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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Lifestyle
Abha Shah

Best alternative advent calendars of 2024: Stationery, cocktails, coffee and pinball machines

While the big day is still weeks off, now is the time to plan ahead and spread the cost of Christmas by securing things like advent calendars as soon as they go on sale.

We’re not just talking about the chocolate-packed versions we coveted in childhood: today’s advents aren’t just for kids

There are more options than could ever fit in St. Nick’s sack here, from bountiful boxes of beauty to cardboard carriers stuffed with booze. They follow the same concept as traditional advents, only with daily treats for an 18+ audience tucked away inside. As for the giddy excitement of clawing open a fresh window every December day until Christmas, that remains the same, no matter how many times you’ve been around the sun.

Advent calendars were once a nice pre-Christmas extra, but as the years roll on and incredible new ideas launch, they have become a must-have present to enjoy until December 25 dawns.  

There are options to answer to every taste, every budget and every fancy, plus a few curveballs that will make you, or the person you’re buying one for, beam with joy. Pre-orders start as early as August and the most coveted advents can sell out weeks before December 1, so if you see something that would make your Christmas, don’t mull it over for too long. 

To show you what’s out there for Christmas 2024, we’ve collected the weirdest, wildest and downright wonderful advent calendars that promise to make the season shine brighter than before.

Shop now

The Netflix Advent Calendar

Christmas: a time to eat, drink and sink into boxset marathons. This year, Netflix is making being sofa-bound all the more appealing with its advent calendar, full of 24 exclusive collectables from the streaming service's hit shows. Inside the book-style design, you'll find memorabilia from Bridgerton, Squid Game, Stranger Things, The Witcher and more. One for fans of the small screen.

Buy now £94.00, Menkind

Liberty Men's Advent Calendar 2024

There’s no advent calendar quite as opulent and fabulously British as the big cardboard Liberty Tudor house. Filled to the brim with a luxurious selection of male grooming essentials, highlights from this highly pampering set include a full-size Eucalyptus deodorant from Malin & Goetz, full-size body lotion from Aqua di Parma and a variety of cult-favourite travel-size colognes.

Buy now £245.00, Liberty

MOTH Cocktail Advent Calendar

We drank them all summer, and now they’re here to make our Christmas merry too. MOTH’s cocktail advent calendar is packed with old favourites and new tipples, plus the hidden prize of 10 golden cans. Find one in your selection of 24 and you’ll win an entire year’s supply of MOTH. Now that’s something to raise a glass to.

Buy now £80.00, MOTH

The White Company Beauty Advent Calendar

Gear up for a cosy Christmas by counting down to the big day with The White Company. The bedding and beauty destination has some of the most sumptuous scents for the winter season (including the named Winter collection) and you can discover them through its advent calendar. Within are 25 enticing fragranced products, including the Winter Signature Candle, Fir Tree Mini Reed Diffuser and Seychelles Bath & Shower Gel.

Buy now £195.00, The White Company

Jo Loves Advent Calendar

Release date: Available now

From the Jo Malone founder comes the always eagerly anticipated Jo Loves advent that is one of the most expansive fragrance offerings on the market. The limited-edition calendar is designed like a house of cards and can work as a makeshift Christmas tree if you’re looking to forgo the heavy pine clear up. It comes in the brand’s seasonally-apt hues of red with gold detailing.

There are six full-sized products in the 25-strong offering including the Orange Butterflies Fragrance Paintbrush and Seville Orange & Neroli Hand Sanitiser & Hand Lotion. You’ll also find four candles, a fragrance voucher and two new scents; Golden Garden Fragrance and Smoked Plum & Leather Fragrance.

Buy now £375.00, Jo Loves

John Lewis Fizz Advent Calendar, 24 x 20cl

How fitting to enjoy a sparkling serve in the glittering season. From John Lewis comes this calendar fizzing with Prosecco and sparkling wines with 24 mini bottles (each measures 20cl) to crack open every night until December 25.

Amongst the bubbles you'll find a bottle of Champagne to enjoy too. Hic-hic hooray!

Buy now £145.00, John Lewis

Virgin Wines Beer Advent Calendar 2024

It's not just wine on offer over at Virgin, oh no ho, ho, ho. The brand has spun out to wet the whistle of beer appreciators with a polar bear-themed box packed tightly with 24 full-size cans. Featuring options from some of the world's most innovative and interesting breweries, everything from ales, lagers and IPA are in the mix. 

Pre-orders are now open. Spend £10 to reserve and pay the balance plus delivery when the calendars are dispatched in November.

Buy now £79.99, Virgin Wines

Sockshop 25 pair Christmas Advent Calendar - men

Socks are always a useful gift, and festive designs add to the joy of the season.

