2022 Holiday Gift Guides
This week I’m excited to launch a series of curated gift guides inspired by amazing feedback on Instagram. For the next 12 days, I’ll be sharing guides every day featuring what you wanted to see most from “what to get the foodie who has everything” to “what to get teachers” and a whole lot mixed in between. Let me know what you think!
First up… my favorite Advent Calendars for this season.
When I was a kid, Advent used to mark the beginning of the holiday season in my home so it seemed like a good place to start. I remember as a little girl I’d be so excited to open my daily calendar and find a little joke or message hidden inside a tiny box each day. As I got older, the rewards got sweeter - literally. Calendars eventually became filled with chocolate treats I’d hurriedly eat before breakfast, smiling at my family with cocoa-stained teeth as I came downstairs. It’s no wonder the holiday season is my favorite.
Today you can find Advent calendars for any interest in the world — from chili hot sauce to dog biscuit calendars. (While there certainly used to be more of a religious tie-in to these calendars, I think that went out the window a few years back when all the boozy calendars became en vogue.)
With that, let’s begin with my top five favorite Advent Calendar picks for 2022.
GIFT GUIDE DAY 1: BEST ADVENT CALENDARS
1) Bonne Maman Advent Calendar
I was lucky to receive this calendar as a gift last year and again this year from two wonderful friends. It was such a treat to try a new preserve every morning and helped me taste new jam flavors I’d never tried before like orange yuzu grapefruit. This year’s collection features 23 mini Fruit Spreads and 1 mini jar of honey. It has sold out for the last five years so if you’re thinking about getting it, don’t wait! It’s also a very reasonable price and makes a wonderful gift! Take it from a two-time recipient!
2) Onyx Coffee Lab Advent Calendar
This Arkansas-based coffee business just had two employees place in the 2022 World Coffee Championships in Melbourne. So it has to be good, right? Each little drawer holds two ounces of artisan whole beans—enough to brew two 12-ounce cups. And Lord knows we all could use a little extra caffeine to help keep us going during the holidays, right? Extra cool bean fact: this 10-year-old company is one of the most awarded roasters in the U.S. and has set strong standards around sustainability, quality and transparency!
Lots of beauty calendars are cost prohibitive but this one is a really reasonable price considering everything you get. Not for nothing, it sure doesn’t hurt to have mini hand lotion bottles easy to squirrel into your bag as we head into the dry, cold months ahead. I like that most of the items are best sellers (i.e., tested and loved) but there’s also some new and unique surprises.
My kids have been using this Advent Calendar for years and it’s a wonderful reusable option. They love to see the little ornaments they’ll get and hang them up every morning. If you have very little kids working on their fine motor skills, sometimes the drawers can be a little tricky to open. In which case I also recommend this one for younger children.
This is the grown up version of my blissful, chocolate-filled childhood memory of Advent calendars. Alas, you won’t find the famous Laudurée macarons in this sweet selection of treats, but you will find caramel candies, nougats, flavored chocolates, jam, and calissons from famed the famous French pastry and candy maker.
