Christmas Advent Calendars

Since there are only a few more days until Christmas, I wanted to share my thoughts on the advent calendars I got for this year.

The Body Shop Make It Real Together Ultimate Advent Calendar

The first advent calendar I bought for myself is The Body Shop Ultimate Advent Calendar. I was given The Body Shop gift card for my birthday, and I decided to put it towards one of their calendars. I bought one of their calendars in 2016 on sale, which I reviewed. I thought the calendar was expensive and definitely not worth the full price because there were very few full-size products. This year The Body Shop had three sizes of advent calendars, and I decided on the Ultimate calendar because the Make It Real Advent Calendar had 4 coconut items and the Make It Real Together Big Advent Calendar had 3 coconut items. I cannot stand coconut-scented items, and the Ultimate had none, therefore, I decided on the Ultimate, which was 995 kr/ $163 for 25 days of gifts. This calendar has many full-size items such as shower gels, shampoo and conditioner, body butter, masks, face wash, lip butter, and hand cream. Like The Body Shop calendar from 2016, there is very little makeup (mascara and liquid lipstick in this calendar), but I do like that the only tools and accessories have been a facial mask brush and a headband while the rest has been skincare. I do think the calendar is still expensive, but this one is definitely worth the price. If you would like to see another beauty-related advent calendar, Tarryn shared her thoughts on the LookFanstastic 2020 Advent Calendar.

 

English Tea Shop Advent Calendar 

Last year I got the Pukka Tea Advent Calendar, but there were quite a few teas with licorice as the main flavor, which is a flavor I cannot stand. The English Tea Shop Calendar had fewer teas with licorice and they were a minor flavor, so I decided to try this one this year. The calendar was 110 kr / $18 for 24 teas in 12 different flavors, and I also used a gift card for Matas from my birthday to buy it. I have been enjoying the teas, and I have been drinking them with honey or making tea lattes. Out of the 12 flavors, my favorites are the White Tea Blueberry & Elderflower and Spiced Red Fruits, but I did not like Sweet Vanilla Bread because the spices were too strong. The English Tea Shop Advent Calendar is a great way to try new flavors of tea, and I have found some new favorites.

 

Lego Harry Potter Advent Calendar

I have bought the Lego Stars Wars Advent Calendar several years ago, which I shared in my Christmas Advent Calendars post. This year, Lego had a Yule Ball-themed Harry Potter advent calendar, and I decided to buy it because my favorite Harry Potter book is The Goblet of Fire. The calendar has 24 days and included mini-figures of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Cho Chang, Padma Patil, and Parvati Patil. The calendar also included items from the Triwizard Tournament like the Goblet of Fire, a Durmstrang ship, a Beauxbatons carriage, and the golden egg as well as Yule Ball decorations including tables with ice sculptures, Christmas trees, and a piano. I liked the calendar and some days built on previous days like the fireplace connected to two windows, the gramophone was placed on a table, and the two Yule Ball tables connected to each other, which was nice. My daughter also loves Lego and I bought her the Lego Friends Advent Calendar, which she loves because it is Santa’s workshop themed with toys and elves and a girl mini-figure. 

 

Homemade Advent Calendar

Me and my friend Lise sent each other 12-day advent calendars, and I loved the calendar she gave me! It was a complete surprise what would be inside unlike the others where I had some spoilers either from looking at the box or checking the ingredients. Every day for 12 days, I received makeup-related items including a lipstick, bag, brush, and sponge, skincare items including a serum, masks, shower gel, chocolate including Reese’s (my favorite candy), and DIY ornaments. It was a fun surprise opening a present each day, and I would love to do something like this next Christmas too. 

 

If you are unsure what advent calendar to get, Lynn has a great post on 8 of the Cutest Christmas Advent Calendars including the Kinder and Cadbury advent calendars! 

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Did you get any advent calendars this year?