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‘Tis the season to shop Advent calendars. It may only be September, but your favorite brands are already gearing up for the holiday season with the hottest Advent calendars of 2024. Best-sellers—like the Bonne Maman jam calendar and the LEGO Star Wars one—tend to sell out quickly, so if you spot a calendar your loved one would enjoy, snag it before it disappears.
We sifted through all the Advent calendars at Amazon, Walmart, Uncommon Goods, and all the other dark, dusty corners of the internet to find the best ones we think you’ll love this year. We found our favorites filled with food, bustling with beauty trinkets, catered to kids, perfect for pets, and filled with fun activities.
These are the top 50 Advent calendars of 2024, according to our editors.
The best Advent calendars of 2024
The best food and drink Advent calendars
We love the Bonne Maman Advent calendar, which is packed with 24 jams and spreads perfect for sharing (or not, honestly). Each 1-ounce jar is individually packed, so you can easily toss them in stockings that need to be stuffed this season. The packaging on the calendar depicts a classic Christmas scene, meaning your Advent calendar can double as a festive centerpiece.
Fly By Jing makes delicious Chinese-inspired spreads that you can try in this 12-day Advent calendar. Enjoy a dozen unique chili sauces and chili crisp spreads that are prefect for adding to pasta, stir fry, eggs, and even vegetables. The calendar features four secret sauces that you can’t shop anywhere else, so if you’er a fan of exclusive spreads, this is the calendar to try.
You can pre-order the famed Harry & David Deluxe Advent Calendar now and it’ll start shipping on October 14. It’s packed with 25 drawers of dark, milk, and white chocolate, including truffles, mints, and candy canes. This calendar is ideal for the chocolate-lover on your list that just wants to indulge each day with decadent treats.
Forget candy—opt for an Advent calendar filled with protein-packed nuts like smoked almonds, butter cinnamon pecans, salted corn nuts, and coconut curry peanuts. This 12-day Advent calendar is perfect for the savory-treat lover, allowing them to snack on a different variety of nuts for nearly two weeks before Christmas.
If the thought of 24 decadent caramels makes your mouth water, get your pocketbook ready, because the McCrea’s Candies 2024 Advent calendar has dropped. It features 12 different flavors of its signature caramel, and while it’s a little pricey, one reviewer calls it a «deeply satisfying splurge on exquisite caramels.»
This adorable candy-filled Advent calendar from Sugarfina looks like a festive little gingerbread house, but behind each window you’ll find four pieces of Christmas candy in varying flavors. You could unwrap peppermint bark cookies, snowman gummies, gingerbread cuties, or even confetti caramels. There are 24 days in this calendar, totaling a delicious 96 pieces of candy.
Not into sweets? Go for a savory Advent calendar—like Uncommon Goods’ 12 Days of Hot Sauce. This one isn’t for the faint of heart (and by that, we mean those who are no stranger to heartburn). The sauces range from sweet to painful and feature names like «Son of Zombie» and «Garlic Reaper.»
If you’ve got a Keurig and a taste for holiday flavors, snag the Keurig Advent Calendar, which is already in low stock. It comes with 24 pods from top brands like McCafe, Peet’s Coffee, Kahlua, and Swiss Miss. If you don’t have a pod coffee maker but love festive coffee, keep an eye on BeanBox, which will drop its Merry Mornings Coffee Club soon.
Those chilly winter nights call for warm cocktails, and if your bar cart is ready for the holiday season, load up on mixers and bitters with this 8 Days of Spirit calendar from Williams Sonoma and Woodford Reserve. It features four bitters (including spiced cherry and orange) and four spirits (including spiced apple and whiskey sour).
Pre-order Williams Sonoma’s delicious peppermint bark Advent calendar, which will ship once the weather starts to cool down. This calendar features 24 delicious days of bark (but good luck stretching it out that long). Shapes include nutcrackers, snowmen, trees, and Santas.
