Just like Halloween and Christmas start slowly sneaking into summer, annual advent calendars start popping up earlier and earlier every year too. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing for this year’s calendar yet but there are a few that have caught my eye. I’ll add the ones I see to the list below and feel free to send me ideas if you see them or tag me in your instagram posts if you see one I should check out. I’m always hoping we see some fun local calendars in Seattle ( specifically maybe one from Beecher’s cheese or a food themed one from Kitchen and Market or Delaurenti, or even one with all our sports teams, now wouldn’t that be awesome….)
Sugarfina Candy Carousel Advent Calendar 2023
Sugarfina makes delicious candies and last year Sugarfina had two advent calendars and the one that featured a whimsical merry go round design is the one that really caught my eye. It’s splurgy but maybe if it’s shared in a family, it might be a fun treat. I wonder if they’ll do something like that this year.
Sugarfina also makes a more traditional style calendar and this year that one is a Santa’s Candy Shop theme with 24 days of candy tasting.
Beekman 1802
Beekman 1802 has the loveliest “Slice of Kindness” advent calendar out. It was actually their email that reminded me this year that it’s starting to become advent calendar season again. I ordered their advent calendar a few years ago and it’s one of my all-time favorites.
These are the advent calendars I know from last year, and I’ll update them as the new ones come in:
Sugoi Mart 30 days of Japan Advent Calendar 2022
Sugoi Mart has an advent calendar this year that is perfect for anyone missing Japan. I have been hoping for an advent calendar like this and it says it has toys, snacks and other treats and I love that there aren’t any spoilers. I’m really tempted to get this one because we’ve been dreaming of a Japan trip and this will get us excited to go back again too. This advent calendar just opened for pre-order in limited supply.
LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar 2022
We don’t collect many things but LEGO is an exception in this house and even thought last year the boys thought they might not need an advent calendar this year, I think they’ll still want this one. We just got back from Disneyland and visited the newish Star Wars area there and we are also watching Andor weekly so I think they’ll probably end up getting this one this year as well.
Thames and Kosmos EXIT: Advent Calendar
I’m really intrigued by this advent calendar idea that is also a 24-day puzzle adventure. This feels like it might be more of an experience gift than a box full of trinkets and I hope we see more creative advent calendars out there this year like this one.
An Art themed advent calendar from Arteza
This one is so intriguing to me because I have no idea what might be in it. Arteza has a 12 day calendar as well as a 24 day one and having a choice of less days makes it perfect if you are like me and get overwhelmed by having SO MANY DAYS to count down.
Fill your own advent calendars from Dare to Bake
You can even get advent calendars you can fill yourself. Dare to Bake has these for sale and I’m so tempted to make them for my friends and family this year too!
A puzzle advent calendar
This might actually help people who feel like they need to sit down and do a whole puzzle- in this puzzle advent calendar you get a small section of pieces over time. I’ve heard that people make this kind of advent calendar themselves too-you buy a puzzle and do the puzzle then divide it into smaller sections and you can put them in envelopes (and maybe even 12 days instead of 24).
A sharing chocolate advent calendar
We have twins who have had to share so much in their lives. I love that the Dandelion Chocolate calendar (this is a chocolate company we’ve visited in San Francisco) has a sharing option that you can add on to their exquisitely beautiful advent caledar.
And Costco and Trader Joe’s have advent calendars too
We’ve spotted the wine and dog advent calendars at our local Costco and still need to see if Trader Joe’s has their dog advent calendar yet. This year Trader Joe’s has a 12 days of beauty advent calendar too.
A Local Seattle Advent Calendar from Heritage Distilling: this one is a very spirited one.
Heritage Distilling’s Calendar has 24 days of whiskey, rum, vodka and gin. If you are in Seattle, Heritage Distilling also has a tasting room in Ballard.
A Made in Issaquah chocolate advent calendar from Boehm’s
Have you ever stopped or driven by Boehm’s in Issaquah on your way from Seattle to Snoqualmie Pass? Boehm’s has a chocolate advent calendar too! One day I also want to do one of their tours-this would make a great experience gift.
Fran’s Chocolates also has an advent calendar refill package if you have a refillable one
Fran’s Chocolate, a local Seattle company we absolutely can’t not visit when we are at Uvillage has a snowman advent calendar this year that looks splurgy and delicious but the more intriguing thing to me is that they also have an advent calendar refill package too. I have an empty one that I got from Starbucks ages ago that I can’t bring myself to part with but I’m forever forgetting to get the things to fill it up and Fran’s makes such delicious chocolate and it might even be a bit more environmentally friendly to reuse.
Are you also looking for ways to countdown to the holidays. Feel free to message me below or on instagram if you see a calendar I should check out!
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)