For most people, buying an advent calendar means one thing: a daily dose of chocolate throughout December. But if that doesn’t appeal to you, there are now plenty of alternative options offering something other than a sweet treat behind each door.
In 2024 you can choose from a selection of beauty advent calendars, beer advent calendars and even a Yankee Candle one. Or, if you’re a fitness fan with plans to keep your routine up throughout the festive season, there’s the Myprotein advent calendar (£59.99, Myprotein.com).
It looks the part, with a large wardrobe-like design concealing 25 drawers of varying sizes. And, as you’d expect, this chunky box is chock-a-block with protein powders and protein bars, alongside a few more surprising inclusions.
Below, you can find all you need to know about the Myprotein advent calendar for 2024, including how to buy it, what to expect inside and whether it’s worth investing in. Just avoid scrolling down too far if you don’t want to know what awaits you in drawer number 25.
How we tested
With advent calendars, everyone knows you’re supposed to open one door, drawer or window per day in the lead-up to Christmas. But for testing purposes, I took a different approach, ripping through all 25 entries in the space of an afternoon. It took me a full hour to work through every individual door and I was pleased to see some of my favourite hero products inside. I also took a good look at the calendar’s design, the contents, quality and value for money. Could it be the perfect gift? Read on to find out.
Myprotein advent calendar
If you like protein powders and bars, you’re going to love the Myprotein advent calendar. Day one kicks off with a shaker, allowing you to enjoy the nine different protein shake sample sachets that follow over the next 25 days. There are also 11 bars inside, as well as more surprising fitness inclusions in the remaining four drawers.
As someone who’s stuck with standard chocolate-flavoured shakes for most of their lifting years, it was fun to branch out and try other types and tastes. Cinnamon danish? Go on then.
Alongside the brand’s popular impact whey protein, there’s also the chance to sample its clear whey, as well as several options from its Myvegan range; namely, the clear protein, plant protein superblend and clear protein superblend. The refreshingly sharp pineapple clear whey was an unexpected highlight, earning a spot in my next supplement haul.
Among the 11 protein bars, there’s a mixture of Myprotein’s layered bars and impact bars. Each one serves up 20g of protein and is sure to satisfy those with a sweet tooth who might be missing a more traditional chocolate advent calendar.
A couple of the flavours cropped up twice, but the variety on offer still allowed me to taste-test plenty of products I hadn’t tried before.
The headline act on day 25 (what should be Christmas day, if you stick to the rules) is the Jelly Belly buttered popcorn layered bar. Given this came about through a limited edition collaboration between Myprotein and Jelly Belly, two brands with a knack for producing sweet things, it had a surprisingly understated flavour. It couldn’t topple the simple triple chocolate option, which was my personal favourite.
Finally, there were the four less predictable inclusions. Previous Myprotein advent calendars have included a recovery ball (£6, Myprotein.com) and a peanut butter pouch, so I was intrigued to see what these could be.
What I found was a tub of 30 multivitamin gummies, a pre-workout sample, a plush pair of crew socks and Myprotein’s sugar-free toffee flavour drops, which you can use to add some extra sweetness to your protein shakes, porridge or any other recipe you see fit. All in all, a decent haul for any gym goer.
Buy now £59.99, Myprotein.com
The verdict: Myprotein advent calendar
As a keen gym-goer, I thoroughly enjoyed diving into Myprotein’s alternative advent calendar; finding a fitness-themed gift in each drawer brought me a lot more joy than a thimble full of chocolate ever could.
After opening the entire thing, the toffee flavour drops were my top pick, having since proved to be a valuable addition to my meals. However, boring as it may be, I’ll never say no to a nice pair of new socks so these were a close second favourite.
Given Myprotein’s vast product range, including everything from lifting accessories to vitamins to activewear, I was perhaps expecting slightly more variety in the inclusions – 20 of the drawers are either single-serving protein powder sachets or protein bars.
But I came around to this approach, finding it allowed me to treat the calendar like a tasting platter, trying a range of new flavours and products to see which rogue items I might throw into my basket next time I’m shopping for supplements.
I also liked the design, which felt fittingly festive and premium enough for the £59.99 price tag. The calendar proved to be reasonable value for money too, with a few quick sums telling me the RRP of the included products tots up to a little over £80.
So, if you’re sick of chocolate advent calendars, or you’re an avid exerciser wanting something to look forward to on cold December mornings, I think this Myprotein advent calendar is a fun, fitness-themed option.
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