If you’re shopping for a chocolate Advent calendar this year, you can’t do better than Godiva. Treats are downright decadent, filled with salted caramel, almond crunch, dark chocolate ganache, praline, and so much more. This box comes with 24 milk, white, and chocolates that you can pretend to eat across 24 days.
Bokksu is one of the best brands you’ve never heard of, so if you want to try them out, the time is now. Bokksu curates and ships tasty treats from Japan, including sweets, snacks, teas, and sauces. The brand is offering two Advent calendars this year: the 24 Days of Japanese Delights Advent Calendar, which is filled with small snacks and collectables; and the 12 Days of Japanese Wonders Advent Calendar, which costs a whopping $450, but offers «a daily journey through the premium wonders of Japan,» including artisanal chocolates and hand-crafted ceramics.
The best beauty Advent calendars
Your body will thank you for picking up this 24-day beauty Advent calendar from L’Occitane, which comes packed with hand creams, shower scrubs, lotions, oils, and more from the bestselling brand. Nordstrom notes it’s a particularly good buy for those with dry or sensitive skin, as the included rubs can help hydrate and soothe irritated skin. You can shop the brand’s premium Advent calendar on Amazon if you’d like more variety.
La Mer offers one of the most expensive hand creams we have ever tried, but there’s a reason it retails for $100—it works, and it leaves your hands feeling luxuriously soft and hydrated. Now take that feeling and multiply it by 12 and you’ve got the La Mer Advent Calendar. The $100 moisturizing cream is included in one of the brand’s 12 offerings, along with an array of other La Mer fan favorites, like the Eye Concentrate, the Regenerating Serum, and Crème de la Mer,
Stock up your beauty drawer for the next year with The Body Shop’s 24-day Advent calendar, which comes with soaps, scrubs, loofas, face masks, lotions, and everything else you need for an at-home spa day. This one makes a perfect gift for the beauty-obsessed on your list, or you can re-wrap a handful of the items into a few different gift bags for a few different people you need to shop for this season.
Shower steamers are the new bath bombs. Unwrap your steamer, place it on the shower floor, and enjoy the fresh seasonal scents from each individually wrapped treat. Each shower steamer could last up to three showers, so you’ll get a lot of treatments from this fully packed calendar. Some of the seasonal scents include peppermint, rosemary and fir, and orange and clove.
Sometimes the best Advent calendars are filled with those everyday essentials you find yourself re-stocking every few months. The ChapStick Advent calendar is cheap and fun—it comes with an adorable assortment of 12 holiday flavors, including graham cracker, sugar cookie, and vanilla mint. It costs less than $20 and makes a great gift for White Elephant parties.
This Wet n Wild Advent calendar comes with 12 beauty essentials that will help stock (or re-stock) the drawers of any makeup-wearing giftee. It comes with highlighter, finishing powder, eyeshadow, mascara—you name it. This one would be a great gift for teen girls, or younger makeup wearers who are just starting to build up their collections.
Charlotte Tilbury’s yearly Advent calendar is always a gorgeous production. This year’s is a heart-shaped beauty treasure chest that comes with 12 of the brand’s top products, including setting spray, lipstick, magic serum, and lip oil. You can only shop it at Charlotte Tilbury and it’ll likely sell out quickly, so if you’re a big fan of the brand, we recommend adding this one to your cart ASAP.
Kiehl’s is one of the best brands out there, so if you’e on the hunt for a beauty Advent calendar loaded with high-quality favorites, this is the box for you. Included treatments target puffiness, dark spots, wrinkles, pores, and dry skin. This set is an online exclusive from Ulta, and while it won’t open like a traditional Advent calendar, you can still unwrap each item individually from the tissue-shaped box.
Cult Beauty’s highly anticipated Advent calendar has already sold out in one variety. The 2024 Cult Beauty Advent calendar features a whopping 40 products spread across 25 days, including both full- and mini-sized products. The brand curates finds from the best beauty products on the market, including Paula’s Choice, Elemis, MZSkin, and Medik8.
