SPOILS YOURSELF BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Chocolate treats are nice, but why not make the advent countdown to Christmas even more eclectic?
WINE ADVENT CALENDAR £49.99, Aldi
FILLED with 24 mini bottles of red, white, rosé and fizz, including customer favourites such as The Exquisite Collection Touraine Sauvignon and the awardwinning Fleurs de Prairie Côtes de Provence Rosé, there’s no better way to get into the festive spirit than sharing a miniature bottle or two with your nearest and dearest. But you will need to be quick as once they’re gone, they’re gone.
CHEESE ADVENT CALENDAR £10, Sainsbury’s; £8 Asda
SAY cheese this Christmas with this delicious offering from Ilchester. Launching on November 14 in Sainsbury’s, and November 15 in Asda, it contains 24 treats of seven cheese varieties including Jarlsberg, Applewood, Edam, Red Leicester, Wensleydale, Cheddar and a limited edition ginger cheese.
HAMPTON JAM ADVENT CALENDAR £6.99 from B&M
YOU’LL need a decent breakfast inside you before all that merrymaking. Make your holiday toast more interesting with this selection of artisanal jams. This advent calendar contains 25 little pots, including festive favourites such as strawberry, marmalade and (of course) whisky-laced preserves.
FEVER TREE: THE ULTIMATE GIN & TONIC CHRISTMAS ADVENT CALENDAR £60, Waitrose
A MUST for any gin-lover, you will find 12 50ml bottles of craft gin, including Audumus Pink Pepper Gin and Bombay Sapphire, with 12 50ml cans of specially matched Fever Treet tonic. Cheers!
PORK CRACKLING ADVENT CALENDAR £15 from Debenhams
THIS Merry Piggin’ Christmas Pork Crackling Advent Calendar contains mini packets of the savoury treat in six different flavours. You can tuck into offerings including Black Pepper, Pigs in Blankets and Salt ‘n’ Vinegar.
THE GRAND ADVENT CALENDAR £68, Hotel Chocolat
OPEN up this two-sided advent calendar packed full of gifts, which makes a great Christmas present in itself. Daily surprises include salted caramel vodka, crackers filled with pecan praline, a meltingly-smooth hazelnut bûche, macadamia and coconut snowballs (too good to throw) and its super-smooth, award-winning cocoa gin.
LUXURY ADVENT CALENDAR £85, Carluccio’s
ENJOY a delicious taste of Italy in the run up to Christmas with this limited edition calendar. Every item behind these 24 doors is a complete delight – think bags of orecchiette, truffle butter, bottles of extra virgin olive oil and limoncello chocolates.
PRINGLES ADVENT CALENDAR £7.99 from B&M
THIS savoury offering was available in stores last year and sold out within days. It comes with a selection of mini Pringles tubs – including salt and vinegar, Texas BBQ sauce and sour cream flavours. The advent calendar has 12 doors, so it can only be used in the last two weeks leading up to December 25.