Being Jewish I never got to take in the fun of having an advent calendar during the holiday season.

Truthfully, it would totally make sense to have a Jewish advent calendar with each of the eight days of Hanukkah being a little box I could open everyday.  Now that I’m a lot older I’ve totally bought into the whole hype of advent calendars and it seems like every brand out there has too.

Gone are the days of boring milk chocolate advent calendars, now you can get beauty products, perfumes, candy, you name it (heck, even Tiffany & Co. has one of the world’s most expensive advent calendars, clocking in at over $200,000 USD).

Since it’s almost December 1 and time to start opening those little boxes, if you’re still stumped on which advent calendar to pick up, don’t worry I got you.

L’Occitane Signature Advent Calendar

Open up L’Occitane’s Signature Advent Calendar (C$64) to reveal a mythical tale about almond trees in Province (where the brand is from) from 1956 to today. Best part is that under the story are 24 boxes with mini L’Occitane goodies.

Included in this set are the following items:

• Immortelle Precious Cream 5ml
• Shea Butter Ultra Rich Lip Balm 4ml
• Rose Hand Cream 10ml
• Shea Butter Ultra Rich Body Cream 20ml
• Almond Delicious Hands 10ml
• Aromachologie Revitalizing Sugar Cube 33g
• Lavender Hand Cream 10ml
• Almond Shower Oil 35ml
• Shea Light Comforting Cream 5ml
• Almond Milk Concentrate 20ml
• Verbena Body Lotion 30ml
• Cherry Blossom Hand Cream 10ml
• 5 Essential Oils Shampoo 35ml
• Aqua Réotier Ultra Thirst-Quenching Gel 5ml
• Shea Butter Hand Cream 10ml
• Shea Butter Milk Extra-Gentle Soap 25g
• Shea Butter Intensive Hand Balm 10ml
• Soap with Verbena Leaves 25g
• 5 Essential Oils Conditioner 35ml
• Verbena Cooling Hand Cream Gel 10ml
• Verbena Shower Gel 30ml
• Cherry Blossom Bath & Shower Gel 35ml
• Shea Butter Foot Cream 10ml
• Aqua Réotier Water Gel Cleanser 40ml

As you can see, for only C$64 you get a good assortment of products and definitely items that would be used up (I mean, who doesn’t need bath and body items?).

L’Occitane also has a Luxury Advent Calendar (C$109) with drawers you can pull open. Comparing the two advent calendars, personally I don’t see a huge difference (the Signature one is valued at C$115, whereas the Luxury one is valued at C$218) aside from the Luxury one having more luxurious picks from the L’Occitane collection in general.  Truthfully though, for only C$64, I think the Signature one is a great value and would be a great pick for those who may not be familiar with the brand as much. If you have a L’Occitane lover, you may want to splurge for the Luxury one, but in general the Signature should do the trick.

I also want to add that for the holiday season, L’Occitane has partnered with PUR Projet to #UnwrapNature. Each purchase from their holiday collection (more items coming at you soon in a different post) equals to $1 towards their goal of planting 10,000 trees in North America. So total win-win, right?!

Mary Kay Cosmetics 12 Days of Glam

Something a little more pricier, the Mary Kay 12 Days of Glam advent calendar (C$124.99) is only 12 days long, but includes some fabulous products.

This set has a variety of makeup, skincare, and accessories behind the 12 windows and is guaranteed to be the highlight in anyone’s day who is opening it.

Included in the set are the following items:

• Gel Semi-Matte Lipstick – Midnight Red
• Cream Eye Colour – Beach Blonde or Pale Blush
• Satin Lip® Shea Sugar Scrub
• Mini TimeWise® Microdermabrasion Plus Set
• Mini Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover
• Translucent Loose Powder
• Gel Eyeliner with Expandable Brush Applicator – Jet Black
• NouriShine Plus® Lip Gloss – Golden
• Beauty Blotters® Oil-Absorbing Tissues
• Mini Satin Hands® Nourishing Shea Cream – White Tea & Citrus
• Lash Love Mascara – I ♥ Black
• Blending Sponge

This one would be a little better for the makeup lover or Mary Kay fanatic since you get such a great assortment of beauty items in general.  Most of them are travel-sized items, but there are some great essentials in here that will definitely get a lot of wear, so it’s a great set to gift or pick up for yourself.

Squish Candies Vegan 24 Days of Candy

I actually really wanted to gift the Squish Candies advent calendar (C$39) last year to my boyfriend, but it sold out so fast online that I ended up getting him a Lindt Chocolate one instead (which is also a good option). This year I made sure to grab one early in case they sold out before December 1.

The Squish Candies Vegan 24 Days of Candy (there’s also a non-vegan option as well) has 24 pockets, each one filled with a little packet of candy from their vegan range. If the word “vegan” scares you, don’t worry it just doesn’t contain gelatine or any other product that is derived by animals, they still taste like candy but are a little more chewy.

Included in this set is the following:

• Vegan Sour Wine O’Clock
• Vegan Avocado Dreaming
• Vegan Strawberry Apple Belts
• Vegan DinoSours
• Vegan Aloha
• Vegan Blue Raspberry Belts
• Vegan Sour Strawberry Belts
• Vegan Cola Belts
• Vegan Sour Rainbow Bears
• Vegan Kiss Kiss
• Vegan Flamingle
• Vegan Magic
• Vegan Frosted Rhu-berry
• Vegan Prosecco Bears
• Vegan Magic Dragons
• Vegan Pink Lemonade Fizz
• Vegan 24 Carrot Magic
• Vegan Ice Wine
• Vegan Grapefruit and Blood Orange
• Vegan Sunny Sangria
• Vegan Red Roses
• Vegan Sake Blossom
• Vegan Shark Attack
• Vegan Wicked Witches

Truthfully, comparing the vegan and non-vegan option I think I prefer this one more (the regular one has black liquorice in it which I find really gross). The best part about this calendar is that it’s all candy and who doesn’t like candy? It’ll truly be a crowd pleaser for anyone you gift it to (or even yourself, because why not?!).

There are so many other advent calendars available this season that truly there is an advent calendar for everyone (heck, even Ziggy has a dog treat one waiting for him in New York next week). It’s almost December 1, so get shopping!

Which advent calendar is on your list this year?

Please note, products provided by PR. All opinions are my own.

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