The best Advent calendars for kids
You can’t go wrong with Bluey. This 2024 Advent calendar allows the little one on your list to open up a new Bluey toy for 24 days in a row, which range from character figurines to tiny accessories that all come together in a sweet Christmas scene. Bluey is the hot show this season, so pick this one up quickly if you want to snag it before it sells out.
Once the LEGO Star Wars Advent calendar drops each year, you’re counting the days until it sells out. It’s currently still in stock at Amazon and Walmart, so you don’t need to panic about missing your window just yet. It comes with 18 ships and six characters, including Luke, Leia, and Ahsoka. Unlike previous years, this calendar comes with pieces from all 25 years of Star Wars lore, from the AT-AT featured in «Empire Strikes Back» to the 501st Clone Trooper from «The Clone Wars.»
KiwiCo is my favorite place to shop STEM toys for kids. They’re offering a range of Advent calendars for 2024, but we’re loving the Santa’s Railroad version. It comes with 24 days of building fun, including parts to make a fully functional train, railroad, and buildings. It’s an activity any child would have fun completing in the days leading up to Christmas (or one they could save up to build with their favorite grandparent on Christmas Eve).
Why pick one toy when you could let kids make their own toys over and over again? Play-Doh remains one of the best toys for kids, and this 24-day Advent calendar allows them to open up a new toy every day. It comes with 24 packs of Play-Doh and 29 molds to help your giftee set up their own snowman winter wonderland scene.
The Funko Pop! Star Wars Advent calendar remains one of the most popular gifting choices every year. It features 24 days of fun, with each door revealing a small Star Wars figuring dressed in their finest holiday apparel. It’s a must-buy for Star Wars lovers on your list.
This Polly Pocket Advent calendar turns into a dollhouse when all its doors are opened. Each day your giftee can reveal a new toy to sit in the house, but once they’re all done, they can rip the cardboard off to place their new toys in the plastic dollhouse.
This Disney princess Advent calendar features some of the best heroines for your little one to play with. They can unwrap Ariel, Tiana, Moana, Elsa, and Mirabel—as well as a slew of other LEGO toys, like the Cinderella castle and Sven from «Frozen.»
This adorable Little People Advent calendar has 24 days of exciting toys for your little one to play with. Part of the calendar opens to reveal a snowy Christmas scene that your child can decorate with toys from the calendar, like a wreath and stockings. It also comes with six figurines they can add to their toy collection.
If there’s a budding scientist on your Christmas list, they’ll love this experiment-a-day Advent calendar, which features 24 days’ worth of science experiments your giftee can enjoy. This one is best for kids over 8 years old and makes for a great family bonding experience.
Help your giftee catch ‘em all with this Funko Pop! Pokemon Advent calendar, which comes with 24 figurines. They change every year, so if your little one is an avid collector, they’ll love the variety. If you’re looking for a really fun activity, one Amazon shopper made their own Pokeball cupcakes with a figurine inside.
The best Advent calendars for pet owners
Who says Advent calendars are for humans only? This adorable offering from Walmart features 12 cat toys for your furry one, including tinsel balls, string toys, and catnip-filled balls. It’s tall and slim, so it makes a great stocking stuffer for your cat if they’ve got one.
Treat your dog to 24 days of Christmas with this bully stick calendar that features a new edible gift every day. Offerings range from chicken sticks to beef sausage bites, allowing your dog to have a delicious new treat each day.
If your pup loves variety, try this Himalayan dog chew Advent calendar, which features 24 days of tasty treats, including bacon bites, yaky charms, cheesy bear bacon bites, and cheesy bear peanut butter bites. Each day features a different treat, so you and your pup can experiment with which treats they love and which they could live without.
If your pup gets jealous of the cookies you leave for Santa, get them their own sweet plate with this Wufers dog cookie Advent calendar. There are 24 days of delicious cookies, with festive shapes like Christmas trees, candy canes, dog tags, and snowmen. If you don’t want your pup eating a cookie a day, no worries—each treat lasts for 24 months.
This Advent calendar is filled with treats for small dogs. There are 24 days for your pup to enjoy, including eight mini cane-shaped treats, mini bones with sweet potatoes, and mini wrapped chicken sticks. SmartBones also offers a range of holiday treats you can shop individually, including the canes, pretzel sticks, and holiday twists.
