I bought a tea calendar for my teen daughter, which she loved the idea of, but it was the same 6 or so teas in rotation, so it got boring after the first two weeks. Same with the British cheese one we got for the family—delicious, but not a ton of variety. We ended up with a fridge drawerful of the one cheese nobody liked.

I think the Lego Star Wars one has been our favorite over the years, but the regular Lego one is fun, too.

My kids love the cheap chocolate ones just as much as expensive Lego and other calendars, so I’m sticking with those.

Last year, the kids made puzzle advent calendars for relatives by taking a Christmas puzzle with 500 pieces, assembling it, and breaking into 24 sections. Each section was then bagged in its own small cloth bag. The sections were small enough that it could be assembled without knowing what the bigger picture looked like.

Anonymous wrote:We got a popcorn one last year and it was a total dud.

Which one? I'm looking at one from the Popcorn Factory. Same brand?

Not a edible calendar, but I just ordered this one for my DS and fiancé. Too many of the advent calendars look like a craft project to me,

https://www.target.com/p/metal-advent-calendar-with-wreath-magnet-black-cream-hearth-38-hand-8482-with-magnolia/-/A-82275002#lnk=sametab

We got a popcorn one last year and it was a total dud.

I got the L'occitane one last year for mine. They liked it but was mostly samples and mostly hand lotion. Fun, but not really worth it.

Anonymous wrote:I’m planning to up our game this year from the cheaper calendars. DD11 isn’t quite into beauty stuff yet, and DS16 is typical low maintenance guy. Will probably do nice chocolate for her and jerky for him.

Meant to add, choosing from this list:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/holidays-and-parties/packages/holidays/holiday-gift-guide/food-advent-calendars

I’m planning to up our game this year from the cheaper calendars. DD11 isn’t quite into beauty stuff yet, and DS16 is typical low maintenance guy. Will probably do nice chocolate for her and jerky for him.

Anonymous wrote:chocolate always a hit, so we get the godiva or dylans candy bar one. The 99 centers are too gross and waxy

I spring for good chocolate for my kids for Valentines Day, but there are so many goodies around Christmas that I’m happy to give them a postage stamp sized piece of crappy chocolate for the first 24 days of December. I think opening the little window and then seeing what that day’s chocolate mold is (a candle, an ornament, a candy cane, etc.) is part of the nostalgia.

But the crappy 99 cent ones are now at least $2.

Target sells an advent punch box that you fill yourself. They punch a circle each day. Last year I did a baseball card theme for one kid and mani/pedi theme for the other. My younger tween still likes the lego advent too.

Last year I bought a beauty one from trader joes that my tween was obsessed with and has been asking for all year. It was more lotion/scrubs/chap stick and less about make-up so I think it will be good for her this year.

We got a great hot chocolate one from Yawn Brew last year.

chocolate always a hit, so we get the godiva or dylans candy bar one. The 99 centers are too gross and waxy

Bonne Maman

99 cent Chocolate calendar? $$$$ calendar with beauty products? Which ones have you used (and liked/disliked) before? Which ones are you trying out this year? Looking for any and all ideas!