I saw a thread on MMMoms looking for a specific kid one, but I wanted to expand it here to favorites in general-ones you have gotten in the past, new ones you want to try, ones that look fabulous but are $$$, adults, pets, kids, etc. I love these kinds of things.
Last year I had the Sephora advent calendar and thought it was fine. It was all Sephora brand stuff which was kind of disappointing but I did discover a few good things.
This year I have the Bonne Maman jam calendar and can’t wait to start opening it! I saw Costco had a smaller version for $15.
It might not be strictly an advent calendar but I want to try the wine from around the world at Costco. I’m not sure if they have it this year though.
I LOVE Advent calendars. This year DH and I are sharing a whiskey one, DD's is Sephora, and DS's is geography.
Previous years we've done Legos, Bonne Maman jams, beef jerky, specialty tea, scotch, Minecraft doodads, puzzles, basically whatever people are into that year.
I get my Body Shop Advent calendar each year without fail and it’s almost embarrassing how excited I get about it. I typically get it in late October and then position it on my dresser so it’s all ready to start opening.
DH has gotten a Kiehl’s one before that he’s liked, and we’ve also gotten the Bonne Maman one to share, which was delicious, and a cheese one, which we also liked.
The best one DS has ever gotten would probably be the Mario one with the mini figurines. Other than, he’s typically gotten a chocolate one, though he never ends up eating the chocolates so that kind of went by the wayside.
Post by fortnightlily on Nov 11, 2023 9:52:23 GMT -5
DS (10) didn't see any that interested him this year except a Pokémon cards one. But we already got him a big set for actual Christmas. So I might make him a custom one this year.
Post by arehopsveggies on Nov 11, 2023 11:08:06 GMT -5
I really wanted to get myself a whiskey one but they’re so expensive!
The kids just do the cheap chocolate ones. I thought about maybe trying a Pokémon one, but my kid likes everything to be the SAME as before so I decided to stick with chocolate
I've been making one for DD since 2020 that has Disney pins. Last year, DS got invested in DD's pin calendar so I'll probably make him a separate one. Or I might buy the one on Shop Disney's website but I'm conflicted about spending $250 versus just making it myself with pins I already own. DD's pins are of a specific character group we collect whereas DS just like cute pins in general. So the $250 set would be more for me than him if I buy it. I put the pins in a free calendar made from cardstock boxes that I picked up from a local mom for the first two years. Last year, I found a wooden Disney advent calendar with drawers shaped like a holiday house for sale on FB Marketplace so that's the new calendar.
I bought chocolate ones from Ikea this year for both kids. They felt pricey for what they are, but I think they each have a $5 or $10 gift card in them. I wanted to mix it up from the Trader Joe's ones we usually buy.
I've also been thinking about making some for our referring offices as a fun way to stay at the top of their minds during the holidays and after. Most likely food related.
We always to chocolate calendars from Aldi for the kids and me (not the cheap ones, but not the expensive ones - i think they’re about $8 each).
I tried the TJ cat treat calendar one year but it made my cat sick, so we stopped that. We get him the cat toy calendar from PetSmart now - it’s so cute and the kids love giving him a new toy.
I've been Kickstarting a puzzle advent calendar for a few years, where the doors aren't numbered and you have to solve simple puzzles each day (like 1-5 minutes) to figure out the next door. The chocolate is awful, but they are fun. This year is The Case of the Missing Cookies. escape-advent-calendar.myshopify.com/
In the past I've gotten the 12 Days of Festive Cheese from Costco, but I don't know that they have it this year, because it's usually been in stores by now and I haven't seen it at either Costco I go to. I've also done the Costco wine one a couple of times, and a 6 days of sparkling nights last year (full sized sparkling wines).
Maybe 5+ years ago I got one of the beauty box ones 50% off in March or April. (I forget the name, the company is British and I think they just stopped selling their boxes in the us?) It was pretty fabulous. Lots of nice makeup brushes, several full sized products (including nail polish), and oversized samples. I had a lot of fun opening all at once. LOL!
