These Advent Calendars Make Great Holiday Gifts

Giving gifts is fun. Giving gifts that continue to produce more gifts night after night is even better. You may buy advent calendars for your family to enjoy, and any of these are fun to keep for yourself, but they also make great gifts for others on your holiday shopping list. From coffee drinkers to beauty lovers and kids, these advent calendars are guaranteed a few nights of fun surprises — somewhere between 12 and 25.

_{Prices are accurate as of November 6, 2024. Subject to change.}

Table of Contents

Food and Drink
Home Goods
Beauty
Kids

Food and Drink

Fly By Jing Winter in Sichuan 12-Day Advent Calendar

Fly By Jing’s spices and sauces are coveted, especially its Sichuan Chili Crisp. Here, your giftee gets 12 bottles to experiment in their kitchen with spicy, Chinese flavors, great for topping dumplings or noodles, as well as chicken dishes and even desserts.

Dandelion Chocolate 25-Day Advent Calendar

Chocolate lovers will appreciate 25 days of delectable treats from North American chocolatiers. The large box itself and the tiny ornament boxes that hold each chocolate are beautiful, illustrated by Serbian artist Srdjan Vidakovic. I like that you can get a box for one preson or two people to share — with two chocolates per ornament box — so couples can share a treat every day.

In Good Taste The Most Wonderful Wines of the Year 24-Day Advent Calendar

I love wine, but beyond knowing I generally like drier white wines and rosés, I never know what to get. If your giftee is like me, or just likes to try new drinks, this is a perfect way to find new favorite flavors and end a day on a high note. Each box has 14 reds, seven whites, and three rosés.

David’s Teas 24-Day Advent Calendar

On cold December nights, I love snuggling up on the couch or relaxing in a bubble bath with a warm cup of tea. David’s Tea advent calendar offers 24 days of loose teas from classic Earl Grey to gin and tonic tea.

Onyx Coffee Lab 24-Day Advent Calendar

If your giftee is more of a coffee person, the Onyx Coffee advent calendar is always a favorite. They’ll get 24 days of new flavors to try. Each box has 2 ounces of whole beans meant for pour-overs.

Home Goods

Voluspa Candles 12-Day Advent Calendar

Candle lovers get a chance to try 12 scents, like French cade lavender and Baltic amber, in pretty 2.5-ounce glass jars that can be reused if your giftee is so inclined. It also includes a gold-plated wick trimmer.

Diptyque Paris Scented Treasures 25-Day Advent Calendar

The price on this is jarring, but if you were planning on spoiling a loved one, this is an option to consider for the ones who love scents. The Voluspa calendar covers candles, and the Scentbird calendar below takes care of sampling perfumes, but the Scented Treasures box goes a step further. It combines those two categories and adds room sprays, soaps, body wash, and hand and body lotion.

Papier 24 Doors of Desk Delights 24-Day Advent Calendar

Papier makes beautiful planners and office supplies. The brand’s advent calendar makes a great gift for your most stylish coworker or your work-from-home bestie who would benefit from notebooks, stamps, pens, and even a mini puzzle and photo frame.

The Book Lover’s 25-Day Advent Calendar

You favorite bookish friend probably doesn’t need 25 more books to add to their current TBR list (though I’m sure they’d love it). Instead, you can gift them 25 bookish accessories like bookmarks, magnets, and ornaments.

Galison Home for the Holidays 500 Piece Puzzle 12-Day Advent Calendar

Jigsaw puzzles are a great hobby to pick up that don’t involve screens or chargers. This advent calendar includes 12 mini puzzles that eventually come together at the end to form one, 500-piece puzzle. It would make a great gift for solo giftees or those with families to do together.

Beauty

Scentbird 12-Day Advent Calendar

Finding a signature scent is no easy feat and trying to buy a perfume for someone else can be disastorous. Here, your giftee gets to try 12 scents from brands like Versace and Prada so they can explore scent profiles from sweet and flowery to spicy and musky. Samples are small at just 1.5-milliliters each, but this is more about gifting the opportunity to find a scent they want to use over and over again, instead of wasting a bunch they don’t.

Chapstick and Burt’s Bees 12-Day Advent Calendars

My husband uses Chapstick seemingly all day every day, so I knew I had to get this for him as soon as I saw it. You might also know someone who’s constantly moisturizing their lips or have a child who wants beauty items but isn’t quite old enough for full-blown makeup. Both Chapstick brand and Burt’s Bees have advent calendars featuring 12 flavors like strawberry or mint.

Kitsch 12-Day Advent Calendar

We love Kitsch and this advent calendar features 12 of its best-selling items, from an ice roller to a heatless curls set to its sturdy hair clips. Any fan of self-care and beauty will enjoy this gift.

Sephora Collection 24-Day Advent Calendar

Sephora is the mecca of high-end beauty products, but the retailer’s in-house brand outputs similarly nice products for less. Your giftee can try mascara, sheet masks, nail polish, and even bubble bath.

Charlotte Tilbury Treasure Chest of Love 12-Day Advent Calendar

Speaking of high-end beauty, Charlotte Tilbury is the standard of luxury for a lot of makeup lovers. This set gives newbies to the brand a chance to sample the best-sellers, like the Pillow Talk lip liner and Magic Cream. For those who already know they love it, it gives them a chance to re-up their supply.

Kids

Mudpuppy Ho Ho Howl! Countdown Puzzle 12-Day Advent Calendar

The puzzle advent calendar above also works for kids, but this Mudpuppy one is meant with little ones in mind. Each of the 12 days offers 48-piece puzzles that kids can solve in a sitting. The holiday animal scenes are cute too.

National Geographic Gemstone 24-Day Advent Calendar

National Geographic makes great gifts and toys meant for kids to have fun while also engaging their brains. This advent calendar includes 24 days of gemstones, with the final day requiring a fun excavation. It also has five jewelry settings so kids can turn some of the stones into accessories.