Sockshop’s 25-day calendar comes in three designs for men (pictured), women and couples to enjoy together. Secured with a festive ribbon, the box barely needs any additional gift-wrapping but if you decide to go the extra mile, the square shape will make it all the easier.

Plus, 10 per cent of advent calendar sales will go to SOCKSHOP’s partner charity Emmaus, meaning you can spread goodwill through your purchase.

Buy now £59.99, Sockshop

Star Wars Original Stormtrooper Beer Advent Calendar

If your guy is a beer-loving Star Wars geek, use Christmas as a chance to unite two of his obsessions in one advent calendar. This themed box comes packed with cans of Star Wars-themed IPA beer and ale as well as snacks and a Stormtrooper glass.

Buy now £49.00, Menkind

Abode Home & Gifts Luxury Whisky Advent Calendar

Want to knock their socks clean off? This luxury calendar is bound to leave them awestruck, if not first for the decorated wooden cabinet then surely with the 25 bottles of 50ml drams housed within. The selection comprises single malts, single grains and blended expressions to cover the breadth of the spirit and help you detect the differences between each one.

Buy now £249.95, NOTHS

Craft Gin Club Advent Calendar 2024

Craft Gin Club is back to make this festive season your merriest yet with its stupendously popular advent calendar featuring a jolly line-up of 25 mini gins, each measuring a better-than-average 50ml. 

Picked from master distilleries across the UK and beyond, expect classic London Dry and flavoured varieties alongside recipe and garnish ideas.

One of the most popular gin calendars around, this compilation sells out every year. The good news? Pre-orders are open now, so there’s not a moment to lose.

Buy now £89.99, Craft Gin Club

Aman Essentials' Advent Calendar

Coveted hotel group Aman has released its own advent calendar this year, so if you can't get to one of their 35 sublime properties around the world, you can at least make the run-up to Christmas feel like you're there.

The Japanese notion of meaningful gifting inspires the 25-door calendar; indeed, each gift offers the recipient a moment of calm in what can be a chaotic period. Contents include gold eye masks, skincare, pulse point remedies and more.

Self-care on a luxe scale.

Buy now £559.00, Aman

MELT Chocolate Notting Hill Advent Calendar 220g

The sweetest advent championing one of London's most iconic areas, Melt London pays homage to Notting Hill with one of its 2024 advent calendars.

The design’s outer leaves swing open to reveal 24 colourful house-shaped bags, each containing a confection of either gourmet or organic chocolate, or bite-sized Pate de Fruit.

The perfect calendar for big London kids.

Buy now £90.00, Harvey Nichols

Haynes Electronic Games Advent Calendar

Perfect for the young (and young at heart), this calendar reveals components every December day until the 25th until you have everything you need to build 24 different games like Code Breaker, Whack a Mole and Wire Maze. Requires three AA batteries, not included.

Buy now £25.00, MenKind

Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar 2024 Building Toy Set

No matter your age, Lego never gets old. There’s something strangely Christmassy about Star Wars, and this miniature-filled Lego advent calendar is sure to delight adults and children alike during the festive countdown.

Buy now £24.00, Argos

The Naked Marshmallow Company Gourmet Marshmallow Advent Calendar

We know it’s the season for chestnuts roasting on an open fire, but they’re not to everyone’s taste. Know what everyone loves though? A gooey-in-the-middle toasted marshmallow.

Indulge with a gourmet marshmallow advent calendar that will dispense 25 sweet bites every day until December 25. Flavours include candy floss, s’mores, cinnamon churro and curiously, fizzy watermelon and bubblegum. Whether you wish to toast first thing in the morning or as a nightly dessert is up to you.

Buy now £20.00, Prezzybox

Artisan Coffee Co. Coffee Advent Calendar 2024-6

Bring Christmas cheer to December mornings with Artisan Coffee Co.’s advent calendar, which comes in three versions: bag (£28.99), pod (£26.99) and ultimate pod which has 48 portions as opposed to the formers 24. 

Filled with coffee bags, this calendar has 24 varieties to unfold and enjoy throughout the festive season.

Buy now £28.99, Amazon

Papier Advent Calendar 2024

After the success of Papier's 2023 advent calendar, the premium stationery brand is back with a fresh rendition for the upcoming season. This 24 selection of desk delights comes beautifully wrapped in a bureau-style case with surprises including to-do notes, pens and pencils, erasers, thank you notes, a mini week calendar, washi tape and more, all in Papier's playful contemporary aesthetic.

Buy now £140.00, Papier

Grind Advent Calendar

Rounding off a stellar year for the coffee company (this year saw collaborations with Hello Kitty and Lazy Oaf), London coffee house Grind has unveiled its 2024 advent calendar.

