FOR many of us, if we think about an advent calendar, we remember getting a small piece of festive shaped chocolate each December morning in the run up to Christmas.
Before that, opening the door of an advent calendar would most likely reveal a small image or portion of a story such as the Nativity of Jesus.
But in recent years advent calendars have become more elaborate (and expensive) filled with everything from cheese to cosmetics to luxury jewellery with what seems like more and more available each festive season.
The Glasgow Times decided to review some of the options that are available this year and see if they are worth the money.
Candy Kittens The Sweet Factory Vegan Advent Calendar
For anyone still looking to enjoy a slightly more traditional sweetie-based advent calendar, this Candy Kittens one is a great option and the cheapest on our list costing £12.
The calendar contains 24 small bags of at least two vegan gourmet sweets in a variety of eight flavours including Eton mess, very cherry, and wild strawberry.
Behind each door, there is also a QR code which can be scanned to get a video riddle from the confectionery company’s founder and Made in Chelsea star Jamie Laing as part of a competition to win a bundle of goodies worth £2000 with the winner announced on Christmas Eve.
As with most advent calendars yes probably you would be cheaper to buy individuals bags to get the same number of sweets, but I think it’s worth spending that little bit more if you can for the calendar – and you never know, you may end up winning that prize.
The Sweet Factory costs £12 and is available from candykittens.co.uk.
LEGO Harry Potter 2024 Advent Calendar
While a chocolate advent calendar was exciting enough for me as a kid, I would have loved to have a LEGO advent calendar to open each day in the run up to Christmas.
The Harry Potter 2024 Advent Calendar contains 16 festive mini builds, eight characters, and two of 14 collectible Hogwarts portraits.
Behind each door is a small bag containing the pieces for each days build and there are also simple instructions to help you put it together.
The calendar says it is compatible with the LEGO Hogwarts Castle: The Great Hall set so if you already have that it’s an excellent option to add some festive cheer to it but if you don’t, the calendar also doubles as a Great Hall backdrop to play with.
At just shy of £30 I think this is well priced for all it includes and is perfect for Harry Potter and LEGO fans.
The LEGO Harry Potter 2024 Advent Calendar costs £29.99 and is available from lego.com.
17 Countdown of Joy Advent Calendar
Beauty advent calendars have become increasingly popular in recent years with some costing hundreds or even thousands of pounds.
However, the 17 Countdown of Joy Advent Calendar is ideal for any beauty lover whose looking for something more budget friendly.
Priced at £30, the 24-day calendar contains a range full size and mini cosmetics such as mascara, eyeshadow and lipgloss and accessories including a headband and mini tweezers.
There’s a mixture of full size and mini products and for the number of items you get this is really good value for money if you’re looking for a beauty advent calendar.
The 17 Countdown of Joy Advent Calendar costs £30 and is available from boots.com.
Baylis & Harding Signature For Him 24 Advent Treats Calendar
While there may not be as many advent calendars specifically aimed at men as there are for women, the market is growing each year.
This Baylis & Harding calendar features a variety of 24 products such as face wash and bath soak from their citrus, lime & mint, black pepper & ginseng, and hemp & bergamot collections.
Unlike some of the other bath and beauty-type advent calendars, this one only contained products and no additional accessories. All the liquid products were 30ml while the bars of soap and bath crystals were 25g, making everything perfect for travel.
At £45 I would have expected at least one item to be full sized, as is the case in similar priced calendars, so it feels a little overpriced without one. However, at the time of writing, you can save 25% on selected advent calendars with your Advantage Card on the Boots website which I think would make it reasonably priced.
The Baylis & Harding Signature For Him 24 Advent Treats Calendar costs £45 and is available from boots.com.
Ted Baker Beauty & Bathing Advent Calendar
Ted Baker’s bespoke 24-day advent calendar is a “luxurious collection” of “deluxe, full-sized, and limited-edition beauty and bathing treats”.
When I first opened the tin I was confused after seeing the long list of products on the back – where were the other 12 doors? I soon discovered there was a second layer of products inside for the second half of the calendar.
