By Adam Bloodworth
Whether you’re looking for jewellery, food and drink, or health and beauty products, Advent calendars have come along way since they offer just a slice of chocolate behind a cardboard window.
Here are our selection of the best Christmas Advent calendars for Christmas 2023.
These are recyclable, but also designed to be fully reusable throughout 2024. Get inspired or inspire someone close to you with one of these ornate creations for December.
Cult Beauty Advent Calendar 2023, £225
For the very special someone in your life, there is no advent calendar more luxurious than this one by Cult Beauty. Featuring more than £1,000 worth of products from 39 top beauty brands, this beautiful boxed set will keep the recipient in goodies every day from the first of December up until Christmas day itself.
And as if a gift a day weren’t enough, some days come with more than one little present, including a whopping seven to open on Christmas morning. This year’s Advent Calendar is designed in partnership with artist Gemma O’Brien and agency Grand Matter, who champion causes through collaborative projects with a focus on diversity, climate change and mental health, so your loved one can do good while pampering themselves.
Cult Beauty is also donating over £60,000 from sales to Mental Health UK and working with More Trees to plant one tree for every calendar sold. The collection of treats includes some of the biggest names in the beauty world as well as some lesser known gems for you to discover. We won’t spoil all the surprises but you can expect to find a full-size REN Clean Skincare Bio Retinoid Youth Serum; Dr. Barbara Sturm deluxe Hyaluronic Serum; ELEMIS travel size Frangipani Monoi Shower Cream; OUAI Haircare deluxe Scalp & Body Scrub in ‘Melrose Place’; and VOTARY full size Super Sensitive Cleansing Cream.
And that’s not it: as a final giveaway, Cult Beauty is hiding three Golden Tickets in its advent calendar boxes, meaning three lucky winners will also have 1,000 Cult Beauty pounds to spend on products of their choosing. Christmas doesn’t get better than this! Available from cultbeauty.co.uk
The Spirits and Liqueurs Advent calendar by Fortnum’s
Fortnum’s Spirits & Liqueurs Advent Calendar, £225 Fortnum’s makes their own spirits and liqueurs, and this beautifully decorated Advent calendar features 25 drinks from the collection to turn December into an education in high-end drinking.
It features vodka, gin, rum, whisky, scotch and liqueurs, including the famous Figgy Pudding Liqueur, an orange marmalade vodka, damson gin, sloe gin and chocolate chestnut liqueur. The scotch in particular is lauded for its quality. The Fortnum’s scotch comes in four aged varieties, some of which have been matured for eight years. Behind the Advent doors are facts about the drinks, and the Christmas season, as well as recipes and serving suggestions for how to get the most from the miniatures.
The calendar itself is reusable, so make the most of it by refilling it next year with personal gifts. It features ornate little draws which are each personally decorated with their own artwork. Other F&M advent calendars include a loose leaf tea calendar and a musical advent calendar. Available from fortnumandmason.com
Pact Coffee Advent Calendar, £29.95
If waking up to a freshly-brewed pot of coffee is part of the daily routine in your household then this is the advent calendar for you. Speciality roaster Pact has gathered together coffees from around the world ready for you to prepare in your cafetiere or pour-over set-up. Each of these 25 coffees is individually packed in an air-tight sachet designed to ensure maximum freshness.
Each sachet contains 25g, which Pact says is enough coffee for a generous single serving, ground to suit most brewing methods. Sachets come with coffee cards informing you of the origin and tasting notes so you can learn about your daily caffeine fix as you’re brewing it.
The recyclable box includes four rare limited edition coffees and seven Christmas exclusives, ensuring you will have a varied journey through the world of the black stuff throughout December. Available from pactcoffee.com
Astrid & Miyu 24 Day Advent Calendar in Gold, £790
Jewellery company Astrid & Miyu are calling this calendar their biggest launch ever. It contains 24 pieces of gold jewellery, worth a combined £1,560 but it’s a steal, retailing at £790. There are necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and twelve pieces which are exclusive to the calendar, not for sale from the brand anywhere else.
The calendar itself is also a gift – the sleek cream faux leather piece is designed as a reusable jewellery box to fit the rest of your pieces that can sit handsomely on any side table but can also be recycled. Pieces inside include opal studs, crystal stud earrings, crystal ear cuffs, a chain necklace, and crystal hoops, with one to open for each day in December leading up to Christmas Day. Available from astridandmiyu.com
