Countdown to Christmas (or Your Favorite Holiday) With the Best Advent Calendars for All Ages

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The countdown to Christmas (or any other winter holiday) is filled with excitement and anticipation, regardless of your age. Marking that countdown with a physical, daily reminder of excitement and joy is one of the best ways to heighten the spirit of the holidays. The best advent calendars, whether they’re a traditionally religious option with Bible verses hidden behind daily windows or decidedly secular versions filled with stickers, chocolates, or even high-end beauty supplies, are a fantastic way to celebrate a little bit more each day.

The key is to find the best advent calendar for your family and friends (or even yourself) based on interests and budget. In the spirit of “you can pay anything for anything,” it’s possible to find simple, traditional advent calendars filled with verses, stickers, or coloring pages for less than $10, while keepsake calendars or those filled with high-end products could cost well over $100. It’s important to know what you’re looking for and what you’re willing to spend before you start shopping.

Here, we’ve rounded up advent calendars that run the gamut of interests and budgets, from advent calendars for book lovers and wine drinkers to advent calendars for toddlers and teens to heirloom-worthy advent keepsakes that can become part of an annual Christmas tradition. So check out the best advent calendars for everyone on your list

If you need more inspiration for holiday gift buying, consider our other top gift-giving guides: 30 Best Gifts Under $50 | 50 Best Family Gift Ideas | 67 Best Wellness Gifts for Everyone on Your List

Holiday Advent Calendar Gift Set

Beauty fanatics are sure to look forward to each day of December as they open up the doors of this L’Occitane advent calendar. It’s filled with 24 of the brand’s top products, including hand balm, body lotion, shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner—all in handy, travel-sized containers.

12-Day Advent Calendar Lip Balm Gift Set

Tweens, teens, and even ChapStick-loving adults are bound to feel a tingle of excitement as they open up each door of the ChapStick advent calendar. Each day features a different flavor, including seasonal lip balms, like candy cane and sugar cookie, as well as the brand’s classics, like strawberry, cotton candy, and green apple.

Chocolate Advent Calendar Duo

Whether you’re buying an advent calendar for your parents or your kids, if you want two identical calendars filled with sweet treats, this chocolate advent calendar duo from Harry & David is the perfect solution. These simple calendars come as a set, each filled with 24 identical present-wrapped milk chocolates hiding behind the doors.

25 Treats of Christmas Advent Gift Box

Anyone who prefers Christmas cookies to chocolates is bound to love this Treats of Christmas advent calendar gift box from Cheryl’s Cookies. It features 25 doors, each with a cookie, brownie, or pretzel cluster hiding inside. From oatmeal raisin to chocolate chip to classic frosted sugar cookies, each day will leave the recipient excited to satisfy their sweet tooth.

Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar

School-aged kids who love all things Disney are bound to get a kick out of this advent calendar that features collectible figurines from popular Disney movies like Up, The Incredibles, Frozen, and Tangled…just to name a few.

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Advent Calendar

Anyone who grew up watching the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas movie is bound to feel nostalgic opening up the windows on this Old World Christmas advent calendar. All of the 24 days features a new collectible ornament to uncover—each a character from the classic movie.

Ornament Advent Calendar

Collecting ornaments is a favorite Christmas pastime for many people, and it can be especially fun for young adults looking to start putting together their own set of Christmas decorations. This advent calendar from Old World Christmas is a great way to expand a collection with classic ornaments like snowflakes and candy canes.

DIY 8 Nights of Tea Hanukkah Calendar

Anyone who celebrates Hanukkah is bound to appreciate this 8 Nights of Tea calendar from Sips By. The set features eight days of certified kosher teas, a tea infuser, and a tasseled pom-pom rope to display the included Hanukkah illustrations.

Enamel Pin Advent Calendar

To deck out and personalize your sweaters, backpacks, and hats, there’s nothing better than a high-quality enamel pin. This award-winner advent calendar from Big League Pins features unique holiday-themed pins hidden beneath each of the 24 doors on the cute tabletop display. The pins themselves are surprises, but you might find things like holly branches, elf hats, stars, and sleighs.

Date Advent Calendar for Couples

It’s easy to get lost in the chaos of the holiday season and forget to really connect with the people you love most. This paperback booklet offers 24 sweet (and not overly taxing) ways to date your partner through the advent season. From reminders to connect over shared memories to challenges to undertake together, it’s the perfect gift to stay focused on your relationship when the holiday season takes off.

Science Advent Calendar

If you have a budding scientist in your midst, encourage their curiosity with the Thames & Kosmos Science Advent Calendar. It includes daily science experiments (and the necessary supplies) to try each day leading up to Christmas.

Advent Calendar

Any Lego-loving kid (or to be fair, even Lego-loving adults) will be delighted by this seasonal Lego-filled advent calendar. The box includes a total of 231 Lego pieces featuring different Lego Friends characters and mini-build toys, like Christmas trees, toy trains, fireplaces, and more.

Chocolate Pop-Up Advent Calendar

If you know someone who practically lives for seasonal boxes of chocolates, loving the excitement of discovering new flavors, the Neuhaus Chocolate Pop-Up Advent Calendar is the perfect surprise. The box itself can be used as a cute, seasonal display, and inside each numbered window is a different type of gourmet chocolate.

