14 Food Advent Calendars That Are Festive And Delicious

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

For some Christmastime enthusiasts, the holiday season isn't complete until they've bought an advent calendar for the month of December. For anyone unfamiliar, an advent calendar is a collection of goodies — such as snacks, toys, puzzles, or even jewelry or perfumes — that represent each of the days leading up to Christmas. You open up a window-like section of the box calendar every day to receive one treat. Keeping up this daily tradition helps to get you in the festive mindset for the approaching holiday. Most advent calendars come in one of two sizes: 12 days or 24 days. You can buy one for yourself or gift it to someone as an early Christmas present.

If you're a foodie — or you're giving a gift to a foodie — then you probably only care about the advent calendars that come with some type of candy or snack. This is why we've compiled a list of all of the best food-related versions of these holiday gifts. The treats in these calendars range from chocolates to nuts to cookies and more. Whichever one you choose, you are guaranteed to satisfy all of your sweet or savory cravings in the days leading up to Christmas.

It's no secret that Trader Joe's has plenty of fun wintertime food items to choose from — such as the beloved holiday treat, Candy Cane Joe-Joe's ice cream, that is back in the freezer aisle – and its collection of milk chocolate advent calendars is one of the products that you should look out for. These advent calendars, which contain a few different box designs, such as a cozy Christmas-time living room or a collection of holiday treats, consist of 24 ready-to-eat chocolates behind each window. It's perfect if you're looking for a simple yet sweet advent calendar for this year. And the best part? Each box is priced at just $1.49.

On the other hand, maybe you don't really crave sweets and would prefer that your advent calendar contain savory treats instead. In this case, turn your attention to the "12 Days of Cheesemas" advent calendar from Cheese Brothers, which costs $120, or $105 on sale. This calendar contains 12 full-sized blocks of various cheeses, such as extra-aged cheddar and smoked gouda, or bags of cheese curds in a variety of flavors. Stock up on your favorite crackers — as well as, maybe, a few of your favorite bottles of wine — and you will be all set to enjoy this cheese advent calendar this December.

Here's another option for savory food lovers: The 24 Days of Gourmet Nuts & Snacks Collection from DM Snacks. With this calendar, you can expect snacks such as cheddar jalapeño clusters, a smoky gouda snack mix, and lemon blaze chickpeas, as well as plenty of other nuts, pretzels, and various crunchy treats. In other words, it's the salty, savory, and sometimes spicy advent calendar of your dreams. Each box is priced at $65. If you buy more than one at once, you get a small discount on each box (for example, if you buy four, the price drops to $55.25 per calendar).

If you're someone who loves cooking — and, especially, experimenting with new spices — then this advent calendar of a gourmet collection of spice blends, which can be bought on Amazon, is made for you. This calendar, which costs $39.99, consists of 24 containers of different spice blends. Some of the blends include roasted garlic and red pepper, Moroccan medley, and a chili lime spice blend. If you buy this calendar, you may also want to buy this $10 organizer from Aldi to declutter your spice cabinet in preparation.

You're going to need some popcorn while you're watching all of the holiday movies this year, and that's why you should buy this 24-day Christmas popcorn advent calendar from Williams Sonoma, which is $79.95 (or $47.97 if you catch it on sale). Each day of this calendar contains either a bag of popcorn kernels or seasoning. The variety of kernels includes everything from classic yellow to more unique ones like mushroom. Meanwhile, the seasoning packets include flavors such as buttery jalapeño, white cheddar, and sweet caramel. In other words, be ready for a new and exciting popcorn experience each day. 

Target's store brand Favorite Day (which is distinct from Target's other notable brand, Good & Gather) offers another potential advent calendar for chocolate lovers: the Christmas 25 Days of Joy Assorted Indulgent Chocolates. The calendar, which is priced at just 15 dollars, offers five different types of chocolatey treats: milk chocolate hazelnut truffles, dark chocolate raspberry truffles, milk chocolate stars, dark chocolate sea salt caramel truffles, and milk chocolate sandwich cookies. Notably, this advent calendar contains 25 treats, leaving you one to enjoy on Christmas Day as well.

When it comes to shortbread cookies, you can't go wrong with Walker's. In fact, we placed Walker's in one of the top spots of our ranking of 10 store-bought shortbread cookies. With that in mind, if it's cookies you're craving during December, then you'll want to buy Walker's shortbread advent calendar for $31.99. You can expect to find individually wrapped cookies in a variety of flavors and shapes, such as mini chocolate chip shortbreads and shortbread hearts. Enjoy these treats with a cold glass of milk or maybe even homemade eggnog.

Lindt is a chocolate brand that you can't go wrong with, so this is a solid choice if you're looking for a chocolate advent calendar, specifically. Plus, Lindt's holiday chocolate teddy bear advent calendar has the unique and cute element of having each piece of chocolate be shaped like an adorable teddy bear. Whether you're an adult who loves cute, sweet things or you're looking for a fun advent calendar for your kids, you can't go wrong with this one. Lindt's chocolate teddy bear calendar is priced at $16.99, and if you buy three, you get a fourth one free.

Spice lovers, rejoice — there's even an advent calendar for hot sauces. For 55 dollars, you can buy this 12 Days of Hot Sauce advent calendar from Uncommon Goods. It comes with 12 small but mighty 1.75-ounce bottles in a range of flavors. These hot and spicy tastes include Sweet Onion Habanero, Garlic Reaper, Psycho Curry, and more. With this advent calendar, the range of yummy hot sauces will help keep you warm all throughout December.

There really is an advent calendar for everyone, including beef jerky lovers. If beef jerky is your go-to savory snack, then you need to buy this beef jerky advent calendar from Give Them Beer. This one is a bit of a splurge, as it's priced at $99, but it's perfect if you're looking to treat yourself or give a special gift to someone in your life. You can expect a variety of 12 unique jerky flavors, ranging from sweet to savory to smoky.

Peppermint bark is one of the best wintery, holiday sweet treats, so it's only fitting that it would have its own advent calendar. Williams Sonoma sells this 24-day peppermint bark advent calendar for $36.95. Unlike many of the other calendars on this list, there is only one type of peppermint bark (instead of having a variety of flavors), but it's the famous peppermint bark from Williams Sonoma, so you'll be satisfied all the same. If you're worried you'll miss out on the surprise element of an advent calendar, don't fret — there are multiple fun holiday shapes to keep you on your toes, such as Christmas trees and Santas.

Here's another Target option: the Christmas 12 Days of Holiday Candy Countdown Advent Calendar from Favorite Day, which costs 12 dollars. This is the ideal gift for any candy lovers that prefer sweet or sour gummies to chocolate when it comes to fulfilling their sweet tooth. This calendar contains a variety of fruity candy, such as sour green apple sour belts, gummy wreaths, sour gummy worms, and rainbow gummy bears.

If two of your favorite savory snacks are meat sticks and nuts — or a combination of the two — then this is the advent calendar for you. The 12 Days of Nuts & Meat Sticks advent calendar, which can be bought on Amazon for $59.95, features 12 different nuts and meats, ranging from spicy to sweet to savory. There are no repeats within this box, so you'll get something completely new each day.

Godiva is the dark chocolate brand that stands out among the rest, so you can trust it when it comes to choosing the right advent calendar. Godiva's 24-day holiday classic chocolate advent calendar is priced at $58, or $43 when on sale. This calendar consists of a variety of chocolates: dark, milk, and white, as well as a range of flavors like salted caramel or almond crunch. So, each treat will be unique and exciting no matter which day you open it.