Expand your favorite chocolate freak’s horizons with picks from Tony’s, Toblerone and a bean-to-bar chocolatier
The best overall Advent calendars and best beauty Advent calendars
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When I think of Advent calendars, I think of chocolate: tiny treats meted out day by day, and intended to increase, with their sheer volume and delight, the recipient’s level of festive cheer. Luckily for the chocolate obsessive among us (myself included), the Advent calendar landscape is vast. Whether you’re looking for classic nostalgia or bean-to-bar extravagance, you’ll be able to find a chocolate Advent calendar to match your tastes. I’ve done the hard work of testing a bunch of them, and am here to outline the best, brightest (literally, one lights up), and classic favorites for 2026.
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At a glance: the best chocolate Advent calendars of 2026
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Chocolate that teleports you to Tokyo: Tokyo Choco Club 12-Day Japanese KitKat Advent Calendar
Opening this Japanese KitKat Advent calendar transported me back to the Tokyo convenience stores that defined my recent trip to Japan that I will never shut up about. It features 12 varieties of KitKats, from a dark matcha to an intriguing sweet potato. I appreciate that each door is filled with multiples of a flavor, so that you can try each variety with friends or family. If you don’t want to give the whole thing to one person, you could also split these into stocking stuffers far more unique than a candy cane or Hershey’s bar. Lauren Gould
Small batch chocolate, with a side of folk tales: Dandelion Chocolate 2026 Advent calendar
This Advent calendar from San Francisco’s favorite bean-to-bar chocolatier is a lush gift full of considered details. Its circular box holds bonbons and treats from 24 chocolatiers from North America and Japan; it also includes a folding paper star to adorn your house, and a book of Nordic tales, one for each night, that inspired the box’s design. It’s really an exploration of what chocolate can be – from bonbons to caramels to praline. The standout, to me, was a genmaicha praliné, which you can also get in their sublime Japanese Tea Bonbon Collection.
A box of chocolates that reads like a cereal box: Tony’s Chocolonely Advent calendar
Tony’s is hands down my favorite grocery store chocolate brand, so I was thrilled to dig into their calendar, which carries the brand’s signature playfulness: when you open it up, one side offers a “guide” to each day, and reminds me of reading the back of a cereal box. We get six flavors here, including my absolute favorite: dark milk chocolate with pretzel and toffee. They are even educating us about ethics in the chocolate industry while feeding us our daily treat – there’s a QR code you can scan to learn more about this topic that’s a big part of the brand’s identity.
A European classic: Toblerone Advent calendar
If you have ever picked up the XL Toblerone bar at duty free, this one is for you. The Toblerone calendar includes mini bars in white, milk and dark chocolate. They emerge from a narrow gold box printed with a Christmas tree that will make you think, hey, the Christmas tree and the Toblerones are kinda the same shape! And this sort of whimsy is what Advent calendars are all about.
A luxury ski chalet, full of chocolate: Vosges 2026 Haut-Chocolat Advent calendar
This has got to be the most tricked-out edible Advent calendar on the market. Luxury chocolatier Vosges has made an Advent calendar that not only looks like a ski lodge and opens up to offer you a world of chocolate – it also plays an instrumental rendition of Deck the Halls, lights up and comes with its own USB-C charger. Inside the “Grand Cacao Lodge” you will find all sorts of unexpected confections, such as pumpkin seed brittle and chocolate dipped gingersnaps. On the final day, you get all the fixings for a cup of “haute” chocolate: drinking chocolate, plus two types of marshmallows.
Another European classic: Ritter Sport Advent calendar
Here we have an Advent calendar from perhaps my second favorite grocery store chocolate brand, Ritter Sport. Hiding inside the Christmas tree-emblazoned box are a whimsical assortment of Ritter flavors, from the classic to the nouveau: dark chocolate marzipan, milk chocolate with crispies, milk chocolate caramel and milk chocolate pistachio. These squares are the perfect size for snacking, whether it’s post-dinner or during a mid-afternoon slump.
Justice for milk chocolate: Lindt Teddy Advent calendar
Listen, I ride for dark chocolate and I always will, but this teddy bear-shaped Advent calendar from Lindt reminded me how right milk chocolate can taste, especially during the holidays. I loved this jaunty bear and all the many shapes of milk chocolate he held. Obviously there’s the classic Lindt truffle, as well as teddy-shaped milk chocolates, and mini milk chocolate balls (that come in pairs). If only they offered a sweater so I could match the bear …
Bon bons that are beautiful inside and out: Cacao and Cardamom Advent calendar
As you might guess from its name, Cacao and Cardamom specializes in chocolate crafted with creative, bold flavors. This box comes shaped like a home – with a pair of women baking in the windows – and opens up, bureau-style, to reveal Technicolor boxes full of chocolate delights. Cacao and Cardamom is based in Houston, and I loved the Texas flavors imbued into these treats, particularly the Texas-shaped chocolate filled with a subtle barbecue-flavored caramel.
Classic cookie, crazy flavors: Oreo Advent calendar
There’s something incredibly charming about an Oreo Advent calendar shaped … like an Oreo. (With smiling penguins in front of it!) Each day offers a new flavor of chocolate-dipped Oreo – not exactly the flavors you are used to finding at your local grocery store. My favorites were the caramel and pretzel, and peppermint. Give this to your sugar-deprived niece and don’t tell her parents.
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Other pieces you might enjoy from the Filter, the Guardian’s guide to buying fewer, better things:
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