The best advent calendars for adults and children, with chocolate, tea, beauty and fragrance calendars, plus a few to fill and use year after year.

There is something about opening a little door every morning in December that never gets old, no matter how old we are. Advent calendars for adults have become one of my favorite ways to slow down the rush of the season, one small treat at a time. Advent begins on Sunday, November 29 this year, and most calendars count down from December 1 to Christmas Eve, so now is the time to choose. The best ones sell out early, often well before Thanksgiving.

Here are my favorite advent calendars this year, filled with chocolate, tea, jam, beauty and fragrance, along with a few beautiful calendars your family can fill and use for years to come.

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Chocolate and Sweet Advent Calendars

A chocolate advent calendar is the classic, and there are so many lovely ones to choose from. Charbonnel et Walker, the British chocolatier, makes some of the prettiest. Tony’s Chocolonely, Godiva and Lindt all make chocolate calendars, and Sugarfina fills theirs with jewel-colored candies in tiny boxes. For a little bit of France on the breakfast table, the Bonne Maman calendar holds 24 tiny jars of jam and honey, and it is one I give to myself.

Tea and Coffee Advent Calendars

For the tea drinker, Fortnum & Mason’s tea advent calendars are a little luxury, with a different tea behind every door. A coffee advent calendar with a new flavor for every morning is a fun gift for the coffee lover in your house, and a hot cocoa calendar is perfect for the hot chocolate lovers on your list.

Beauty and Fragrance Advent Calendars

A beauty advent calendar is one of the best ways to try new products without committing to full sizes, and many hold far more than they cost. Jo Malone London, Liberty, L’Occitane, Clarins and Dior all make beauty or fragrance calendars, and Sephora’s 12 days of beauty sets are a good choice if you would like something smaller. For the home, a candle advent calendar lights a new little votive every evening, which I think is a lovely way to end a December day.

Advent Calendars to Fill and Use Year After Year

If you would rather have one calendar that comes out every December, a reusable advent calendar becomes part of the family’s Christmas traditions. A wooden advent calendar with little drawers, a fabric calendar with pockets or a felt advent house can be filled with small toys, notes, candy or whatever you like. Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma always have beautiful ones, and a lit wooden village looks just as pretty on the mantel as it does on the kitchen counter.

For fillers, think small: a chocolate coin, a tiny ornament, a note with a memory or a plan for the day, like baking cookies or driving around to see the Christmas lights.

Advent Calendars for Children and Grandchildren

For the children and grandchildren on your list, LEGO, Harry Potter and Playmobil calendars build a little scene day by day, and a calendar of small books or puzzles keeps little hands busy on the way to Christmas. A Nativity advent calendar, adding one figure to the stable each day, is a lovely way to tell the Christmas story.

Make Your Own Book Advent Calendar

My favorite advent calendar of all is one you make yourself. Wrap 24 books, one for every day from December 1 to Christmas Eve, and pile them in a basket by the tree. Children love unwrapping a new story every night, and grown-ups enjoy it just as much. Used bookshops and thrift stores keep the cost down. You can find more ideas in my gifts for book lovers.

More from My Holiday Shop

Looking for more Christmas decorations? Visit my Holiday Shop for trees, wreaths, ornaments and more, or see Christmas Mugs, Entertaining and Tabletop and Christmas Stockings. For gifts, my Christmas gift guide has something for everyone on your list. You can also find more favorites in my Amazon Shop.

Do you have an advent calendar tradition in your house? Tell me in the comments what you would put behind the little doors if you made your own.