Since the early 20th century, people have been joyfully counting down the days to Christmas with Advent calendars—as the commercial product we know today, not to get into all the folk traditions that spawned them. The originals were charmingly simple paper affairs that revealed a new printed picture each day. But today, you can spend December opening a calendar filled with just about anything imaginable.
There are the classic chocolate ones with a tasty treat behind each of 24 doors—or 12, if you get the compact version—plus ones packed with tea, candles, skincare products, and beauty essentials. You’ll even find hyper-specific Advent calendars devoted to your favorite hobby, sport, movie, fictional universe, and so much more. Yes, late-stage capitalism has enthusiastically co-opted a wholesome holiday tradition and stuffed it with consumer goods.
We’ve been testing Advent calendars around the office, and it turns out cracking open a tiny daily surprise is a very effective mood booster. So, in anticipation of the 2026 holiday season, we rounded up the best calendars worth gifting—or keeping entirely for yourself, no judgments here. From delicious to luxurious to thoughtfully niche, these are the 25 we recommend.
You can fight me on this, but I’ve always thought candles were great gifts. (Well, the ones that actually smell good.) Three years ago, my mom got me Voluspa’s 2023 Advent calendar and I was hooked. Voluspa makes some of my favorite candle scents ever, like French Cade Lavender and Baltic Amber, which are both part of the brand’s Japonica collection. The 2026 Alpine Advent calendar features scents from the Japonica and Holiday collections, which means you’ll get a few cute holiday-themed candles—my sister and I both love the new Gingerbread Chalet candle.
Apotheke’s luxurious Advent calendar is for the person who needs enough candles to last them the whole year and wants some accessories to go along with them. With 25 days of surprises that include candles, reed diffusers, and limited-edition candle accessories, their home will be smelling wonderful all year round. I’m personally obsessed with the brand’s Sea Salt Grapefruit and Pumpkin Ginger scents, but I’m sure every single fragrance in here is a win.
My family’s favorite wintertime activity is working on a jigsaw puzzle next to the fireplace (usually while watching The Great British Bake Off). So if your family is anything like mine, you’ll love Galison’s puzzle Advent calendar, which features twelve 80-piece puzzles with illustrations by Michael Storrings of beautiful winter scenes. It’s the perfect way to facilitate some fun family bonding time over the holidays.
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