Advent Calendar Shopping

It’s that time of year when ads start bombarding me with Christmas stuff. For the most part, I have been quite good at dodging them. But recently, I made the error of clicking on one particularly festive-looking advertisement for an advent calendar, and before I knew it, my feed was full of them.

I clicked because I had no idea what an Advent Calendar was. We don’t have this concept in India, or if we do, I never knew about it. So, I was curious. What is an Advent Calendar? Well, from what I understand, it’s a festive box full of presents, which are opened each day of December up until Christmas, making it 24 days of small surprises until the big day.

I actually like the idea. I mean, who doesn’t like surprises? And there are all sorts of Advent Calendars, but my favorites are probably the food and beauty ones.

Here are a few that are tempting me.

Fortnum & Mason food

This Fortnum & Mason one is the ad I clicked on. I am so charmed by it, it’s made of wood, and it’s filled with little drawers and stuff where you can get your treats. It’s 150 quid, which is a lot for some biscuits and chocolate, but it looks so festive and because it’s made of wood, can technically be reused year over year.

I’m just not too sure I won’t get tired of it, though, definitely not something I feel confident about loving for years on end.

Fortnum & Mason Beauty

Apart from the one above, Fortnum & Mason has tons of lovely Advent calendars (even one for dogs, which is super adorable). But they also have beauty, which somewhat intrigued me.

I love the idea of a beauty Advent Calendar, but I don’t know half these brands, and I would hate it if they made me break out or itch, so I will be skipping this one. TBH, it was an easy decision for me. But if you’re interested, here’s the link.

Perfume Advent Calendars

Two of my favorite perfume brands have also launched Advent Calendars. The Diptyque one is gorgeous – love the bookish vibe but there are a lot more candles than I’d like (I’m just not a candle person). The Jo Malone seems more versatile – more hand creams and bath products that I will actually use. And even something for men, which is nice.

Both also seem on the expensive side, and while I would love it if someone bought these as a gift for me, it’s not something I would personally spend on.

Liberty London Advent Calendar

This is absolutely gorgeous and TBH the one my heart hankers for – purely on aesthetics alone. But again, I don’t know most of these brands and the selections seems a bit too random, and so I will be giving this one a pass.

L’Occitane Advent Calendar

I think I am finally going to land on this one. It’s reasonably priced, I love L’Occitane products in general, and because it’s all from one brand, it seems more cohesive than the Liberty or Fortnum & Mason beauty collections. I am confident I will use up all their products, and it’s a bit more reasonably priced than the others. I would have loved it if the calendar itself were prettier or more Christmassy, and I sure would love more full-size products instead of trial sizes. But overall, reasonably good value for the money.

So, we are really getting into the Christmas spirit this year. We are planning a tree, stockings, the whole hog, and among all the other gifts for the family, there’s going to be this little something for me as well, to get me right into the festive mood • ᴗ <.

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?