Anyone who grew up in a Christian household knows two truths: One, you can learn a lot about biblical themes from a talking cucumber. And two, no holiday season is complete without an Advent calendar.
A religious custom that stems from 19th-century Lutherans in Germany, Advent calendars traditionally mark each day of (you guessed it) Advent — the hopeful season that spans four Sundays leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ, celebrated on Dec. 25. They typically contain compartments or pockets that can be filled with tiny trinkets for kids, which are designed to be opened one at a time as a fun way of counting down the days until Christmas.
In a moderately blasphemous twist, recent adaptations by big-name brands have given Advent calendars secular appeal as a seasonal holiday indulgence for people (and even pets) of all ages. After hitting a mainstream stride in the mid-2010s, Google search interest for the phrase "advent calendar" reached an all-time high in late 2022. It's on a similar upward swing as we head into the 2023 holiday season.
Much of Advent calendars' modern popularity can be credited to TikTok, where they've starred in myriad unboxing videos that are suspenseful and addictive to watch (in a similar vein as fashion hauls). But it's also because they're easy ways for retailers to tempt cagey, inflation-weary consumers into sampling products they may not have purchased otherwise: everything from fancy French jams to LEGO sets. Advent calendars are a prime example of "needing a little treat" culture (treatcore? being treat-pilled?) at work.
Some Advent calendars have sold out already at this point in the season. (The brand-new Squishmallow calendar appears to be the most popular option so far.) But if you hurry, you can still order one before carolers start lining up on your doorstep. Keep reading for our curated list of the best Advent calendars for 2023.