I don't usually do Bonne Maman, but I might grab it from Costco this year since I generally do at least two, and I'm skeptical about the cheese one being an option. I saw on their app that there is 12 days of snack nuts, but I don't think it's in stores, or I'd probably do that.
I make a homemade one that is a huge hit. I get a long string and hang it across the back of the living room. I use brown paper lunch bags and number them. Then fill each with something and clip them up with clothes pins. I do this for my teen, and each bag usually has stuff like chapstick, travel size essentials, make up, nail polish, dollar bill, $5 dollar bill, candy, socks, body wash, etc. She loves this so much more than any store bought advent calendar. If $$ becomes a factor, I just lesson the number of days that goes up and she barely notices.
I tried the TJ cat treat calendar one year but it made my cat sick, so we stopped that. We get him the cat toy calendar from PetSmart now - it’s so cute and the kids love giving him a new toy.
Oh no, I picked this up on a whim for my cat today. *fingers crossed*
I tried the TJ cat treat calendar one year but it made my cat sick, so we stopped that. We get him the cat toy calendar from PetSmart now - it’s so cute and the kids love giving him a new toy.
Oh no, I picked this up on a whim for my cat today. *fingers crossed*
It’ll probably be fine! I’m sure they wouldn’t keep selling them if they made ALL cats sick. I think they just didn’t agree with my high-maintenance, special diet, lil weirdo.
I tried the TJ cat treat calendar one year but it made my cat sick, so we stopped that. We get him the cat toy calendar from PetSmart now - it’s so cute and the kids love giving him a new toy.
Oh no, I picked this up on a whim for my cat today. *fingers crossed*
We got it for our cat last year and he was fine! I bought him another one today. I also bought one for each of my sisters’ dogs yo
I tried the TJ cat treat calendar one year but it made my cat sick, so we stopped that. We get him the cat toy calendar from PetSmart now - it’s so cute and the kids love giving him a new toy.
Oh no, I picked this up on a whim for my cat today. *fingers crossed*
We got it for our cat last year and he was fine! I bought him another one today. I also bought one for each of my sisters’ dogs to mail them!
I accidentally got us $80 worth of chocolate advent calendars. I bought Lindt chocolate from Costco, then I saw the British candy company where we get candy for my H was doing them so I bought two of those, thinking we would just return the others. But I didn't realize the British one didn't come in an actual calendar - it's just a bunch of candy. So now I either need to figure out a way to make it into an actual advent structure, or just keep the candy for general use and also keep the Lindt calendars. I want actual spots to open daily!
I feel like advent calendars have gotten so expensive. They cost as much as their actual Christmas gifts. I’m kind of at a loss this year because my kids love them but if they all have to share one it’s tricky and my kids won’t eat the cheap chocolate ones. I’m always one the hunt for a reusable one (or 3) but I’ve never found one I like enough to purchase in my price range.
share.memebox.com/x/uKhKaZmemebox referal code for 20% off! DD1 "J" born 3/2003 DD2 "G" born 4/2011 DS is here! "H" born 2/2014 m/c#3 1-13-13 @ 9 weeks m/c#2 11-11-12 @ 5w2d I am an extended breastfeeding, cloth diapering, baby wearing, pro marriage equality, birth control lovin', Catholic mama.
We only get them for the kids but I think my favorite one has been the Peppa Pig one. We've done so many in the past, probably Lego the most and they seem to fizzle out in interest after a few weeks.
This year I bought the Lego City, LOL Dolls, a Nintendo Switch one and an awesome poster helped me located a NFL teenymates one for my kid who doesn't like anything but sports.
I made H a whiskey one years ago. He loved it. David's done a variation of all of the Lego calendars over the years but he's 15 and not really into that anymore. I'm going to pick us all up chocolate ones this year.
Our elf brings the kids advent calendars on December 1 (even though my kids are old I still keep it up ). This year the 11 year old is getting a funko pop 5 Nights at Freddy one (he’s moved on from Lego which is what we used to always get). The 16 year old is getting 2 - a Cadbury chocolate one and a chapstick one