Hark, the Advent Calendars Have Arrived (Very) Early This Year
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The Advent-calendar elves are working overtime this holiday season. Atthis time last year, there were 20 Advent calendars in our early roundup, but this year, there are nearly 40. Already you can buy Bonne Maman’s, Liberty’s, and Papier’s. If timing is any indication, they may even sell out before Halloween (as many of last year’s sold out before Thanksgiving). So if you want to have an Advent calendarbeforeAdvent (the fourth Sunday before Christmas), be sure to check out soon. To help, I found all the best Advent calendars available right now; some are on preorder with estimated shipping dates noted throughout. I’ll be updating this guide regularly in the next few weeks, too.
The Advent calendars to get right now
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It's 24 days of premium-size samples, from Sunday Riley Good Genes to Verb Ghost Oil.
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Enjoy holiday-exclusive caramel-salted-butter and raspberry-dark-chocolate Bonne Maman jams.
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Build a LEGO Marvel scene with Spider-Man on skis and a Captain America snowman.
Beauty & Fragrance
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In 2014, Liberty beautified the tradition of the Advent calendar, “swapping out candy for a selection of its best-selling products,” explained beauty writer Tembe Denton-Hurst, noting that since then many other beauty retailers “quickly followed suit.” For 2026, 21 of the 29 products in Liberty’s calendar are full size, including a Sunday Riley CEO vitamin C serum and a Sisley Sisleya lotion (which retails for $185). There’s also atravel-sizeD.S. & Durga Debaser andJones RoadMiracle Balm.
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There are 29 “grooming, skin-care, and fragrance heroes” in Liberty’s men’s calendar; the 14 full-size products include a Marvis Whitening Toothpaste, Paula’s Choice Ecotin Booster, and Philip Kingsley Flaky Itchy Scalp Shampoo, plus a travel-size Loewe Esencia Eau de Parfum and Grown Alchemist Skin Renewal.
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Take it from me, a formerAnthropologie employee: The company’s beauty Advent calendars sell out faster than you can say “Maeve.” This year, the 24 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar returns with “premium size” samples of Vacation Chardonnay Oil, Lanolips Strawberry 101 Ointment, and Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo. (It’s similar tolast year’s, which had Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen and Hero CosmeticsMighty Patches.)
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Or for half the price and half the amount of samples (including a mini Ilia After Midnight Limitless Lash Mascara and a Megababe Après Shave), there’s Anthropologie’s 12-Day Beauty Advent Calendar. There’s a drawing of a lipsticked moose and frog holding a compact mirror by designer Carly Klaire on the inside cover.
[Editor’s note: This is available for preorder now and estimated to begin shipping on September 14.]
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Our senior writer Dominique Pariso called Yankee Candle “the best bang for your buck” of thedrugstore candles. Burn through classic Yankee Candle scents — Midsummer’s Night, Lemon Lavender, Christmas Cookie, and Macintosh — with this calendar. Compared with thestandard Yankee Candlethat’s 22 ounces, every Yankee Candle here is 1.3 ounces.
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Nippon Kodocontinues making incense in the tradition of Jyuemon Takai (a.k.a. Koju), “an incense guru who crafted scents for the emperor of Japan,” according to our contributor Ashlea Halpern. (Halpern came across a Honolulu shopkeeper’s handwritten description that it was “the world’s best incense.”) Staff members hand-picked the 24 varieties in the brand’s calendar — there’s no word on the aromas, but we can only hope there are at least a few sticks ofaloeswood(Halpern’s favorite and the “same tarlike, resinous evergreen wood that oud oil comes from”).
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A tribute to “the home of the bath bomb,” the 29½ High Street Advent Calendar features “bath treats” available only during the holidays (Sugar Plum Fairy, candy cane, reindeer) and six exclusives (including acarrot bath bomband a miniswirly sticky-dates bubble, plus otherLushcustomer favorites likeUnicorn Horn,Luna’s butterflyandSleepy.
[Editor’s note: This is available for preorder now and estimated to be shipped on, or before, September 14.]
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Try an Augustinus Bader formula every day of the 12 Days of Bader. Maybe the Cream, which former Cut beauty director Kathleen Hou referred to as “the secret to rich-person skin,” or theVitamin C Serum(our editor Lauren Levy noticed her skin was more even-toned after using it for a few weeks) will become a permanent step in your routine.
Food & Drink
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You don’thaveto wait for the next day to open these Bonne Maman jams (including limited-edition caramel with salted butter, strawberry with Madagascar vanilla, and raspberry with dark chocolate), as oursenior editor Jen Trolio’s familyopens theirs in a single go to enjoy with her husband’s homemade bread.
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The 25 original confections inside Dandelion’s calendar are made by 24 confectioners (who were chosen after a series of blind tastings). Each chocolate comes in an ornament box with Danish artist Lisa Grue’s illustrations, and there’s a storybook of Nordic folklore and a star decoration for your window (a Scandinavian tradition) included.
[Editor’s note: This is available on preorder now and will begin shipping in November.]
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In Compartés’s “whimsical kingdom” — where there’s a dragon and a castle beyond snowy pines — there are chocolates in flavors of buttered croissant, eggnog crème brûlée, pistachio marzipan, and salted honeycomb behind every door.
