There’s something rather wonderful about a celebration that doesn’t have to happen all at once. Christmas can begin with a simple countdown, unfold one little surprise at a time, and even carry on through the traditional Twelve Days. This collection ...
Sections
4
The Countdown
Watching Christmas Draw Near
Advent Calendars to Treasure Year After Year
A Little Something Every Day
Advent Calendars to Give
And Then Came Christmas
The Twelve Days
The Countdown
Watching Christmas Draw Near
Before opening little doors or drawers, there’s the simple pleasure of watching the number grow smaller. Turn a dial, move a marker, change a block or solve a puzzle, these decorative countdowns make waiting for Christmas part of the fun.
Turn the dials and watch Christmas draw a little closer each day. The simple brass design makes the countdown part of the holiday decor without looking quite like a traditional Advent calendar. (affiliate)
Brass Advent Calendar - Hearth & Hand™ with Magnolia
Move the little magnetic marker through December as Christmas approaches, an easy ritual that even the youngest member of the family can take a turn doing. (affiliate)
Wood Christmas Countdown Calendar, Red
Little wooden house, evergreens and inset number blocks give this countdown the feeling of a tiny Christmas village and simple enough to bring out year after year. (affiliate)
Wooden House with Trees Advent Calendar
Santa arrives by sleigh, but you'll have to supply the number. The chalkboard countdown turns a large piece of Christmas wall decor into part of the daily anticipation. (affiliate)
National Tree Company Santa Countdown Wall Art
This one makes you work for Christmas! Rearrange the puzzle each day to reveal the next number — a countdown for anyone who thinks simply opening a little door is far too easy. (affiliate)
Countdown to Christmas Calendar Puzzle
Advent Calendars to Treasure Year After Year
Some Advent calendars are opened once; these are meant to become part of Christmas itself. Fill the little drawers with chocolates, tiny gifts, notes, clues or family traditions, then pack the calendar away until next December. Over the years, what g...
Like a miniature Christmas retreat, this little log cabin has drawers waiting to be filled with whatever makes the season special in your household: treats, notes, tiny surprises or perhaps a mixture of all three. (affiliate)
Holiday Log Cabin Advent Calendar
A Christmas cottage with 24 little hiding places makes the calendar itself part of the holiday decorating. Fill it differently every December and the tradition can grow right along with the family. (affiliate)
Winter Cottage Advent Calendar
Part Advent calendar, part illuminated Christmas display, this one brings the Nativity into the daily ritual. Fill the drawers with little surprises and bring it back each year as both decoration and tradition. (affiliate)
Glitzhome Lighted Wooden Nativity Advent Calendar
A Little Something Every Day
Advent Calendars to Give
Half the fun of an Advent calendar is wondering what tomorrow holds. These do the filling for you, with a little something for different interests and personalities — something to make, solve, taste, collect or simply enjoy. Choosing the right one is...
For the person who would rather make something than simply unwrap something, each day adds a little creative time to the Christmas countdown. (affiliate)
Craft Project Advent Calendar
Twenty-four days and 24 miniature jigsaw puzzles turn the countdown into a daily art-and-puzzle break — particularly tempting for someone who can rarely pass up either. (affiliate)
Museum Favorites Advent Countdown, Second Edition
Instead of asking “What’s behind today’s door?” this one adds another question: “What happens next?” A little Christmas mystery unfolds as December does. (affiliate)
Christmas Mystery Advent Calendar
There’s something wonderfully kitschy about counting down with Rudolph. Nostalgia may be doing some of the work here — and at Christmas, I’m perfectly willing to let it. (affiliate)
Rudolph Advent Calendar
Chocolate and Christmas, one truffle at a time. Some Advent traditions really don't require much explanation — particularly when they combine several of my favorite things. (affiliate)
24 Days of Truffles Advent Calendar
Twenty-four little builds make the anticipation part of the play, and unlike the chocolate behind yesterday’s door, these surprises can join the LEGO collection long after Christmas. (affiliate)
LEGO® Advent Calendars 2026 | Official LEGO® Shop US
And Then Came Christmas
The Twelve Days
The countdown has finally reached Christmas — but historically, that wasn't the end of the celebration. The Twelve Days of Christmas, or Christmastide, begin with Christmas Day and carry the festivities into January, through Twelfth Night and Epiphan...
After counting down to Christmas, why not start counting cups? Twelve hot chocolates turn the traditional Twelve Days into an excuse for something warm, sweet and decidedly wintry. (affiliate)
Thoughtfully Gourmet 12 Days of Christmas Hot Chocolate Gift Set
Not every Christmas tradition needs sugar and spice, sometimes a little heat will do. Twelve hot sauces make this a decidedly fiery interpretation of holiday feasting. (affiliate)
12 Days of Hot Sauce Calendar
For a spirited Twelve Days, cocktail cubes offer a different little twist for the glass — considerably easier than finding a partridge in a pear tree. (affiliate)
12 Days of Whiskey Cocktail Cubes
Not everything at the holiday table has to be edible. Twelve little candles stretch the scents and glow of Christmas across the season, one votive at a time. (affiliate)
Yankee Candle 12 Days of Christmas Candle
Now take the idea and make it your own, 12 gifts for the Twelve Days of Christmas based on the song. (affiliate)
12 Gifts for the 12 Days of Christmas | The Table by Harry & David
After the calendars have been opened and Christmas has finally arrived, Lucy Worsley travels in the opposite direction, back through history to explore how the season was celebrated in Tudor times. A fitting way to finish a collection about not just ...