The best reusable advent calendars will become a part of our home's Christmas traditions for years to come. Many of us are shunning flimsy disposable advent calendars in favour of something that has a little more longevity.
Over on Etsy, in fact, searches for personalised Christmas advent calendars have increased by 7% compared to the same time last year. And it's not hard to see why.
'Advent calendars bring daily moments of joy and anticipation,' says Dayna Isom Johnson, Etsy trend expert.
'Each morning, a new window is opened, unveiling a small surprise – a piece of chocolate, a tiny trinket, or a heartwarming message. This ritual not only counts down the days to Christmas but also infuses the holiday season with a sense of wonder and delight.'
The best reusable advent calendars
So, what are the perks of opting for a reusable advent calendar over, say, a classic cardboard number filled with chocolate or beauty products?
'I particularly love reusable advent calendars as they can be totally bespoke to that person's taste and are something that you can keep forever and pass down for generations to come,' says Dayna.
With that in mind, then, we're here to elevate your Christmas countdown with our pick of the best reusable advent calendars available to buy this year...
The best reusable advent calendars UK 2024
Add a dash of Scandi chic to your Christmas decor with this gorgeous fabric number – guaranteed to add festive cheer to your home on even the most dismal of December days. Guaranteed to become a family heirloom thanks to its high-quality design, you can fill the pockets with sweets, chocolates, tiny gifts, or even clues to special Christmassy activities each day!
Whether you paint this one up or leave it looking gorgeously rustic, this stylish wooden advent calendar is sure to become a focal point in your home over the Christmas period. The drawers are roomy enough to fill with homemade biscuits or wrapped gifts, while the LED light design means it will fill the room with a hygge glow when the sun goes down.
With 24 individual pockets for each day of the Christmas countdown, you can fill this gorgeous advent calendar with your favourite treats and reuse the bunting year after year. Plus, it's made from 100% upcycled cotton fabric in India, so you can feel extra good about the fact it's made from fabric remnants that would otherwise have ended up in landfill.
It might come courtesy of The Little White Company, but that doesn't mean the grown-ups can't enjoy this pretty fabric advent calendar! With a chic red-and-white colour scheme, simple festive designs to mark each pocket, metallic stitching along the sides, and plenty of room to hold gifts, toys, trinkets and any other festive treats, we feel this one deserves pride of place in any home this December.
You don't have to spend a fortune on a reusable advent calendar, as these pretty and oh-so-lagom advent gift boxes well and truly prove. They come flat-packed, so you can have fun building them ahead of 1 December – and, while they all feature the same sweet design, they come in all different shapes and sizes to fill with all manner of treats and goodies.
Fancy a truly enchanting and handmade advent calendar? The signature sleigh design of this little beauty depicts a traditional snowy scene and, thanks to its stunning battery-operated LED lighting, it's guaranteed to light up the room. Add in the individual drawers waiting to be filled with favourite advent treats, and you've got a true Christmas icon!
Crafted from linen-style material, this stylish and oh-so-simple reusable advent calendar features foil dates that you can use year after year. Each printed on a gusseted pocket to take a treat or two. With inserted sticks top and bottom, it's easy to hang and easy to store – which means you can whip it out for the Christmas countdown year after year.
Ready to let your creative side run riot? This tree-shaped calendar includes 24 drawers made from sturdy MDF wood, which means you can apply paint and glitter to bring the shape to life. If you're feeling really fancy, you could even add festive stencils or freehand illustrations – just don't forget to fill each drawer with a festive treasure or trinket.
Decked with faux mistletoe and eucalyptus garlands for a touch of festive greenery, this fill-your-own fabric advent calendar is pure Nordic chic. Plus, it features 24 cotton canvas bags hung on birch wood dowels, so you can have fun filling it with all sorts of surprises for your home's big Christmas countdown...
Prefer something that's pretty in pink? This advent calendar is handmade with soft felt, and hangs securely on a sturdy string, which means you can style it wherever you'd like in your home. Each of the 24 windows in the sweet candy-cane house design features a pocket, of course, so you can pop in whatever treats you'd like, too!
And now for something completely different! This creative and imaginative mindful advent calendar (which, you guessed it, can be personalised) is filled with everything you need to create 24 wooden Christmas decorations. It's a brilliant way to mark each day of advent, and you can reuse the decorations year after year, too.