I think this calendar had a good mix of bath products as well as some beauty accessories like tweezers and a nail brush. There were quite a few body creams and lotions while only one body wash and one bath foam but if it’s something you use a lot of then they won’t go to waste.
Costing just under £50, I think this is reasonably priced and is among the lower cost beauty calendars that are available. And the tin is handy for storage once you’re done.
The Ted Baker Beauty & Bathing Advent Calendar costs £46 and is available from boots.com.
Sockshop 25 Pair Christmas Advent Calendar
Socks are sometimes seen as an unpopular Christmas gift, but of all the advent calendars I reviewed this is the most useful.
The Sockshop advent calendar comes with 25 pairs of the brand’s high-quality bamboo socks with each one inside a small box. I thought this calendar was really beautifully designed.
Costing £59.99 I thought it seemed expensive at first but when I broke it down each pair cost just £2.40 - on the website they are listed as £3.99 a pair or four for £9.99 so you do make a saving here.
There is a mix of plain coloured socks, patterned and Christmas pairs which I appreciated as I had a sock advent calendar in the past which only had Christmas pairs and aren’t much use for the rest of the year (as much as I love them).
There also two men's calendars and a couples advent calendar available on the website so there are a few different options.
The Sockshop 25 Pair Christmas Advent Calendar costs £59.99 and is available from sockshop.co.uk.
Macmillan 24 Doors of Joy Advent Calendar
Another one for beauty fans, Boots have released a 24-day advent calendar which helps raise vital funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.
The calendar costs £90 with the total contents stated to be worth more than £151 based on the retail price per ml/ g of standard sized products. £2 from each calendar sold goes to the charity.
Before opening the calendar up, I hadn’t looked at the contents online, so I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised with what I found inside with products from brands including No7, Soap & Glory and Liz Earle.
I think there was a good mix of different facial skincare products and some accessories like an eyelash curler and glass nail file.
At first glance £90 could appear a little pricey but when you break down the products in it, I think it’s a fair price. According to the website it does also appear to be part of the 3 for 2 on selected Christmas Mix and Match offer.
The Macmillan 24 Doors of Joy Advent Calendar costs £90 and is available from boots.com.
The Classic Advent Calendar from Rituals
The beautifully presented Classic Advent Calendar from Rituals, which is inspired by Amsterdam’s canals, has 24 luxury beauty and lifestyle products from candles to body creams and even a bracelet.
The calendar has a range of the brands most-loved products as well as some limited-edition items from collections such as The Ritual of Sakura and The Ritual of Ayurveda.
Costing just under £92, the product value of the calendar is listed at £166.90. The items are not full size but are travel-sized with most liquid products coming in at under 100ml so I will save some of these items for when I next go on holiday.
A couple of the items were smaller than I would have expected but others were larger, so it balances out once you’ve got the whole collection.
This isn’t cheap but I think it would make a really lovely gift, especially if someone has a birthday coming up in October or November.
The Classic costs £91.90 and is available from rituals.com.
Lush Advent Calendar
The most expensive advent calendar I sampled is the Lush Advent Calendar costing £190.
Lush products are always something I enjoy getting as a gift, or I occasionally treat myself to a bath bomb, so I was excited to see what this had inside.
The calendar contains products from their Christmas range and 10 gift exclusive products including shower gels, body lotions and a lip mask.
There was also a 15ml perfume and a Hot Toddy scented candle both of which are exclusive to the gift so there was a nice variety of products.
If you don’t have a bath however there are a lot of the products you wouldn’t be able to use as it includes eight bath bombs and five bubble bars so it’s not ideal for everyone.
The calendar comes in a large box which will be handy for some extra storage once its emptied or can be refilled each year with the Lush Advent Calendar Refill.
There’s no denying this is expensive but adding up the cost of products individually it is worth the money and is another that would make a lovely gift for someone.
The Lush Advent Calendar costs £190 and is available from lush.com.
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