To find out which deliver the most delight, we got our hands on 20 of the most popular advent calendars for 2023. These included beauty advent calendars, as well as calendars containing chocolate, gin, beer, toys and snacks.
From Barbie to the Body Shop and Lindt to Lego, we've opened, analysed, tasted, dabbed and constructed from all the advent calendars that might be on your Christmas countdown wish list.
Read on for our top picks that include advent calendars from Argos, Boots, John Lewis, M&S and more.
Jump to:Best: M&S Beauty Advent Calendar
What's inside Pros
Our testers were very impressed with the offering of products and brands in this year’s M&S beauty advent calendar. Half our panel said they’d happily gift it to a loved one. That's why we've voted it our best beauty advent calendar of 2023 of those we tested.
Each product is unique and you get a wide range of haircare, skincare, nailcare and make-up over 25 days.
As well as travel-size products, the beauty advent calendar includes a few full-size products from popular brands including Benefit, L'Occitane and Ren. Our testers liked the addition of M&S's in-house brand, Apothecary, too. Some of these cost around £25 to buy individually, so you more than get your money’s worth at £45 for 25 products.
Keep in mind that this is a gift with purchase, so you’ll need to spend £35 on clothing or home products at M&S to be able to buy it. If you regularly shop at M&S and you’re a beauty fan, it’s definitely worth a look.
Other beauty advent calendars tested
The Body Shop The Advent of Change
What's inside Pros
The Body Shop's colourful, pop-up beauty advent calendar went down well with our testers with its array of products, from body butters to soap bars, lip balms and more.
Our tested liked that the products from different days complemented each other, such as the shea shampoo and conditioner or tea tree facial wash and toner.
Some of the products felt a bit samey, for example there were several shower gels and hand creams, but there's a lovely range of fruity scents among these to try. Our testers particularly enjoyed the hydrating mango hand balm.
12 Days of Liz Earle Beauty Advent Calendar
undefinedWhat's inside Pros
Despite only including 12 products over 12 days, this beauty advent calendar gives someone who might want to try Liz Earle everything they'll need for their skincare routine.
Some of the products inside the autumnal-style gold box include a full-size cleanser, hydrating mask and retinol booster. There's also a nice selection of skincare minis that don't feel like filler products.
As a nod to Christmas, our testers enjoyed the addition of the festive scented cedarwood and frankincense hand cream too.
Boots 24 Days of Premium Beauty Treats Advent Calendar
What's inside Pros
It's the priciest beauty advent calendar we tested, but you more than get your money's worth at £467 worth of products for £99.
If you're not particularly brand loyal, it gives you a chance to try newer brands, such as Byoma and Arkive, as well as some beauty classics, including Lancome and Bobbi Brown. There's no skimping on full-size products either. There are 14 included, ranging from lipsticks to cleanser, eye cream and more.
Keep in mind you'll need space to store the large, bulky box though, which opens out into drawers like a jewellery box.
L'Occitane Classic Beauty Advent Calendar
Also available for £59 at:What's inside Pros
Our testers enjoyed the citrus and verbena based body care products included in this L'Occitane beauty advent calendar, but they were left disappointed by the lack of showstoppers in the days running up to Christmas. Some found the beauty gift on Christmas Eve, the intensive hand balm, had a medicinal and slightly unappealing smell.
There are no full-size products included either, unlike other beauty advent calendars for 2023.
Best: Hotel Chocolat The Grand Advent Calendar
What's inside Pros
As you'd expect there are lots of chocolate gifts inside Hotel Chocolat's The Grand Advent Calendar including a chocolate wreath, chocolate snowmen and champagne truffles. But you also get some genuine surprises, such as chocolate lip balm, cacao gin and some more we'll leave you to discover yourself.
Half our testers said this calendar was one of their favourites and said they would love to receive it as a gift.
There's no denying that it's incredibly expensive, but it contains a huge amount of chocolate and other gifts that'll go down a treat in the run-up to Christmas. That's why it gets our nod as the best chocolate advent calendar of 2023 of those we tested.
Other chocolate advent calendars tested
Venchi Advent Calendar
Also available from £42:What's inside Pros
Half of our testers said they would gift the Venchi advent calendar to a loved one and we can absolutely see why.
Its elegant, chocolate box design with green ribbon and tasty selection of treats impressed. Our testers also felt the boxes that housed the individual, enticingly-wrapped chocolates were sturdy enough to be reused.
Although the chocolate itself didn't blow our testers away, they appreciated the variety.
Charbonnel et Walker Advent Calendar
What's inside Pros
Our testers enjoyed opening this chocolate advent calendar - it ticks all of the boxes in that it's beautifully decorated and contains 24 delicious truffles.
The festive sweet shop design would look wonderful displayed among your Christmas decorations too.
While it's a lovely calendar, it didn't impress as well as our top picks. Not enough of our testers said that they would buy this, mainly due to its lack of variety. It repeated chocolate flavours more often than the Venchi advent calendar.
Lindt Festive Select Advent Calendar
Also available from £15 at:What's inside Pros
You can't go wrong with Lindt chocolate at Christmas and our testers certainly found this to be the case after trying the Lindt Festive Select Advent Calendar.
They enjoyed tasting the variety of Lindt chocolates inside and particularly liked the big chocolate surprise you get on Christmas Eve.
It's not a standout chocolate advent calendar, but you get a lovely array of delicious treats for under £20.
Fortnum’s Chocolate Truffle Selection Advent Calendar
What's inside Pros
You get a variety of festive flavoured truffles inside this chocolate advent calendar, including Christmas pudding, maple and spiced praline.
Our testers found the truffles OK, but weren't blown away by what they tried.
They also felt the box was less impressive than other chocolate advent calendars on offer and mentioned that they struggled to get the chocolates out from behind each door.
