What to put in an advent calendar for an adult? Things the person already uses or would enjoy doing: tea, a candle, warm socks, lip balm, a note with a plan for the evening. Mix small gifts with snacks and plans, and keep the biggest gift for the last day. Below is a ready-made list for all 24 days, which you can use as it stands or change to suit the person.
In short
- Start from what the person already uses, then write down what you still need to buy.
- A note with something to do together fills a day without adding to the cost.
- Measure the compartments before you shop, so the larger things are not left outside.
24 ideas: a ready-to-use calendar, day by day
The list moves between snacks, things for the home, skincare and plans, so no two days in a row feel alike. Save the plans that take longer for your days off.
| Day | What to put in | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A favourite tea | Drink |
| 2 | Note: an evening walk to see the city lights | Plan |
| 3 | A small bar of chocolate | Snack |
| 4 | A small hand cream | Skincare |
| 5 | An old photograph with a line written on the back | Personal |
| 6 | Warm socks | Warmth |
| 7 | Note: call someone you have not spoken to for a while | Plan |
| 8 | A candle | Home |
| 9 | Nuts or a satsuma | Snack |
| 10 | Lip balm | Skincare |
| 11 | Note with a recipe: mulled wine or an alcohol-free punch | Plan |
| 12 | A bookmark or small notebook | Small thing |
| 13 | A hand care evening: a note and everything it needs | Skincare |
| 14 | A single serving of coffee | Drink |
| 15 | Note: an evening with a book, phone in another room | Plan |
| 16 | Gingerbread | Snack |
| 17 | A tree decoration | Home |
| 18 | A small bar of soap | Skincare |
| 19 | A voucher for breakfast together | Experience |
| 20 | Mittens or a hand warmer | Warmth |
| 21 | Note and cards: write to friends by hand | Plan |
| 22 | A sachet face mask | Skincare |
| 23 | A cinema or concert ticket | Experience |
| 24 | The biggest gift, which can stand beside the calendar | Gift |
How do you personalise the calendar for the recipient?
Go by the person’s habits. Someone who keeps hand cream by the kettle will open a second tube, while someone who never uses it may leave it in a drawer. Swap the tea for coffee for a coffee drinker, and give someone who wants fewer things more plans and tickets.
For a couple, shared plans work well: bake biscuits, do a jigsaw, look out old photographs, cook a dish from your first trip together. If the calendar is for the whole family, add simpler tasks for children, such as drawing a card for a grandparent or cutting a paper snowflake for the window.
A creative calendar can tell a story in parts. Each day, the recipient can unwrap a page of a longer letter or a jigsaw piece, and on the last day the picture is complete.
How do you make an advent calendar yourself?
You can build the base from what is already at home: paper bags on a string, envelopes or small cardboard boxes. Write or stick the day number on each compartment. The calendar opens on 1 December.
Flat things such as a letter, a ticket or a photograph sit neatly in an envelope. Jars and bottles are better in a bag or box where they will not crush anything else. If the calendar hangs on a wall, put the heavier things in the bottom row or in a separate box beside it.
Tip
For an outdoor plan, write a spare indoor one on the back of the note. If it rains, the note is simply turned over and the day is not lost.
How do you split the budget?
Decide on the total before the first purchase. Set aside a share for the last day’s gift first, then divide the rest between the small things. That tells you how much each one can cost.
In this list, four days need only a note, and some things can come from home or be made by hand, such as gingerbread, a handwritten recipe or a photograph. Putting your purchases in one order saves paying for delivery more than once.
Small skincare gifts: a cream, a set or a box
Hand cream goes in a bag and sits on a desk, so it suits a calendar when the person already uses it. Our hand creams include Nourishing hand cream (40 ml), Hand cream Passion (75 g) and Intensive moisturising hand cream AVOCADO & ALOE VERA (100 ml).
Important
The 40 ml, 75 g or 100 ml on a label tells you how much product there is, not how big the pack is. Measure the compartment first, and if it is shallow, leave a note saying where to find the cream.
If you would rather not put everything together yourself, one of our beauty gift sets can be the last day’s gift, and some of them include a hand cream. For a calendar kept in one box, or for the biggest gift, look at our empty gift boxes.
For the hand care evening, you can add something from our freshwater mud products. The directions for use are on the product page and the pack, so the note only needs to invite the person to the evening.
What should you check before you put it together?
- Whether the larger things fit their compartments.
- Whether any food lasts beyond the calendar’s last day.
- Whether the person likes the scent of the candle or cream you chose.
- Whether a ticket’s date falls on or after the day its compartment opens.
- Whether chocolate and candles are kept away from the radiator, so they do not melt.
- Whether each note comes with what it needs, such as a recipe or cards.
Once the list is ready, all that is left is to choose a box for the calendar and start filling it.
This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for advice from a doctor or pharmacist.