Advent calendars 2023: 8 best adult advent calendars - including chocolate, cheese, alcohol and homeware

Advent calendars are no longer just for children - there's plenty made especially for adults to enjoy and these are eight of the best

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8 best advent calendars for adults - chocolate, cheese, alcohol, homeware and more. Photos: Love Cocoa (top left), Anthon Berg (top right), So Wrong It's Nom and Ilchester Cheese (bottom left) and Arran (bottom right).8 best advent calendars for adults - chocolate, cheese, alcohol, homeware and more. Photos: Love Cocoa (top left), Anthon Berg (top right), So Wrong It's Nom and Ilchester Cheese (bottom left) and Arran (bottom right).
8 best advent calendars for adults - chocolate, cheese, alcohol, homeware and more. Photos: Love Cocoa (top left), Anthon Berg (top right), So Wrong It's Nom and Ilchester Cheese (bottom left) and Arran (bottom right).

Everyone deserves a treat at Christmas time - and that includes in the run up to the festive season, not just on the main days of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. That's where advent calendars come in.

Traditionally, these were created to help keep children occupied as they eagerly awaited the arrival of Santa. Once upon a time, the doors were opened each day to reveal an Xmas scene, but then they developed to include a sweet treat of chocolate. These days, calendars can contain just about anything for kids - from books to toys.

But, advent calendars aren't just for children, they are also for grown-ups. There's a huge range to choose from, so whether you are a foodie, a beauty lover, a homebird or a drink connoisseur, there's one for you. Here at NationalWorld we've rounded up eight of the best advent calendars for adults. Take a look at our list below and pick out your favourite.

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Let's start off traditional, but with a luxury twist - because who says chocolate calendars are just for kids?

If you're a chocoholic (and aren't we all), then look no further than an advent calendar from London-based sustainable chocolate brand, Love Cocoa. The business has great pedigree, founded by James Cadbury, the great-great-great grandson of the original Mr Cadbury. We can confirm that this chocolate is thorougly indulgent and delicious.

This 41% Milk Chocolate Calendar, which stars 24 tasty squares of smooth and creamy Colombian milk chocolate, is ideal for people who prefer simple, plain chocolate.

This is another lovely advent calendar from Love Cocoa, but this one feaures the brand’s bestselling flavours in delectable bitesize pieces for 24 days of tasty treats. It's another suitably grown-up affair featuring: Salted Caramel Milk Chocolate, Sea Salt Dark Chocolate, Colombian Milk Chocolate and Gingerbread Dark Chocolate.

If you're feeling generous, you could share some of these flavours with loved ones, or you could keep them to yourself. Perhaps you could even buy identical calendars for your family and friends.

Plant-based and made from single-origin Colombian cocoa, this advent calendar is the best way to celebrate the countdown to Christmas for vegans. It includes squares of Creamy Original Plain Oat M!lk Chocolate, Gingerbread Oat M!lk Chocolate, Salted Caramel Oat M!lk Chocolate and Orange Oat M!lk Chocolate.

The calendar is plant-based deliciousness at it's very best. Being vegan, these chocs may be missing some of the common chocolate ingredients, but they're certainly not missing flavour and are still super creamy and melt in the mouth. We love them all.

Marizpan is one of those food stuffs that tends to get indulged in at Christmas, and it reminds us all how much we enjoy it. So, this year why wait until the main Yuletide days to treat yourself? The marzipan advent calendar, designed in striking pink and gold, hides lots of handcrafted, heavenly Anthon Berg marzipan chocolates for lots of moments of joy as we await the big day.

The original Cheese Advent Calendar from So Wrong It’s Nom and Ilchester Cheese is a lip-smacking alternative to the standard chocolate advent calendars, filled with 24 flavour-packed ‘chuckles’ (miniature wheels) of cheese. Again, cheese is another favourite food of the festive season, so why wait until December 25? Spoil yourself to some of the most gorgeous cheese on the market from December 1 with this calendar.

It's been made by Annem Hobson, the cheese enthusiast behind So Wrong It's Nom, who has turned her seasonal side hustle into a successful business. Unsurprisingly, this calendar has become a food phenomenon since it was launched in 2017.

Containing 24 individual cheeses, the award-winning advent calendar features 11 mouthwatering varieties from award-winning Somerset-based cheese specialists, Ilchester Cheese Company. Founded in the heart of cheese-making West Country, Illchester Cheese is known for their innovative flavours and high-quality locally-sourced ingredients. Don't just take our word for it regarding how great it is, get yours now.

If thesre's one thing we love to have with our chocolate or cheese, it's a good cuppa. So, why not delight yourself wth a new tea flavour to enjoy every day in the run up to Xmas too? Pukka’s number one seasonal gifting item, the Tea Advent Calendar, is back for 2023 now with a brand-new design in midnight blue, and is the perfect way to begin your festive journey and give yourself a winter warmer every day.

It features 24 unique tea sachets from our portfolio, designed with variety in mind so you or your loved one can indulge in a moment of joy during the festive countdown. New for 2023 is the addition of Winter Warmer, Pukka’s seasonal edition festive tea, as well as some other Pukka blends to keep you guessing what is in store every day.

Many people love to have Irish cream liqueur drink at Christmas. It's become synonymous with the festive season - and one of the best ones available is Aldi's Ballycastle which is both budget friendly and bold in it's flavours.

Aldi’s first ever Ballycastle Cream Liqueur Advent Calendar is a 25-door calendar which contains 21 delicious Ballycastle cream-flavoured chocolates and three mini cream liqueur bottles (5cl) to countdown to the big day in style. Award-winning flavours include White Chocolate, Chocolate, Caramel and Hazelnut, and Classic Country Cream. 

ARRAN Sense of Scotland, who make fragrance inspired products on their island home of Arran, Scotland, are offering the most beautiful advent calendar that people will love - we certainly did.

New for Christmas this year, ARRAN's calendar is a zodiac inspired fragrance and beauty advent calendar, where astrology lovers are in for a constellational treat, featuring more than £150 worth of products. From candles to EDTs, shower gel, soap bars, shampoo and body lotion minis – there's a beautiful fragrance gift tucked behind each door to be enjoyed not only in the run up to Christmas and well into the new year. 

 Brand new for 2023 and featured for the first time are ARRAN’s new exclusive fragrances; Forest Frost and Rowanberry Embers in a selection of home scent products. The Scotland based brand’s best-selling After the Rain scent also features behind several doors, as does its other popular collections including Glenashdale, Lochranza, Glen Rosa and new addition for 2023 - Kildonan, all inspired by locations on Arran.