9FULL ADVENT CALENDARS OF SURPRISES
After everything that 2020 has thrown at us, we can’t be blamed for wanting something nice to look forward to each day. With the holidays approaching and families and friends modifying celebrations this year due to the pandemic, a variety of companies are offering interesting countdown calendars to celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah. There’s an Advent calendar for just about everyone with options that include boozy beverages, sugary treats, toys, bubble bath, books and even daily surprises for pets. Here’s an assortment of calendars to keep the mood jolly as we head into the new year. Get ’em while they’re hot — and before they sell out.
Booze and snacks
1 Excite your palate and take the edge off the stress of the holiday season for 12 or 24 nights with drams of premium alcohol from The Spirit Co. Explore whisky straight from Scotland and Japan — or take a trip around the globe with a Bourbon and American Whiskey Advent calendar. There are also calendars for gin, rum, vodka, tequila and mezcal. For the ultimate splurge, there’s the Old & Rare Advent Calendar with selections from Macallan, Glenfiddich, Yamazaki, Rosebank and more.
DETAILS >> $65 to $1,253 from Thespiritco.com.
2 Countdown to Christmas with the 24- day Jerky Advent Calendar from Man Crates. Each punch-out window includes a different flavor from classic and black pepper to root beer habanero and Thai satay. Other halfounce tastes include honey bourbon, whiskey maple, ghost pepper, lemon pepper, sarsaparilla and more.
DETAILS >> $80 from mancrates.com.
3 Indulge in something sweet for every night of Hanukkah or the 24 days leading up to Christmas with little tastes of some of Sugarfina’s bestselling candies. Each drawer includes four pieces of candy. The 24 Tastes of Christmas Calendar includes peach hearts, pumpkin spice almonds, snowman gummies, dark chocolate sea salt caramels, candy cane caramels and apple frogs. The 8 Nights of Light Hanukkah Calendar is filled with kosher-certified sweets like Robin’s egg caramels, champagne bubbles, heavenly sours, sugar cookies and blueberry jellybeans.
DETAILS >> The Christmas calendar is $50 and the Hanukkah calendar is $20 at Sugarfina.com. Beauty and fashion
4 Popular cosmetics retailer Lush has put together a limited- edition 12 Days of Christmas box with a dozen of its holiday items to promote pampering and self- care this December. The unisex set includes caramel and chestnut scented 3.3- ounce shower gels, winter bath bombs, polar bear, candy cane and Santa bubble bars, body scrub and lotion.
DETAILS >> $100 from lushusa.com.
5 Stay cozy each day with a new pair of colorful and stylish 24 Days of Holiday Socks from Happy Socks. The calendar is available in adult unisex sizes 9-11 and 1013. Sock designs include holiday themes, as well as pizza and taco designs, polka dots, argyle patterns and more.
DETAILS >> $225 from Happysocks. com. Kids
6 Funko has created themed Advent calendars with mini versions of their popular Pop! vi-nyl figures hidden behind little doors. Each calendar includes 24 figures that vary in size (up to 2 1/2 inches) depending upon the character. The Harry Potter calendar features Harry, Ron, Hermione, Hagrid and more. The Dragon Ball Z set includes Goku, Vegeta, Master Roshi, Piccolo and more.
DETAILS >> Each set is $ 50 at Funko.com or Amazon.com.
7 Lego has released several new Advent calendars for kids with 24 days of creative fun. There’s a 311-piece holidaythemed Star Wars calendar with buildable vehicles like the Millennium Falcon and an X-wing, as well as locations and characters including Stormtroopers, Darth Vader and Poe Dameron. For Harry Potter fans, there’s a 336-piece Hogwarts-themed calendar with character figures and buildable scenes that re- create the Yule Ball.
DETAILS >> Calendars are $30-$40 from Lego.com or Target.com. Books 8Expand
your library with a beautiful 2020 Short Story Calendar from Hingston & Olsen Publishing. As the company has done in previous years (though this apparently will be the last!), the calendar includes 25 individually bound short stories from terrific writers including Jim Shepard and Amber Sparks. The set also comes with a colorful slipcase to store the books and readers can return to the website for an interview with the authors chosen for each day.
DETAILS >> $ 46 from Hingston andolsen.com
Pets
9 Our pets have been home with us every single day during the pandemic, and they too could probably use some surprises and treats as much as we do. Frisco created a fun 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar for dogs that includes plushies, rope toys, squeaky latex toys in the form of snowmen, gingerbread men and candy cane-colored dog bones. Snif- Snax put out a Cat Treat Advent Calendar that includes 25 days of Atlantic salmon and seaweed omega-3 fatty acidrich treats for the feline companion.
DETAILS >> $40 for Frisco’s dog calendar and $10 for Snif- Snax cat calendar from Chewy.com.