What advent calendars (gifts not chocolate or pictures) have been good?

[WaltonOnNaze]

I love planning, so thinking ahead to next year... what advent calendars have been good this year?

I was disappointed with the stuff in my M&S one.
DS loved Usborne books one and DH v happy with Laithwaite's wine one.

The Lego city one was good

I quite enjoyed the paperchase one but there were days where I was a bit disappointed, like on pencil sharpener day. I don't think it was worth £45 though, I'm glad I paid ~£20. I did add some bits from it to people's Christmas presents.

I loved my Holland & Barrett beauty advent! Lots of useful & varied items.

DD 14 loved her Home Alone one. It was very well made and fun.

DH had a Jelly Belly which was good value.

I had a Naked Marshmallow which was amazing and I'll get again next year.

We had a Degusta between us which was an added indulgence but really entertaining - a good mix between delicious treats, interesting condiments and hilarious randomness (gravy mayonnaise).

jurassic world (dd1 - 20) and crystals (dd2 -19) both went down very well.

I loved my Laithwaite’s wine one too & a classic Galaxy choc one

Molton Brown - 6 perfumes. 1 perfume holder
2 candles
1 bath salts and 2 beauty items as well as shower gel etc
not as good as previous

boots no 7 - boring

holland & barret I’d 100% have again

cheese. The winner

Bonne mamam was excellent. All the gorgeous jams plus a sweet little spoon and a candle. Great value for money if you’re a jam lover.

I treated myself to a calendar from The Botanical Candle Co and every item was just gorgeous. I would definitely buy again next year.

Playmobil farm was brilliant. We’ve had playdou, happy land. Peppa pig and Julia Donaldson in the past and the playmobil farm was by far the best

I also had the M&S beauty one this year and was a bit underwhelmed by it (it was only my second year having it, so maybe the novelty of last year had worn off) but there's still plenty of useful or nice stuff in it. I thought much smaller sizes this year though.

Previous years I've treated myself to this German loose leaf tea calendar and it's really excellent! www.cupoftea.co.uk/article/240-tea-advent-calendar-2020 Costs more than other tea calendars because the teas are little foil bags of loose leaf and easily make at least 5 decent cups each. Some of the flavours/blends are a bit way out but if you like a wide range of black, green, herbal etc teas this is a real treat. I usually get one on Amazon but they do sell out fast. (Didn't this year because I've since discovered Bird and Blend teas and have about a dozen of their blue packets in my tea cupboard, so really don't need more loose teas!) Failing that, or if you don't want the faff of loose tea, the English Tea Shop do really nicely packaged advent calendars with tea bags in. www.amazon.co.uk/English-Tea-Shop-Christmas-Calendar/dp/B07XGWDSMT/ref=sr_1_14?crid=LXGSF5YF50Z8&keywords=tea+advent+calendar+2022&qid=1672134692&sprefix=tea+advent%2Caps%2C336&sr=8-14

I also do a DIY Hotel Chocolat calendar for DH and have started doing one for me too because I was getting a bit envious of his daily boozy truffle! If you know you really like Hotel Chocolat chocolates but don't want the large price tag of one of theirs (plus, I don't think they do a purely boozy one) you can buy the packs of 6 chocolates in 'utility' packaging (normally get a bit off when you buy 3 together), wrap them in foil or cling film to keep fresh (IMPORTANT) and put in one of those self-fill fabric calendars. Or buy lots of tiny calico bags from Amazon and number/decorate, then hang from some twiggy shit, which is what I did.

Bird & Blend tea was great

I have a charm bracelet one from Etsy, Charles were a mix of Christmas and normal ones

ILs loved their seeds one.
Aunt loved her pukka teas one and it was like a subtle pot pourri in her kitchen throughout December.
I didn't get one this year but last year had a 12 day Boden socks one which was lovely .

Kids wise- the playmobile ones are amazing, we got a Christmas set a few years ago that we get out every year.

Hot wheels- good value, 8 cars but a big cumbersome calendar that ripped easily

Polly pocket- less exciting day by day but love that at the end it turns into a house that all the bits go in. Lots of play from that now!

I quite liked the M&S one, didn't love everything but it is pretty cheap!

DD had the Body Shop one again. Decent sizes, all of stuff she will use and the one scent she hates will be used by me.

I got it in November during a Body Shop sale for 20% off.

I got DD (7) the Smiggle one, it was discounted to £12 which worked out fairly good value for 25 items, and she was very happy with it.

The Lego Star Wars advent calendar was fab. It had lots of really exciting pieces - apparently.
As always my Marks and Sparks one was such amazing good value. Only 1 thing I won’t use and that’s the hair mousse.

I had the lookfantastic one, my 1st beauty one and was really impressed. Los in there that's going to last a good few months I'd say if not longer.
I really want the stylevana one next year as really into Korean/Japanese skin care

Degustabox was lots of fun, though I have to say that on balance, I don't think that 2022 was as good as previous years.

But we'll still get it again next year.

We enjoyed an escape room one :)

I just came on to say my escape room one as well! DH got me one last year and it was so fun, so he got me another this year. They’re by the Exit games people (Thames and Kosmos). You only get told the first door, then each answer is a code to figure out which door is next. I am a massive nerd so it was heaven for me!

The only issue with it is that I have to be in the right frame of mind to focus on it and with work etc that’s not always possible, so both years so far I’ve saved up a few days at a time to enjoy.

We had the escape room one too, it was excellent !

VERY interested in an escape room one, will look in to that for next year!

Daughter had the toucan box one which I got for £35. It was fairly expensive for what it was (especially as a few activities involved buying cooking ingredients on top) but daughter enjoyed it. I’ve saved all the little boxes so next year will fill with chocolate coins and some activities will be reusable too so I saved them.

Cheese? If veggie not vegan obviously