Each year, a few standout options arrive that we know will sell out quickly. These are the ones to buy now before word spreads and they’re gone. You just have to hide it in a cupboard and try to resist opening until December 1st!
RiSe coffee countdown Advent calendar
Coffee Advent calendars get more popular every year, with lots of new launches, but this offering from RiSe remains a bestseller every year and always sells out. We’re already seeing people buy the 2025 calendar, which has been available since the end of August, so if it’s one you’d love or want to buy as as gift, we recommend moving quickly before they’re all gone.
Each door (going all the way up to Christmas Day itself) contains a different ground coffee to discover, with impressive variety across the month – we love that there are no repeats. Also, if you’ve had it in previous years, there are new coffees included this year, so still plenty to discover. There’s enough coffee each day for two smaller cups, so it’s great for sharing, and the ground coffee works for cafetière, Aeropress, filter and moka pot methods. It’s an ethical and sustainable Advent calendar too: the packaging is plastic-free, the coffee is all ethically-sourced and 1% of sales go to coffee-growing communities.
Available from:
RiSe (£40)
Not on the High Street (£44)
Chilli No.5 Hot Sauce Advent calendar
Credit: Chilli No.5
We love seeing new calendars launch and this is an exciting new one for 2025. We haven’t seen a dedicated hot sauce calendar before, especially with this more premium slant, so it’s inevitably going to be popular and sell out quickly. It’s perfect for the person who prefers savoury to sweet and has to spice up every meal.
When it arrives, it is gigantic! Inside the minimalist double door design are 24 different hot sauces in a huge variety of styles, from chimichurri and harissa to spicy ketchup and sriracha. They are presented in quirky test tubes or mini bottles with a code to show how spicy each day’s ingredient is, plus you get a full-size 100ml bottle on Christmas Eve. It’s an expensive calendar but trying out all the contents will keep you going well into January.
Available from:
Selfridges (£124.99)
Fever-Tree gin and tonic Advent calendar
Gin and tonic fans, this one is for you! Fever-Tree, the tonic experts, release their gin and tonic calendar every year. The doors alternate between a can of tonic or a miniature gin each day. The gin brands they choose to include to pair with the different tonics are impressive quality, so there are no awkward novelty picks – expect to discover miniatures from Chase, Edinburgh Gin and Silent Pool. The alternating style means that, by the end of the month, you’ll have 12 different gin and tonic pairings to create.
We love the smart floral design and each day is packaged in a proper box, which makes them feel extra special to open instead of just pushing a door. It’s always one of the quickest to sell out, so it’s worth buying early. The only challenge will be resisting cracking it open until December…
Available from:
John Lewis (£70)
Ocado (£70)
Hotel Chocolat The Grand Advent Calendar
If you want to go all-out on a chocolate Advent calendar this year, the Hotel Chocolat Grand Advent Calendar is a crowd-pleasing one for anyone with a sweet tooth. Hotel Chocolat is consistent in their range of calendars every year, but this one is undoubtedly the highlight.
It’s the most generously-filled calendar that Hotel Chocolat offers and, although it may seem a lot to spend on a chocolate Advent calendar, there’s a lot more than just a single square behind each of the large doors. The contents highlight the variety that Hotel Chocolat offers and are pleasingly generous – from finding multiple chocolates (great for sharing, if you can…) to chocolate-filled Christmas crackers, hot chocolate sachets and even mini bottles of the Velvetised Cream liqueur in several flavours.
Available from:
Hotel Chocolat (£80)
MOTH cocktail Advent calendar
The world of waitlists is not just for beauty Advent calendars… The popular MOTH canned cocktail Advent calendar returns soon, proving canned cocktails aren’t just for summer, and you can put your name on the waitlist now to make sure you nab one once it goes on sale.
There is a can behind each door in nine different flavours, so just enough that you won’t get bored of repeats. There’s a tipple for all tastes inside, from espresso martinis to palomas, with spicy margaritas and passion fruit martinis joining the 2025 line-up. It’s a great choice for students and for upcoming Christmas party season, with no bartending skills required!
Available from:
MOTH (£79)
Cadbury Biscoff Advent calendar
Who can resist a Cadbury Advent calendar? It’s a Christmas classic for a reason and an enduring budget pick, but this year a new edition joins the line-up. Biscoff is a permanently trending flavour, so we predict this will be a popular launch. Behind each door, you’ll find 12 classic Cadbury squares and 12 Cadbury squares studded with crunchy Biscoff pieces. If you buy one now it might be a struggle to resist opening it until December but, priced at under £8, you could always buy a second one as back up…
Available from:
Cadbury Gifts (£7.79)
Morrisons (£7.50)
Ocado (£7.50)