The book format opens to reveal an illustration of a house in full festive flow with numbered windows housing 25 home-compostable, Nespresso-compatible pods. There are more blends than you can shake a whisk at, from the signature House to Caramel and Extra Dark. 

It's available to purchase now with free delivery.

Buy now £28.00, Grind

Volcano Coffee Works Christmas Coffee & Chocolate Calendar

Treat yourself to some of the best small luxuries: coffee and chocolate. Volcano's advent calendar has both in generous portions with beans coming from across the globe. They're paired with delicious bars of Love Cocoa in perfectly matched flavours - think salted caramel, honeycomb milk chocolate and sea salt dark chocolate.

Buy now £65.00, Volcano Coffee Works

Contact Coffee Co 2024 Ground Coffee Advent Calendar

Father Christmas may be mostly magic, but have you ever wondered how he got those chimney-scaling skills? Contact Coffee Co suggests the present-giver may have had a past in the Royal Marines going by its advent calendar packaging. 

Tear past soldier Santa to find 25 sachets of expertly grounded coffee inside hailing from some of the world's best coffee-growing regions, ready to supercharge the days leading up to Christmas.

Buy now £30.00, Contact Coffee Co

Whittard of Chelsea Loose Leaf Tea Advent Calendar For Two

Tea-imbibing couples will savour the chance to get stuck into this luxury tea advent calendar from Whittard of Chelsea. Fold back the box's upper leaves to find 24 numbered draws holding loose-leaf tea selections, each one offering a moment of calm and quiet in the midst of festive plan-making.

Buy now £80.00, Whittard of Chelsea

She Grows Veg advent calendar

Green-fingered friends will adore this wholesome calendar from She Grows Veg. It parcels up 25 heirloom seeds in jolly striped numbered bags to discover every day until the big one. Helpfully, each packet bears a QR code on the reverse that links to sow and grow how-tos, so you’ll know how to get the best from your bounty. 

A sweet idea that supports a small business.

Buy now £65.00, She Grows Veg

Pure Pet Feliz Navidog Advent Calendar

For an end-of-year treat your four-legged friend will love, an advent calendar stuffed with dog treats is bound to get tails wagging. Pure Pet has launched a version stuffed with 24 turkey and cranberry bites while the box can be personalised with their name too.

Buy now £4.99, Pure Pet

Fortnum's Dog Advent Calendar

Advent calendars are for all the family - pets included. Fortnums is giving man’s best friend the finest pre-Crimbo treat with this specially designed wooden calendar, filled with suitably luxe treats.

Buy now £120.00, Fortnum's

Pooch & Mutt Cheese Fondue Dog Advent Calendar

For owners who pay their doggos cheese tax all year round, Christmas is the time you can really push the boat out. This calendar, ideal for all breeds and puppies over 12 weeks old, is packed with 24 grain-free treats that will keep their tails wagging merrily until January.

Buy now £9.99, Pooch & Mutt

Pinball Machine Advent Calendar

Whether you want to spend quality time with your kids or you like the idea of a slow build to enjoy on Christmas Day this pinball machine-making kit hits all the right notes. Every day you’ll find a new set of instructions until you’re left with a mini pinball machine to play on the 25th. The kit is easy to assemble and uses no glue in its making, so can easily be broken down and recycled when the time comes. Glass marbles are included in the set so you can start playing as soon as the machine is made.

For ages 8+.

Buy now £24.99, Amazon

Maison Ladurée 2024 Advent Calendar

If you've ever wondered what's at the other end of the pendulum from cheap and cheerful chocolate advents, say hello to Ladurée's festive offering. The renowned French confectioner has put together this delightful luxury option, carefully filled with gourmet delicacies for which it is famed, from chocolate pearls, pots of jam and honey and chocolate-coated marrons glacés. From start to finish, it's a thing of real beauty.

Start saving now, it will be available from November 1.

Buy now £95.00, Ladurée

Daylesford Organic Farmshop Christmas Advent Calendar

Eat, drink and be merry is December's mission and achieve it you shall thanks to Daylesford Organic's new advent calendar. 

Festooned in charming illustrations by Italian artist Nina Fuga, the 25-door calendar is packed with treats plucked straight from farm shop shelves. Expect luxe versions of larder essentials, sweet homewares pieces and bits from the bath and body ranges for a moment of well-earned self-indulgence. 

Buy now £250.00, Daylesford Organic

Caviar House Caviar Advent Calendar

We've had diamonds, we've had luxury fragrances; surely it was only a matter of time before caviar became the next big advent calendar filling.

Mayfair's Caviar House has done the honours with 24 randomly selected 10g tins of the top-tier bite. You'll need to store your loot in the fridge and polish it all off within 60 days so best to stock up on creme fraiche and blinis while you're at it.

Buy now £395.00, Caviar House

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