Christmas 2015: The 20 best advent calendars for you to buy right now

The days of being satisfied with a melted chocolate Santa behind your advent window are long gone: these days advent calendars are the perfect opportunity for you to treat yourself to your favourite things for the 24 days before Christmas as you worry about shopping for others.

They are also the perfect early gift for loved ones if you want to treat someone before Christmas. Anything that can be captured inside cardboard or wooden numbered doors – from craft beer to Star Wars lego – is getting into the advent game these days, and we are all for it.

To save the disappointment of ending up with an underwhelming Christmas countdown we've rounded up the top 20 advent calendars you can buy right now. The only problem is keeping them unopened until 1 December....

FOOD AND DRINK ADVENT CALENDARS

For those of you who still want to be able to consume the treat behind each door, these are for you.

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Starry night, chocolate advent house; £39.99, Lakeland – an adorable wooden house with 24 painted drawers that hold foil-wrapped chocolates, the ideal gift to be reused each year, refilling the boxes with something new.

Lindt – adorable bear advent calendar; £10, Ocado – The classic Christmas must-have, Lindt's signature bears accompanied with an assortment of Lindt chocolates.

Craft beer advent calendar; £80, Not On The High Street – Not one to enjoy before work perhaps but ideal for craft beer enthusiasts. Contains a great variety of tipples including Camden Brewery, Beavertown, America's Flying Dog, Brooklyn and Anchor Brewing Co.

Christmas tea advent calendar; £12.95, Harrods – For tea lovers what could be better than an adorable bag of fresh leaves to enjoy each and every day?

Drinks by the Dram, Ginvent calendar; £125, Fortnum and Mason – and for those who want something a little stronger, Drinks by the Dram have a daily measure of gin to get you through the stress of Christmas. An advent of Martinis perhaps?

Truffles for Two advent calendar; £26, Hotel Chocolat – The ideal solution for couples who get advent envy or just love to share everything, this has 48 truffles so you can both indulge daily.

SOMETHING A BIT DIFFERENT:

Ideal for anyone who loves toys, trinkets and bits for the home

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Lego – Star Wars advent calendar; £24.99, Selfridges – Yes it says ages 6-14 but what a fantastic calendar to have at work to brighten up your desk with the daily figurines you receive each day.

Personalised secret advent activities box; £18, Not On The High Street – A very thoughtful advent gift that allows you to create personalised advent messages and activities to be opened every day.

Diptyque advent calendar; £250, Selfridges – The ultimate in home indulgence. The coveted Diptyque calendar is packed with candles and fragrances to make Christmas smell incredible. The calendar went on sale today and is guaranteed to sell out quickly, so snap it up.

Frozen advent calendar; £17.49, John Lewis – Another amazing novelty calendar that is not just for kids, but will certainly make one very happy. Each day reveals a figurine or cardboard set piece to create your own Frozen scene.

Circular averkamp advent calendar; £6.50, National Gallery – a nod to the traditional calendar as well as a novel way to hang a little art in the house over Christmas. The central scene features Hendrick Avercamp's A Winter Scene with Skaters near a Castle, while each door reveals a new detail from a National Gallery painting.

Meri Meri – Nutcracker theatre bracelet advent calendar; £22.99, Amazon – Each door within this adorable theatre-shaped jewellery box contains a charm to create a full bracelet by 24 December.

BEAUTY ADVENT CALENDARS

The most popular advent calendar fillings that you can add to your beauty cupboard.

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Beauty Workshop advent calendar; £60, Selfridges – This is an absolute must for beauty fans as you get £226 worth of goodies in this jam-packed calendar. Everything from Tweezerman to Eve Lom is hidden behind this beautiful galaxy-inspired countdown.

Liberty London bath and body advent calendar; £149, Liberty – This is a bit more of an investment for the holidays but it does have £400-worth of beauty and bath products hidden behind its painted facade. All of Liberty's favourites are in here, from Kiehl's to Ren, and there's even a cheeky Diptyque too.

Beauty advent calendar; £25 when you spend £25, coming soon, Marks and Spencer – This is a great addition to your shop when you're stocking up on champagne for Christmas. Leighton Denny, Pixi, Stila and L'Occitane all feature behind the numbered drawers and total up at over £200, which makes this the ultimate beauty bargain.

Lancome advent calendar; £85, Selfridges – A beautiful statement design from Lancome containing all of their hero products, including Hypnose mascara and Visionnaire serum.

Christmas beauty advent calendar; £39, L'Occitane – Alongside the array of beauty behind the advent doors, L'Occitane have also prepped you for Christmas with gift tags, place cards and tree decorations hidden in here as well.

Beauty advent calendar; £60, The Body Shop – A daily dose of Body Shop favourites to have you smelling of roses, cranberries, figs and all sorts throughout December.

Christmas beard oil advent calendar; £29.99, Not On The High Street – An ideal advent calendar for the hirsute gentleman, with 24 different scented oils including everything from cedarwood, driftwood, fresh cut grass and black coffee to keep your beard looking great and smelling delicious.

Charlotte Tilbury – Book of Magic Make Up; £150, Selfridges – The wonder woman of beauty, Charlotte Tilbury has crammed her fabulous product range into 12 beautifully designed cabinets. You may only get a gift every two days but it is definitely worth the wait.