The Best Advent Calendars
At Home with the Hastys - The Best Advent Calendars
I did a post on advent calendars once before, when we were about to celebrate our first Christmas in our new home following the fire and that post was a big hit. So I’m back this year with a few of my favorite advent calendars for the season. And if you aren’t one to celebrate Christmas, I still like the idea of a little gift to open each day, no matter when you choose to open them or your own personal meaning behind it.
The advent calendar that started it all: Bonne Maman
My husband and I ordered this advent calendar when we were living in our temporary apartment while our home was being rebuilt following a fire that started in the unit below ours. We were desperately looking for a little happiness in our lives and this calendar brought us so much joy. It includes 23 fruit spreads and one honey, which we happily put on homemade biscuits, crepes, and toast. These are limited edition and tend to sell out fast, so don’t delay!
At Home with the Hastys - The Best Advent Calendars
Voluspa: Japonica Advent Calendar
I have a couple candle advent calendars on this list because I am such a sucker for the hygge feeling they provide during the cold months. This set includes 12, 2.5oz candles in Voluspa’s best-selling and seasonal Japonica Fragrances that have an approximate burn time of 25 hours each. They come in the prettiest textural containers in a variety of colors that I imagine would make charming votive candle holders or bud vases after they’ve been cleaned.
At Home with the Hastys - The Best Advent Calendars
Mini Mindful Moments Candle Set
I featured this set in my last list and it continues to be one of my favorite go-to gifts for hosts, especially around the holiday season. There’s this more generic version, appropriate for hosts of any holiday or gathering no matter the time of year, and there is also an advent-specific set. The Mini Mindful Moments Candle Set includes “10 non-drip honey-scented meditation candles” each with a 20-minute burn time. The idea is to use them as a way to calm your mind, re-center yourself, and focus on the things that really matter.
At Home with the Hastys - The Best Advent Calendars
WEDGWOOD 2022 Christmas Advent Calendar House
This is the absolute ultimate in luxury (and the price reflects that!) When I was a baby, my dad used to take his students (at the time he was a junior high English teacher) to England every other year as a study abroad experience. In the off-years, the partner school in England would bring their students to his school in Missouri. Occasionally my mom would go on these trips with him, but when she stayed back to care for me he would buy her classic English gifts, one of which included a Wedgwood jewelry box. It’s been in my mom’s closet for as long as I can remember, but I really didn’t give it much thought until I started watching The Great Pottery Throw Down on HBO. They recently featured the Wedgwood brand on one of their episodes and I was like, Wait! I recognize that brand, my mom has a piece by them! So although I probably won’t be splurging on this advent calendar this year…one can dream of someday. This advent calendar includes 24 iconic blue and white jasper mini ornaments.
At Home with the Hastys - The Best Advent Calendars
DIY Advent Calendar Bags
This is the perfect advent calendar if you prefer the DIY approach. A friend of mine does an advent gift exchange with her husband every year - one of them gets even days and the other gets odd days, so they each end up buying 12 gifts for the other person. My husband and I did this one year and we had so much fun thinking of little (and sometimes not-so-little) gifts to give one another each day. If you prefer that method, then I’d recommend these sweet fair isle linen bags to put your gifts inside. This set also includes 24 clips (for hanging on the tree as shown here) or perhaps you’d prefer to use the 10 meters of hemp rope to string across your mantle and hang the bags from that. It also includes 24 wooden tags with the day of the month on them and 24 slings to string the wooden tags onto the bag.
At Home with the Hastys - The Best Advent Calendars
Benefit Cosmetics Mini Sincerely Yours, Beauty Advent Calendar Set
This is the first of two beauty advent calendars featuring two of my go-to beauty brands. I first discovered Benefit Cosmetics when I was living in St. Louis and got my brows done at the Benefit Beauty Bar at Ulta. When I moved back to Chicago, I was delighted to find Benefit Cosmetic stores (one of the many reasons why city living is the best - little luxuries like Benefit Cosmetic stores.) Throughout the years, I think I’ve tried all of these items, so what better advent calendar to get than one that gives you things you already know and love? But it would also be great for those of you who haven’t discovered Benefit Cosmetics, yet, and want to give their products a try. This set includes “12 of Benefit Cosmetics’ beauty must-haves featuring brow bestsellers, mascaras, pore primers, bronzer, and blush face powders.”
At Home with the Hastys - The Best Advent Calendars
IT Essentials: 12 Days of Confidence Beauty Advent Calendar
I am such a fan of IT’s Confidence in a Cream, Confidence in Your Beauty Sleep, and their CC+ Cream Full-Coverage Foundation with SPF 50+. This set includes 12-piece must-have collection of IT essentials for eyes, lips and face, incorporating some of my tried-and-true products as well as some things I’ve been wanting to try. It also has a mix of some full-sized products and some travel-sized so even if you already love a product, now you can have a mini version to travel with!
At Home with the Hastys - The Best Advent Calendars
Onyx Coffee Advent Calendar
I get regular shipments of coffee from Onyx, two boxes every two weeks. We recently heard that they were offering an advent calendar that includes 24 whole bean coffee bags with enough beans for about two cups of coffee. What I love about this advent calendar is that my husband and I each drink a cup of coffee every morning anyway, so this isn’t adding anything new to our routine but rather making a daily ritual a little extra special. We pre-ordered this advent calendar for ourselves this year.
At Home with the Hastys - The Best Advent Calendars
