It’s Advent Calendar Season! Here Are Our 5 Favorites

It’s not quite Halloween yet, but we all know what happens when that day hits—within 24 hours, the mood changes from spooky season to festive season, in all its glory. If you love Christmas, and you love the Christmas season, well, it’s about to be the time of year when “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is appropriate to blast at all hours. The countdown to Christmas also means that one of our shop’s most beloved categories is finally making its seasonal appearance—Advent calendars.

Advent is the big, blinking countdown until Christmas, and Advent calendars make marking the days before the big festivities all that more fun. When I was growing up, I got an Advent calendar made of paper that dispensed waxy Santa-shaped chocolates every day of December until Christmas. But Advent calendars have come a long way since then. The Food52 shop has 20 options, stuffed with little holiday treats. From assorted teas to intensely flavored licorice, there’s a way to count down that should suit every taste.

For the Serious Chocolate Person

This calendar from La Maison du Chocolat has 25 perfect confections tucked into it, from mini bars to pralines to fruit-filled bon bons. It all comes wrapped in a box that looks so good you’ll want to keep it.

If You Don’t Love Sweets, But You Do Love Calendars

No sweet tooth? No problem. Onyx coffee has a solution for folks who prefer their kicks from a great cup of coffee. Their Advent calendar has 24 days worth of whole beans with each packet containing enough to brew two 12 ounce cups of coffee. It’s a great gift for the caffeine dependent loved one in your life, or a fun way to mark down the days until Christmas alongside your breakfast.

A Hanukkah Calendar

Christmas gets all the glory, but Hanukkah and Kwanzaa shouldn’t get overlooked. This clever calendar from Sugarfina helps kids—or adults—count the eight days of Hanukkah with help from kosher-certified candies.

If You Prefer to Drink Your Sweets

Chocolate bars not your thing but drinking chocolate is? The Whittard of Chelsea Advent Calendar is for you! It doles out 24 different flavored high-end hot chocolate mixes, with flavors like Sticky Toffee Pudding, Rocky Road, and Crème Brûlée.

For the Francophile

If you know someone (or are someone) who constantly daydreams of a trip to Paris, this Maison Laduree calendar might be cheaper than a plane ticket and give you some of the same satisfaction. It’s stuffed with treats from the Parisian confectioner that launched in 1862, and has a variety of chocolates, caramels, and jams to space out your waiting game.

For even more Advent calendars, head to the Food52 Shop.

Which Advent calendar is on your holiday wishlist? Let us know in the comments!