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Charbonnel et Walker was granted aroyal warrantunder Queen Elizabeth II in 1970 (other customers werePrincess Margaret, Lauren Bacall, andNoël Coward). This year’s calendar, inspired by the brand’sBond Street store, is filled with truffles in flavors like sea-salt praline, white chocolate with strawberry conserve, and milk chocolate with hazelnut cream.
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ChefJonathan Waxmanadmits “Walker’s are better than any [shortbread] I could make.” (He learned how to make shortbread from aJoy of Cookingrecipe.) The individually wrapped biscuits in Walker’s calendar include all-butter fingers (Waxman says, “If you dip them in chocolate, it’s not such a bad thing”) and salted-caramel squares.
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Filled with traditional kekserlnlikesacher husarenkrapferl(a chocolate-covered almond-vanilla thumbprint cookie with apricot jam), it may be the closest thing to theCafé Sabarskyreopening (at least until October 1).
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In the immortal words of Scary, Sporty, Posh, Baby, and Ginger Spices:“Spice up your life.” You could do so with the help of Parisian spice distributor Le Comptoir Colonial’s Spice Advent Calendar for Williams Sonoma, with za’atar (thyme, sumac, sesame), paella seasoning (paprika, turmeric, caraway), and speculoos blend (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, anise, ginger) included.
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Williams Sonoma’s 12 Days of Cheese is for those who understand the nuances of Muenster and cheddar (or justKraft singles). Each cheese is made by a family-operated creamery in Utah from the milk of a fourth-generation dairy and other ingredients like wildflower honey, organic bergamot, and cayenne pepper.
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A realpopcorn snobneeds kernels of purple, red, and sweet baby blue and seasonings of dill pickle, white cheddar, and buttery jalapeño from “Indiana’s popcorn country.”
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Fly by Jing’s 12-day Advent calendar returns this year with more unlaunched sauces and discontinued blends. (It sold out on November 5 last year, according to the brand — you know what to do.) It’s the first time the company is also offering a 24-day Advent calendar, which includes “a completely different gift assortment” than the 12 day’s.
[Editor’s note: Both are available for preorder now and will begin shipping in mid-October.]
Hobbies & Interests
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Stationery nerds: Papier’s 24-day Advent calendar and first-ever 12-day Advent calendar are here with roller-ball pens, fine liners, and highlighters forpen freaksand thank-you cards and sticky tabs for those who still hand-write everything.
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Or there’s a separate Anthropologie and Papier collaboration with a shopping-list notepad, pencil case, and A7 notebooks.
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The lack of a reference image means you may need all the help you can get to solve this “puzzling experience” from Nautilus. (It was part of anew guard of non-fusty puzzlesin a market dominated by the likes of Ravensburger and Springbok.) Per instructions: The first 12 drawers contain between 40 and 56 pieces, while the 13th box has 106 pieces to complete the rest of the puzzle (for a total of 688 pieces).
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Whether you’re still figuring out your color-analysis chart or rereading Sanzo Wada’sA Dictionary of Color Combinations, you may find inspiration for your new wall paint in Pantone’s 24 Days of Colorful Pop-Out Ornaments. Every day includes aPantone color chipattached to a cord to be hung on aChristmas treeor strung together in a garland.
[Editor’s note: This is available for preorder now and will be released on September 28.]
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Instead of getting a fixer-upper another Home Depot gift card, add to their toolbox a ratchet, nut driver, screwdriver, and bottle opener courtesy of the 12 Days of Craftsman.
[Editor’s note: This is available for preorder now and will be released on October 1.]
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Here are 25 rubber ducks costumed as a witch, a knight, a fireman, and even a golf ball for a bather orJeep owner(hat tip to our writer Amelia Jerden).
For Kids
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The new movie-themedLEGO Advent-calendardesigns are of Disney Princesses Ariel, Cinderella, Moana, and Mulan;Star Wars“featuring the Mandalorian in an ugly Christmas sweater”; and a Marvel scene with Spider-Man on skis, says our resident toy expert Liza Corsillo.
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LEGO’s 2026 Friends Advent calendar has Nova, Liann, and Aliya writing to Santa with the help of animal friends like a seal, polar bear, and penguin …
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… While its City Advent Calendar has Santa’s workshop with mini-figures of Mr. and Mrs. Claus, elves, a snowman, and a baby reindeer. Combine both for the whole North Pole.
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The burgeoning geologist will like opening specimens of agate, aventurine, hematite, sodalite, and tiger’s eye every day of National Geographic’s gemstone calendar. And there’s a dig brick of rose quartz for the grand finale.
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Under each pocket is a new sticker sheet of Dick Bruna’s storybook bunny. Keep the beribboned trifold portfolio (which resembles Miffy’s house) on a wall, desk, or mantle (preferably next to anElf on the Shelf).
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Imagine givingSamantha Parkingtona cell phone, Josefina Montoya a pair of sunglasses, or Felicity Merriman afaux-fur scrunchie — or any of the other American Girl doll accessories in the Surprises 2026 Advent Calendar.
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