During the holiday season, most of us are so focused on buying gifts for other people that we don’t spend enough time treating ourselves. An advent calendar is an especially festive way to surprise yourself with something nice each of the anticipatory days leading up to Christmas, and it’s even better when you get to enjoy lots of fun little edible and drinkable trinkets.
Sure, it’s only October, but if you want a really great 2026 advent calendar, we highly advise smashing that order (or pre-order) button right now. Not only do many of the most popular advent calendars sell out quickly (i.e. well before December), but early bird shoppers can sometimes find great discounts from chocolatiers, coffee companies, and beyond, offering daily treats that are far more exciting than waxy drugstore chocolate.
While advent calendars have been around since the 19th century, their popularity and ingenuity (and their especially luxurious side) has exploded in recent years (where was my Japanese Kit Kat-filled advent calendar as a kid?). With that popularity has come a dizzying array of new advent calendars for food-lovers. Here are a few of our favorites for 2026.
This sculptural French advent calendar
The advent calendar from this French chocolatier is visually stunning thanks to its 3-D packaging that boasts an equally compelling assortment of treats within. Inside, you’ll find an assortment of the brand’s beloved chocolates, plus a limited-edition holiday bonbon made with candied orange, holiday spices, and milk chocolate. Plus, you can hang it up, giving it a very cool decorative element.
If your giftee loves Nordic folklore
There are a lot of luxury chocolatiers out there, but Dandelion Chocolate takes special care to soliloquize even the most minute details, inspirations, and flavor notes in its chocolates, especially when it comes to its 2026 advent calendar. This beauty is filled with delights inspired by Nordic folklore from various chocolatiers, with each bonbon presented in an individual keepsake box that can hang like an ornament. To add to the whimsy, Dandelion also includes a book of folktales inspired by Nordic mythology, and a keepsake cut-out paper star to hang in your window during the frosty winter nights, per Nordic tradition.
‘Under the Tuscan Sun’ takes advent calendar form
In a departure from the more traditional rectangular advent calendars, this 24-day Oliviers & Co. calendar unfolds to reveal a European street corner flanked by an olive tree. Each of the louver-style doors is filled with a gourmet selection of truffles, jams, oils, and vinegars, making it the perfect calendar for the person with the not-too-sweet sweet tooth.
You’ll want to save every mini jam jar from the Bonne Maman calendar
Classic French jam company Bonne Maman’s advent calendar is a perennial favorite, and for good reason. It’s reasonably priced, and packed with 24 miniature glass jars featuring different (and, in some cases, rare) holiday flavors of the brand’s beloved jams, jellies, and preserves, plus one-offs like caramel with salted butter and raspberry with dark chocolate. Bonus: You get to reuse all those adorably tiny jars all year long.
For the cheese-lover in your life
Instead of getting yet another chocolate-filled advent calendar, why not go for cheese? This 12-day calendar from beloved NYC cheese purveyor Murray’s is packed with Manchego from Spain’s La Mancha region, a wine-washed wedge, truffle cheddar, and even some jams and crackers. Enjoy a bite each day starting on December 12, then prepare a stunning Christmas Day smorgasbord with all the cheeses.
A luxurious calendar of teas
Amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, this 24-day advent calendar from Palais des Thés is packed with teas that will encourage you to take a moment and relax all December long. Inside the hand-stitched cotton packages you’ll find signature blends, single estate and herbal teas, along with 2026 seasonal blends such as the limited-edition Céleste tea, a 2026 organic blend of green tea, vanilla, and chestnut. And if your giftee runs caffeine-free (congratulations to them), there’s also a completely caffeine-free tea advent calendar option.
This cozy Walker’s Shortbread calendar
The advent calendar from Walker’s Shortbread also sells out fast, as a delicious and affordable option for folks seeking a calendar outside of the traditional scope of chocolate. This year’s edition depicts Santa tiptoeing across a rooftop towards a shortbread chimney, about to enter a wonderland of 24 different treats from the 128-year-old cookie company. Expect all of Walker’s shortbread classics in festive shapes, as well as some chocolate chip and caramel flavors.
The grand cacao lodge calendar
For the serious yet whimsical chocolate advent calendar enthusiast, this offering from Vosges is an ideal holiday splurge. The calendar itself is a detailed depiction of a mountain lodge, complete with depictions of a roaring fireplace and cheery woodland critters. Inside the calendar, says the site, you’ll find a “little dark and a little milk. Chewy caramels and a bit of toffee. A handful of favorites alongside a collection of brand-new creations.”
Turn up the heat with Fly By Jing’s calendar
Not really a fan of sweets? This collection from Fly By Jing includes 12 different savory sauces, spices, and other pantry staples, including a few surprises. You can likely expect the brand’s famed chile crisp, along with hard-to-find spices and even some never-before launched sauces, all of which are packed in small jars that are perfect if you’re going to be flying home during the holidays and need something to spice up your in-laws’ cooking. Don’t wait to order this one — last year’s calendar sold out by November.
For the aspiring bartender
Straightaway Cocktails is a favorite of Eater and Punch audience development director Kaitlin Bray, who says that the “Flora Green amaro is the best green Chartreuse substitute I’ve had.” The company’s advent calendar is filled with a dozen of its pre-made cocktails, such as the Bee’s Knees, Oregon Old Fashioned, Margarita, Blanco Margarita, and more.
Swedish candy is big right now
It feels like everywhere we look, there’s a new Swedish candy store popping up (positive). Williams Sonoma has tapped into the Swedish gummy trend with a delectable 12 day advent calendar of Swedish-style candies such as strawberry-pomegranate bubs, Rambo rainbows, and more Scandinavian delights.
A medieval kingdom of bonbons
Los Angeles chocolatier Compartés has three whimsical advent calendars up for grabs this season. Each calendar has its own theme, and while the Winter Forest and Nutcracker editions are stunners, there’s just something about the Enchanted Castle version that’s pulling my focus given the current cultural wave of medieval revival. What’s not to love about a miniature realm that houses 24 days of chocolate flavored with buttered croissant, eggnog crème brûlée, and salted honeycomb?
This advent calendar is an ode to Japanese artistry
Bokksu’s approach to advent calendars is meticulous. Each year offers a different, beautifully-packed selection of treats that reflects the Japanese snack site’s own thoughtful curation. The 2026 calendar is an ode to the country’s talent for lantern-making, and features treats like hojicha chocolate crunch and savory senbei, as well as handcrafted pottery, figurines, and even a New Year’s Eve decoration.
This Japanese Kit Kat advent calendar
Japanese Kit Kats are famous for their wide range of flavors, and this 12 day advent calendar features a whopping 72 individually wrapped bars from Sugoi Mart, an online boutique beloved for its Japanese snacks, collectibles, games, and more (don’t sleep on its Japanese Halloween candy bundle, either).