Light up the countdown to Christmas! Open up this reusable advent calendar to find your very own winter wonderland and fill the hand painted wooden drawers with your favourite festive treats! Featuring a handy timer, the calendar will automatically illuminate the warm white LEDs for 6 hours. Set the timer for early in the morning for a glow as you count down the days.
Stamped by hand and made to order, you can personalise this beautiful (and robust!) advent calendar to welcome in the festive season in style. You'll find 24 canvas panels ready to fill with anything you like: toys, little chocolates, notes of love or good-will, daily adventures or experiences to do as a family. Which means, yes, you can make this part of your Christmas traditions for years to come...
This stunning Christmas Wooden House Advent Calendar features small numbered doors and, when you buy it this year, you'll find an array of sweet delicacies and treats galore hiding behind each one, including Fortnum’s milk chocolate coins, foiled milk chocolate santas, milk chocolate napolitains, and natural fruit pectin jellies. It's fully reusable and refillable, though, so you can have fun choosing treasures in the years to come...
You can count down the days to Christmas with this beautifully decorated wooden book advent calendar. As you'll likely have guessed from the name, it opens and closes like a book, adding a sense of occasion to each December morning. All that's left for you to do is fill the numbered drawers with special messages, small toys or sweet treats.
Made in collaboration with Sophie Conran exclusively for Biscuiteers, this hand-finished embroidered advent calendar is a luxurious Christmas keepsake your family will love for years to come. With 24 pockets, which can be filled with, say, biscuits, this colourful fabric number will look enchanting when hanging next to the Christmas Tree.
This sweet little advent calendar house is made from sturdy cardboard, which means it is ideal for bringing out every Christmas – and perfect for starting a new tradition. Fill each drawer with sweets and trinkets, or even a decoration to hang on the tree, and turn each day of advent into a magical festive memory.
Part of Mrs Hinch's Christmas edit with Not On The High Street, this sweet and personalised wooden advent house is the perfect way to count down to the big day. We particularly love that each little house in the advent village is hollow, so you can hide any number of festive trinkets inside them!
'I think reusable advent calendar are so much better than branded ones, not only because they are a lot kinder to the planet,' says Alessia Armenise, the founder and editor of Pretty Slow and host of the Pretty Good Business podcast.
Based in Paris, Alessia is a talented trilingual writer and editor, as well as an expert in all things lifestyle and travel-related. To learn more from her, you can subscribe to her newsletter, The Toe, read her webzine, Pretty Slow Life, or listen to her podcast, Pretty Good Business.
Alessoa goes on to note that choosing a reusable advent calendar over a disposable one also 'gives you an opportunity to really show the person you are gifting the calendar to that you know them well and you really care about them'.
'So even if you are not a sustainability advocate you should still think about creating a special treat for your loved ones this Christmas,' she says.
FAQs:
What are the benefits of a reusable advent calendar?
The three main benefits of using a reusable advent calendar are, according to Alessia, as follows:
1. They are eco-friendly, so you will give the planet a break
2. You will be able to choose every item which mean that the person receiving the gift will feel extra special
3. There is a lot less risk of being underwhelmed by the content of the calendar since you will be the one choosing everything
What should you fill a reusable advent calendar with?
There are plenty of options when it comes to filling your reusable advent calendar. You can keep it simple with sweets, chocolates, or homemade biscuits, of course, or you could pop decorations inside each pouch to add to the Christmas tree each day. You could also try wrapped gifts (small trinkets and toys work well), or even clues to festive activities that you have planned for the day ahead. The world is your oyster, quite frankly!
'I think the secret to make a good reusable calendar is really knowing the person you are gifting it to so you can choose things that they will definitely like,' adds Alessia.
What to look for in a reusable advent calendar?
Ideally, you'll want your reusable advent calendar to last for years to come. With that in mind, then, look for quality and durable materials – as well as robust designs. Make sure you know, too, how you will be displaying it: will it hang from a sturdy string, for example, or is it free-standing? And it's also a good idea to make sure the drawers aren't too flimsy or small, as there's nothing worse than buying a reusable advent calendar that you can't fit anything in!
With that in mind, then, we're off to try and choose which of the best reusable advent calendars will be gracing our home for years to come. Now the John Lewis Christmas advert 2023 has landed the countdown is well and truly on.
We'll race you to the checkouts...
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