The advent calendar threads suggest a lot sold out. I gave it all a miss this year. But if you tag along someone might have a good suggestion.
I’d love it if my daughter gave me such a present when I’m 70!
As it goes, I make mine an advent calendar every year and will probably continue to do so even when she’ll be grown up with her own family. I re-use a cloth calendar she had since she was a toddler, it has decent size pockets and I wrap individual items in each pocket. As she’s grown in age, it is mostly makeup, hair care, money and nice small chocolates.
So, perhaps, you could tailor make one for your mum? Find travel size items of the brands she likes on the manufacturer’s website - L’Occitane do loads.
You could make a cloth calendar using some nice fabric off-cuts (charity shop finds silk, leather, wool in a nice colour combination?). Make a long rectangle with different size pockets and fill them up with various wrapped up items. You don’t have to give it to her on the 1st exactly. You could probably glue everything together if you haven’t got time to stitch the fabric.
Or use a nice box and place the individually wrapped and numbered items inside.
Nuxe is a beautiful brand and their bestseller is a body oil which comes in a smaller size. You should be able to buy from a large Boots store or department store.
She might also appreciate something from Clarins if she likes fragrance and the French touch (buy her a little something - look online for one of their slightly less expensive items so you know what to ask for - from a department store and tell the Clarins sales person you intend to convert your mum to Clarins but don’t know where to start and ask nicely for some samples of their face and body oils - they usually have lots of samples but for some reason need convincing to part with them).
I don’t know if Clinique operate a similar policy so can’t advise but you might be able to find travel sets on eBay from a decent seller.
The Abnormal Beauty Company do an antiageing hand cream which is very good (quite strong fragrance to my liking but it is very good). No7 also do a decent hand cream. If you want something that actually works.
Does she like looking after her nails? A small bottle of almond oil from Holland & Barrett (great for nails) or Body Shop used to do a pen with a nail care oil. Also a good quality clear or nude nail varnish might be useful.
Body scrubs come in smaller tubes sometimes which are easy to use in the shower. Any brand would do, look on Amazon for something with natural ingredients (not coffee thought as it’s very messy and not too oily as there’s the risk of slipping).
Or a nice bottle of a small hair treatment or hair mask. Superdrug do an oil based range and they have these small vials of oil something - I had a sample and it was very nice.
It will be a fun thing to do and you’ll probably spend as much money hand picking items as you would buying a calendar you are not sure she’d fully use.