tasting tray. There are QR codes for recipes behind each flap. And no chocolate.
How useful are the products?
The packets contain, at most, a scant teaspoon, so they’re not keepers, but they allow adventurous cooks to test two dozen flavours. I wanted to perk up some chicken breasts and liked the Viking salt (onion, “smoke flavour” and turmeric) and sea salt with grilled spice. The speculoos spice blend warmed up my cherry compote, but I had no use for the foie gras mix. Incredibly – by which I mean mercifully – only one sample featured the overhyped luxury seasonal treat of truffle (21 December, the shortest, darkest day of the northern year, so it was probably meant well). Christmas Eve was a chai blend, which you may consider charmingly calming or a total buzzkill. Enjoy deciding how to store 24 miniature bags of spices with a hangover on Boxing Day. 6/10
What’s the quality like?
Impossible to judge but full marks for exoticism and inspiration. It’s like a pro-level version of those quick and easy midweek meal kits. 7/10
Good value for money?
It gives you 24 samples for the cost of buying about four whole products.
How sustainable is the packaging?
The cardboard box and plastic tray can be recycled, but it feels like a lot of packaging.
Festive factor
Not festive at all. The folding, ribbon-tied box is illustrated with a red-and-white design like toile de Jouy, but the image is of a woman picking leaves rather than bucolic flirting. There is no spicy Santa. Quelle tentation! Quelle déception! 0/10
Tim Lusher
***
The best picture Advent calendars in 2024
***
Best for book lovers
Oxfam bookshelf Advent calendar, £3.99
onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk
This adorable picture calendar has a brain teaser behind each door, and all profits go to Oxfam.
***
Best for gardeners
Kew Gardens Advent calendar, £4
shop.kew.org
Kew’s offering features a festive image of the gardens with a traditional Christmas image behind each door. All profits from sales go towards funding Kew’s research, and the calendar and packaging are plastic-free.
***
Best for families
Woodmansterne traditional 3D Advent calendar, £7
ocado.com
This traditional picture calendar doubles up as a 3D model of a winter scene. It’s printed on FSC-approved board and the packaging is fully recyclable.
***
Best for kids
Emily Sutton toy shop Advent calendar, £10.99
orchardcards.co.uk
This beautiful toy shop made from cardboard is completely freestanding and has a picture by illustrator Emily Sutton behind each differently sized (and, occasionally, excitingly hard-to-find) door.
***
Best 3D Advent calendar
Roger la Borde treehouse pop and slot 3D calendar, £9.99
cotswoldtrading.com
This calendar comes as two sheets filled with numbered pieces that you punch out each day to slowly build your treehouse throughout the countdown to Christmas.
