The Best Advent Calendars Of 2021
With all the prep and parties, the countdown to the holidays can often feel like more of a mad dash than merry days. Our favourite consolation? Opening up a daily treat to ring in the season. Whether you like to keep it traditional with chocolate or try something a little different like candles, tea, wine or makeup, this year’s best advent calendars have you covered.
Benefit Cosmetics
Open the 12 little cartons (no peeking ahead!) to find mini sizes of the brand’s top sellers, including instant arch-maker Gimme Brow+ Volumizing Eyebrow Gel and They’re Real! Magnet Extra-Lengthening Mascara.
The MORE the Merrier 12 Merry Days of Makeup, $88, tsc.ca
Winners
From macramé to origami, this crafting calendar will keep you busy—and learning new hobbies—all month long.
Craft Advent Calendar (Set of 12), $15, available in-store
Voluspa
Get lit with luxe candles this holiday season. This set offers 12 glorious scents ranging from gourmand Santal Vanille to woodsy White Cypress, 300 hours of total burn time, plus a chic golden wick trimmer to top it all off.
Japonica Advent Calendar Candle Set, $199, sephora.com
Charlotte Tilbury
Pull open one drawer per day to find travel-sized classics like Charlotte’s Magic Cream and the famously flattering Pillow Talk lipstick, plus a full-sized sneak peek of the new Colour Chameleon eyeshadow pencil in matching Pillow Talk. Bonus: The bedazzled chest can hold your beauty loot year-round.
Charlotte’s Beauty Dreams & Secrets, $250, charlottetilbury.com
Grape Witches
This one is a splurge, but the spend is worth it to score a lineup of hard-to-find bottles. This Toronto-based female-founded import agency specializes in sourcing unique organic wines, and this 12-day box shows off some of their best work, including three cuvées made just for the pack.
Classic Advent, $500, grapewitches.com
Purdys
These reusable ornaments—each holding a chocolate made with sustainable cocoa—double as decor: you can set the village up on a table, string it into a garland or hang the pieces on your tree. The ornaments are even big enough to hold extra Holiday Foiled Bells.
Winter Village Hanging Advent Calendar, $23, purdys.com
So Wrong It’s Nom by Ilchester
Food blogger Annem Hobson tapped into her community of over 20,000 subscribers to curate the ultimate cheese—yes, cheese!—countdown calendar. New for 2021 is the apple, onion and sage cheddar, a perfect pairing for your turkey dinner.
Cheese Advent Calendar, $30, available in-store at Sobeys, Longos, Farm Boy and others.
Lesley Hampton x The Bay
This luxe set is loaded with beauty inside and out. Created in collaboration with Indigenous fashion designer Lesley Hampton, the set of drawers features her signature soft palette and the Ojibway greeting “Mino Bimaadiziwin,” which translates to “the good life.” Inside, you’ll find 30 beauty products worth over $1,300, including a Boscia charcoal mask, Nars blush, Mugler perfume and more.
Holiday Beauty Calendar, $225, thebay.com
OPI
Get your mani game on point with a new polish collection. This set of minis is loaded with festive hues to carry you through the season, from classic red (Maraschino Cheer-y) to NYE-ready holographics (Ready, Fête, Go).
Holiday 2021 Daily Wear 25-Piece Advent Calendar, $88, classiquesupply.com
Shoppers Drug Mart
Who doesn’t love a great drugstore beauty find? This advent calendar offers 12 days of discovery including—spoiler alert—the bestselling Essence Lash Princess and tried-and-true Pixi Glow Tonic.
12 Days of Beauty, $50. This calendar sold out quickly online but check stores for stock.
Lovehoney
Dildos, kegel balls and even a suction clitoral toy worth $100—whether you dig in solo or with a partner, this vulva-focused set promises to bring the good vibes this holiday season.
12 Days of Play Sex Toy Advent Calendar for Women, $145. This calendar sold out quickly online but check back for replenished stock and check with local stores for details.
DAVIDsTEA
There’s nothing like a cup of tea to wind down the day, and new this year, you can get a caffeine-free version of the brand’s annual favourite 24 Days of Tea. Whether you’re sipping Butterscotch Chai, Alpine Crunch or Unicorn Dreams, it’s the perfect antidote to the holidays’ hustle.