Santa Advent Calendar

If you’re looking for a keepsake advent calendar to use every year, filling it with your own special treats, gifts, or cards, the Mon Ami Santa calendar is a great option. This hangable Santa features 24 numbered pockets you can fill with surprises of your choice, or you can use the included stuffed candy cane to simply mark the days leading up to Christmas.

Rubber Duck 24 Days of Countdown Christmas Advent Calendar

Bathtime can be a love-hate experience for parents with toddlers, but filling the bath with fun toys is an easy way to make it go more smoothly. This cute advent calendar features 24 different (mostly) Christmas-themed rubber duckies to surprise your little one with each day.

Brain Teaser Puzzles Advent Calendar

Keep your friends and loved ones sharp and entertained this holiday season with an advent calendar filled to the brim with brain teasers and puzzles. Each window features a hands-on toy to challenge the mind—a good way to break up screen time or keep kids busy during long, holiday road trips or layovers at the airport.

Wooden Christmas Advent Calendar

This beautiful wooden advent calendar features a traditional nativity scene lit up with an LED light. The tabletop display includes 24 drawers large enough to hold little treats of your choice or rolled up verses focused on the “reason for the season.”

Nativity Sticker Advent Calendar for Kids

Traditional advent calendars aren’t fancy or filled with high-end products, they’re typically simple calendars filled with verses or inspirational quotes. For anyone on a budget, it’s important to remember that keeping advent calendars simple is still a fun way to mark the holiday. These advent calendar sticker sheets let kids add new stickers to the calendar each day to create a traditional nativity scene.

Advent Calendar K-Cup Variety Pack

Coffee lovers (particularly those who rely on their Keurig), will be enamored with this fun K-Cup pod advent calendar. Each day features a new, tasty coffee blend to surprise your senses and help you wake up to face whatever the holiday season may bring.

Personalized Christmas Tree Advent Calendar Alcohol Holder

For those who prefer to wind down each night with a beer or soda, this Christmas tree-shaped wooden keepsake advent calendar can be filled with a variety of the recipient’s favorite mini beverages. Granted, they won’t be cold, so you may want to pull the daily bottle from the holder in the morning and put it in the fridge to be ready to enjoy at night.

12 Bottle Wine Advent Calendar

Following the 12-days of Christmas model, this 12-bottle wine advent calendar from QVC’s Vintage Wine Estates features a broad array of whites, reds, and rosés, all in half-sized bottles perfect for a couple to enjoy a nightly glass together.

12 Days of Scent Advent Calendar

Help your best friend enjoy a scent-sational holiday season with this 12-days of Christmas advent calendar featuring mini holiday-scented candles. Each individual candle burns for up to six hours, setting the scene each night for a light, holiday mood.

12 Days of Nails Christmas Calendar

For the person who can’t go a week without changing up their nails, support their manicure habit with the Le Mini Macaron 12 Days of Nails advent calendar. The set includes six colored gel polishes, a top coat, an LED light, and other home manicure essentials.

Japan Wonderland Advent Calendar

Any foodie who loves expanding their culinary palate to try new, gourmet snacks will appreciate the Bokksu Japan Wonderland Advent Calendar. This high-end option includes 20 unique snacks, four collectible hoiday items, and a cultural guide that describes the treats along with their history and cultural stories.

The Book Lover’s Advent Calendar

Curling up in front of the fireplace with a good book is the perfect holiday pastime for quiet nights. For the book lover in your life, give this advent calendar filled with “bookish gifts for readers.” From bookmarks to a winter bingo reading card, each day is sure to delight the recipient.

The Jesse Tree A Crochet Advent Calendar

For the craft-loving kid or adult, this Jesse Tree crochet advent calendar is the ideal pick. Each day includes a pattern for a different crocheted ornament to display on a “Jesse tree” depicting different Bible stories leading up to the birth of Jesus. You’ll need to supplement this book with the yarn and crochet supplies to make the ornaments (if your recipient doesn’t already have them). Each ornament should take about an hour or two for experienced crafters to make.

The Advent Coloring Calendar

Everyone knows the holiday season can be filled with stress and anxiety. If you or a loved one could use a way to help alleviate the Christmas season jitters, this advent calendar coloring book just might be the perfect solution. Each numbered page offers a beautiful design that you can fill with crayons, markers, or colored pencils as you let the day’s distractions fade away.

Christmas Memory Advent Calendar Set

There are some Christmas keepsake advent calendars that are heirloom-worthy, deserving to be passed down from one generation to the next. This Villeroy & Boch Christmas Memory Advent Calendar set is one such item. It includes a beautifully-detailed porcelain Christmas tree and 24 individual porcelain ornaments that hidden in the accompanying wooden 24-drawer advent calendar. It may be a splurge to purchase this item, but you and your family are sure to create many Christmas memories every year as you put it to use.

Box of Wonders 25-Piece Holiday Advent Calendar

Body Shop fans rejoice: There’s an advent calendar filled to the brim with the brand’s best body and beauty products. From face masks and body scrubs to a muslin cloth and headband, it’s the type of gift that keeps on giving until well after the holiday season has passed.

Warming Joy Tea Advent Calendar

Tea drinkers will delight with this cute holiday advent calendar from Tea Forte. Each numbered window features an assorted variety of individual loose leaf tea bags. The recipient will love trying interesting blends like caramel nougat, cherry marzipan, and raspberry ganache, among many other traditional and non-traditional flavors.

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