Best: Lego City Advent Calendar 2023
What's inside Pros
The 2023 Lego City Advent Calendar is packed full of figures and accessories that can be added to other sets when Christmas is over.
Our testers enjoyed the festive-themed Lego figures that include Santa Claus, Mrs Claus and a reindeer sleigh, and some said they would enjoy being gifted it.
The consistency of the gifts behind each window is also excellent, and it gets even more festive in the days running up to Christmas.
Our testers found the design of the box a bit confusing though. Numbers were tricky to locate, so younger children might need help opening the windows.
Other children’s advent calendars tested
Pokémon Trading Card Game Advent Calendar
Also available from £40 at:What's inside Pros
If your child is obsessed with Pokémon, we think they'll love the selection of gifts in this children's advent calendar.
They'll be able to add to their Pokémon card collection with foil cards and booster packs hidden behind the windows.
You don't get a pack of cards every day - for example, there are also sticker sheets and coins - but these filler days aren't too frequent.
Our testers found it hard to get the cards out of the windows without bending them, so little hands might need some help.
Nintendo Super Mario Advent Calendar
What's inside Pros
At a first glance, this advent calendar is super exciting for kids who love Super Mario with characters on the front of the box holding Christmas presents.
Some gifts are wonderful, such as the Santa Mario and Snowman Luigi figures, but some are very underwhelming. Our parent testers felt their kids would be left disappointed if they opened the door to reveal a plastic gold coin, as you get on some days, for example.
Barbie Dreamtopia Advent Calendar
What's inside Pros
Barbie Dreamtopia begins with a bang, thanks to the Barbie doll gift on day one. This is sure to get December off to a fabulous start for any Barbie fan.
What follows each day thereafter are clothes and accessories for the Barbie doll. These include wings, a mermaid tail, shoes, jewellery and more. Some of these felt a bit flimsy (and there are quite a lot of small pieces that may get lost), but overall there's plenty to keep little Barbie fans entertained.
A Barbie doll from Mattel starts from £13.99. Considering the amount of accessories that are packed into this advent calendar, we think it's pretty good value. The accessories can be used with other Barbie dolls, too.
Playmobil Christmas Sleigh Ride Advent Calendar
Also available from £19 at: What's inside Pros
Our panel liked the strong Christmas theme that runs through this calendar, with 24 pieces that you collect each day to form a Christmas sleigh ride scene.
Building the scene though meant negotiating fiddly pieces that our parent testers felt younger kids would need help with. Some of the daily gifts were also parts towards the build that weren't really identifiable as a thing. Our testers felt opening these would leave a child a little underwhelmed.
Need some Christmas gift inspo? Read our reviews of the andBest: Drinks By the Dram Premium Gin Advent Calendar (2023 edition)
Cheapest price: £89.95What's inside Pros
As well as the stylish little wax-covered bottles inside this advent calendar, our testers were impressed with the spectacular variety of gins behind each of the 24 doors. Half our testers voted it as one of their favourite advent calendars to gift to a loved one.
It features popular brands, such as Tanqueray and Hendrick's, as well as plenty of niche distilleries from around the world.
The total volume of gin in the calendar is equivalent to a little over a standard bottle. You can purchase a whole bottle of premium gin in the region of £30 to £40, so it's not a cheap advent calendar. However, if you're looking to be introduced to new gins that you won't find in your local supermarket, then this is the advent calendar for you.
Other beer, booze and snack advent calendars tested
Virgin Wines Beer Advent Calendar
What's inside Pros
This beer advent calendar was popular with our testers. Nearly half said they'd gift it to a loved one or would enjoy it themselves.
Our testers praised the mix of big and small brewers inside the calendar, as well as the fantastic array of pale ales, session beers, stouts and pilsners to sample throughout the 24 days.
They felt the wreath design on the box could have been improved upon, but the quality of beers inside more than makes up for this.
: how does Bailey's compare to cheap supermarket rivals?Joe & Seph’s Popcorn Advent Calendar
What's inside Pros
Our testers enjoyed sampling the 14 different flavours of popcorn inside this snack advent calendar. Favourites included mint chocolate and toffee apple and cinnamon, but some flavours, such as buck's fizz, didn't get as big a thumbs up.
The amount of popcorn in each bag is generous and although there are some repetitions, our testers enjoyed the unique, tasty flavour you get on Christmas Eve.
The colourful box design, inspired by 'Where's Wally?', is striking and would look fantastic displayed at home.
The Snaffling Pig Pork Crackling Advent Calendar
Also available for £23.99 at:What's inside Pros
There are some fun flavours of pork crackling inside this advent calendar including pigs in blankets, maple syrup and smokey barbecue. However our testers found these a bit hit and miss - saying some were tasty but some a bit sickly.
They also felt let down by the the amount of pork crackling inside each bag. They'd hoped for it to be a bit more generous.
John Lewis Wine Advent Calendar
What's inside Pros
While our testers enjoyed sampling the selection of New World wines from Chile, Moldova and California and more, they weren't wowed by the quality.
It's a fun novelty to enjoy in the run-up to Christmas, but if you fancy yourself somewhat of a wine buff you'll probably be left a bit disappointed.
The box that houses all the wines is heavy and bulky, so you'll need plenty of space at home to store it too.
How we test advent calendars
We choose popular beauty, chocolate, children's and food and drink advent calendars available at UK retailers. We ask our testers to open all the doors of each calendar and score them on the following:
Quality of products: Variety of gifts: Aesthetics: Favourites:We buy every advent calendar we test.
We are not able to show every retailer and cheaper prices may be available. Pricing and availability last checked: 25 October 2023.source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/best-advent-calendars-2023-aKAJM9q3Mz7x