24 Days of Tea Caffeine-Free, $50, davidstea.com
Kétolat
Eating keto over the holidays? You can still indulge in a daily treat with these sugar-free vegan hazelnut chocolates made in Quebec. P.S. They’re organic and gluten-free, too!
Keto Advent Calendar, $25, ketolat.com
Atelier Cologne
Your scent selection is about to get a lot more exciting. Open up 20 different teeny perfumes—all great for travel or slipping into your party clutch—plus a trio of dazzling ornaments, too.
Deluxe Advent Calendar 2021, $125, sephora.com
24 Good Deeds
’Tis the season for giving back, and this charitable advent calendar offers a clever way to support local and global causes. Every day, you open a flap on the giving tree to learn about a different organization that the calendar’s proceeds support.
Charity Advent Calendar, $24, 24gooddeeds.ca
The Body Shop
Set some time for self-care with this indulgent countdown. With sheet masks, bubble bath and body butters—all in The Body Shop’smost beloved scents—it’s a daily reminder to indulge in a little me-time, even when the season hits its most stressful moments.
Share the Joy Advent Calendar, $89, thebodyshop.com
Florence By Mills
Whether you’re a Millie Bobby Brown fan or simply like to have a little fun with your makeup, this 12-day set from the actor’s beauty line features nine full-sized products (plus a few other surprises!) for a party-ready face.
Holiday 2021 Advent Calendar, $160. This calendar sold out quickly online but check back for replenished stock; check with local stores for stock.
L’Occitane
What could be chicer than counting down December with 24 days of French beauty faves? This year, the sets are made with paper cardboard, which the brand says will save 40 tons of plastic.
Holiday Advent Calendar, $89, sephora.com
NYX Professional Makeup
Get ready to glow up. This pigment-packed calendar features 24 of the brand’s bestsellers (think: glittery eyeshadows and matte lip creams) for a month of bold looks.
Gimme Super Stars! Holiday Advent Calendar, $80, nyxcosmetics.ca
Lindt
You can’t beat a classic: Behind each of the 24 doors, you’ll find one of the Swiss brand’s iconic milk chocolates, because is it even the holidays if you don’t dabble in a little Lindt?
Teddy Advent Calendar, $15, lindt.ca
Auria
Open up a new hair accessory every day for a week and score new styling possibilities to take you through the whole season. Slide on a satin headband or twist your hair up in a tortoise claw clip—this set offers easy ways to update your ’do.
Seven Days of Haircare, $45, indigo.ca
Nota
Calling all cat lovers! This seven-day stationary set will leave your desk kitted out with playful tributes to your furry BFF.
7-Day Advent Calendar for the Cat Lover, $40, indigo.ca
H&M
Spoil yourself with a daily piece of jewellery in this 24-day calendar. From sleek hoops to dainty charms, you’ll have the perfect accessory for every outing during the party season.
Advent Calendar with Jewelry, $30, hm.com
Saje
You’ll be one step ahead of your New Year’s resolutions with this wellness set. With its bath salts, quartz facial roller, diffuser blends, stress-busting Peppermint Halo roll-on oil and more, this just might be your chillest holiday season yet.
24 Days of Wellness Deluxe Holiday Countdown Calendar, $250, saje.com
Jackson-Triggs
Dip into Canadian-made vino with this 12-day surprise pack starring some of Jackson-Triggs’ most special bottles. From bold reds to crisp whites (and of course, a rosé for good measure), you’ll have perfect pairings for any and every holiday meal.
Advent Calendar, $189, lcbo.com
Nespresso
Switch up your morning caffeine fix with a new Nespresso capsule each day. And with the box’s stunning botanical design by Colombian fashion designer Johanna Ortiz, you won’t mind leaving it out on the counter for all to adore.
Advent Calendar Original (also available in Vertuo), $40, nespresso.com
Merry & Bright
Scoop up this 24-day countdown filled with frosted bone- and Santa-shaped dog cookies to treat the pups in your life.
Frosted Cookies Advent Calendar Dog Treats, $19.99, petsmart.ca.
Sephora
Late to the advent-calendar party? This clever post-holiday set is made to be opened every day from December 26 to 31,—and with two beauty surprises each day. You’ll find zen-getters like a green tea face mask to help you recharge, and NYE makeup essentials to get you ready to ring in 2022.
Holiday Vibes After Advent Calendar, $35. This calendar sold out quickly online but check back for replenished stock; check with local stores for stock.
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