Why I love advent calendars

If you follow me on Twitter and Instagram, you’ll know I love advent calendars! My autumn is filled with research about which one I should buy. But why? Why are advent calendars such a thing for me and millions of others? What makes the concept so appealing? I’ll also give some advent calendar suggestions down below if you’d like to buy one.

Introducing the fall

For me, advent calendars are a great way to soften the blow of summer being over. Although I absolutely love fall (here’s why!), it is always a little saddening that the sun disappears and the rain is introducing itself again after months of warmth. Advent calendars however get me excited for everything that I can look forward to: cosy evenings, gift-giving with family and lots of self-care! By watching YouTube videos about them, I can totally get in the right mood. And, if you need to do some research yourself, I love the channel of Eltoria!

Exploration

Part of the fun of advent calendars is in the fact that they can help you explore the world of beauty, skincare, beers, whatever tickles your fancy! I love trying new products and brands, especially when it comes to make-up and skincare. However, it can be very expensive, especially when the products are not what you hoped. Since advent calendars are often way cheaper than all the items separately, choosing the right calendar can really help you to save some money! For instance, the one I bought was 40 pounds, but worth over 150 pounds.

Time to take care of yourself

The summer sun is great for vitamin D, but when the sun is disappearing, you might need to take some extra care of yourself to keep you happy. And what’s better for self-care than showering yourself with gifts? I always try to immediately use the products in the calendar that day. This is easiest with well-balanced calendars, so that’s definitely something to be mindful of when choosing one.

Experience!

Scientific studies have found that experiences generally make us happier than products do. This is why economic psychologists tend to advice spending your money on things to do, rather than on stuff. The memories from the experiences won’t fade as quickly as the joy of a new sweater does, which is a huge part of the reason behind the findings.

But, why is this important when talking about advent calendars? Although an advent calendar is very much a product, it can give you an experience if you let it. Opening it as an exciting part of your day and figuring out how to use the product. In addition, the advent calendar strengthens the Christmas experience. However I must say, I do see the my advent calendar as an experience, but if you purely do it for the products, it might not work. In that case, you might be better off spending money on your perfect Christmas eve.

Which one?

There are a million advent calendars out there, from chocolates to make-up, from skincare to wines and beers. Although I’m no expert, I can tell you about my experiences to help you out when choosing your own.

Beauty calendars

The first few years when I started this, I bought the small Revolution advent calendars. They’re great if you want to expand your make-up tools and if you want to get to know the brand. I especially love their highlighters and eyeshadow palettes and the advent calendars aren’t too expensive, which make them a pretty great option, especially when you buy them during Black Friday.

In the past, I also bought the calendar from Holland and Barrett. It was my first skincare advent calendar, so I’m very excited to try everything in it. The reasons why I didn’t choose a skincare advent calendar before, were the price and the fact that my skin is pretty sensitive, so many products won’t work well on me. However, after reviewing this one, I don’t expect any products to irritate my skin and the price was amazing!

The Rituals advent calendars also look great to me every year and as always, The Body Shop usually comes out with multiple wonderful options. If you’re looking to go more high-end, Cult Beauty always hits the right spot with their calendars and I also enjoyed my Look Fantastic calendar. These are usually more versatile with hair, make-up and skincare products, which I like.

Food calendars

When you’re looking for a gift for someone else, Lindt is also a great option. You can also choose a wine, beer or whiskey calendar, the Aldi even has options! For instance, last year, I bought my dad a coffee calendar from Amazon with 24 different coffee beans. Another option is to buy an empty one and put little gifts in yourself. I did this for my mom and she loved it!

Either way, I hope you’ll find something to make you as excited for the upcoming months. We deserve a great Christmas after the months we’ve had this year. What is your favourite Christmas tradition? Let me know in the comments below. And if you liked this, please subscribe to my blog or follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter, so you’ll never have to miss a new post!

Lots of love,

Lisa

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