The best Advent calendars for the holiday season

Amazon

• Advent calendars are a great way to help kids and adults alike get into the holiday spirit, making each day leading up to Christmas that much more exciting.
• With so many varieties of Advent calendar available these days, it's easy to choose one that will be a perfect match to its recipient's unique tastes.
• From the traditional chocolate-filled calendar to a more adult whiskey tasting, we've found the best Advent calendars to suit any taste.

When you think of an Advent calendar, you probably picture a cardboard rectangle with little doors concealing small pieces of mediocre chocolate. And indeed just such products do occupy a large sector of the Advent calendar category, but these days there are so many other options out there that it would be a shame to settle for a run-of-the-mill choice without at least first considering something more special.

We have rounded up several different Advent calendars, each with its own ideal target recipient in terms of age and interest. We also made sure to source calendars from across the price spectrum.

And don't worry if no Advent calendar you have ever found before suits the highly specific interests of its intended recipient: You can always get a DIY Advent calendar with 24 empty spots for your own curation of treats.

• Best for chocolate lovers: Neuhaus Belgian Chocolate Advent Calendar
• Best for small children: Playmobil Christmas Toy Store Advent Calendar
• Best reusable Advent calendar: Hyggehaus Wooden Advent Calendar
• Best affordable Advent calendar: Wawi Chocolate Advent Calendar
• Best for spirit aficionados: Flaviar Whiskeys of the World Advent Calendar
• Best for kids: LEGO City Advent Calendar
• Best for tea lovers: Uncommon Goods 24 Days of Tea Advent Calendar
• Best for coffee drinkers: Yawn Coffee Advent Calendar

Prices and links are current as of 9/21/20. We updated many of our selections to the 2020 offerings from each brand. We will be adding more options as they launch in the weeks leading up to Advent.