This calendar doesn’t have any treats, but it does make a wonderful gift for cat owners. It comes in an adorable piece of luggage that can be repurposed as decor and features 24 days’ worth of wooden cats and cat-related furniture. Each cat also has its own name, like Snowball and Precious.
I don’t have a dog, but the artwork on this box is enough to make me consider buying it. The Bonne et Filou dog treat Advent calendar comes with 24 luxury dog treats, including truffles, biscuits, and even macarons. You can shop calendars for Halloween and Thanksgiving, too.
The best Advent calendars for fun
The Woobles offer incredibly fun art kits for those who love to crochet, and this year, their coveted Advent calendar drops on October 28. This calendar sells out, so pre-order it quickly if you want to experience it. There are 12 exciting boxes that can be arranged to form a cozy Christmas scene. The kit comes with 10 crochetable items, as well as five hooks.
Love to cross stitch? You need this adorable stitch-a-day embroidery calendar, which allows you to cross-stitch a new festive block for 24 days leading up to Christmas. It comes with all the string you need, as well as a base, needle, and embroidery hoop.
Have you ever seen an Advent calendar that doubles as a puzzle? This sweet calendar has 24 days of mini puzzles that assemble into a full-sized Christmas scene. Each mini puzzle comes with 50 pieces, so the fully assembled piece totals 1200 pieces.
Avid readers will love this Advent calendar that features 25 days of reading accessories, like bookmarks, page holders, patches, and pencils. It makes a wonderful gift for the writer on your list this year, especially when paired with a new book or gift card to a local book store.
Not sure which lures to buy for your fisherman? Just buy them this Advent calendar, which allows them to unwrap a new lure every day for 24 days. They’ll be treated to top-water baits, frogs, spoons, divers, and even rooster tails. Whether your giftee fishes for bass, trout, or catfish, they’ll get use from the lures in this Advent calendar.
Erin Condren makes some of the best stationery on the internet, so if you’re shopping for a teacher or writer, they’ll love this Advent calendar. It comes with 12 pieces of stationery, including pens, pencils, markers, and notepads. Plus, it comes wrapped in a gorgeous multicolored box that doesn’t even need to be wrapped.
Voluspa candles are decadent (and expensive), so this collection of 12 holiday-scented candles for $165 is a wonderful Christmas deal. The Advent calendar features 12 varieties, including French cade lavender, forbidden fig, and spiced pumpkin. Each candle is 2.5 ounces and comes in a gorgeous glass jar.
If you collect Precious Moments figurines, this Advent calendar is a must-buy. It makes a gorgeous centerpiece when disassembled, but as you open each drawer, you can arrange one of the 24 pieces on the included shelves for a gorgeous winter scene. And once the holidays are over, you can re-assemble the calendar and use it again the next year, so you don’t have to worry about accumulating waste.
The Cult Pens Advent calendar is so popular that it’s already sold out—but you can backorder it for when it comes back in stock. This calendar has 24 stationery favorites from the brand, but they’re secret (though based on shapes, we can assume there are at least seven pens).
Twelve books for only $110? This Advent calendar is a steal, especially if you’re hunting for a great gift for the reader on your list, but you don’t really know what books to pick up for them. The booksellers on this list customize the book selections based on your giftee’s preferences—you can send them information about your giftee or their recently read books so they can pick the best books for the reader.
Forget boring socks—pick up this 24-pack of colorful socks from Happy Socks, which come in a range of patterns including coffee cups, planets, pineapples, aliens, and more. This one makes a great gift on its own or a great one to split among all the stockings you’ll be stuffing.
This Advent calendar features 24 100-piece puzzles that can be assembled into a a full puzzle grid. Each of the 24 puzzles showcases a cover from a previously published holiday edition of The New Yorker. One reviewer says, «These quick fix 100-piece puzzles are perfect for a daily challenge … plus, buy from PBS so a good chunk of the cost goes toward a great cause.»