Holiday Gift Guide: Advent Calendars
Bonne Maman, LEGO, Venchi, See's Candies, Murray's Cheese...
I’ve unboxed the vintage lights from the crawlspace to decorate the Ed Anderson-designed LAST CALL neon sign logo with some holiday cheer to greet the return of the LAST CALL Holiday Gift Guides! Over this week and into next week, as we count down to our annual Thanksgiving Eve Special, I’ll be sharing my personal picks for gift ideas for yourself or to share with others in Holiday Advent Calendars, Food & Provisions, Drinks & Spirits, Books & Cookbooks, The Spirit of Italy, and Stocking Stuffers.
All of this year’s Holiday content will be free to all readers thanks to the generous support and underwriting of our featured sponsors. But as this remains a reader-supported publication, I hope you’ll consider upgrading to a paid subscription before the year ends, or, if you’re already a paid subscriber (grazie mille!) think about sharing a LAST CALL Gift Subscription with a friend or colleague.
LAST CALL Holiday Gift Guide: Advent Calendars
Even though you won’t start counting down the days to Christmas with these 2024 Advent Calendars until December 1, we are kicking things off with these festive calendars as they often sell out by Thanksgiving. Last holiday season, for research and personal interest’s sake, I maintained four different Advent Calendars which, admittedly, got a bit overwhelming each morning, but I am a man of ritual and tradition. This year I personally have on deck the Bonne Maman Limited Edition Advent Calendar and the LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar, which my dear friend Anne sends me every year.
And we’re off!
Bonne Maman Limited-Edition Advent Calendar
In the past I’ve found out the hard way and waited too long to purchase or gift the popular Bonne Maman Limited Edition Advent Calendar only to find it sold out or marked up by third-party sellers, but this will be my second holiday season with this festive and popular tradition. This is a big and beautifully designed package (this year’s illustration depicts a Santa’s train tableau) with numbered, perforated doors to count down the days to Christmas. Each day reveals one of 24 Bonne Maman mini jars of spreads, including jams, jellies, marmalades, and honey, along with holiday exclusive flavors like Caramel with Coffee, Apricot with Orange Blossom, and Guava and Raspberry & Rose. And if you’re not ready for a full 24-day commitment, they’re also offering a Bonne Maman 12 Days of Christmas collection of 12 limited-edition flavors of mini spreads for $22.90.
$44.99 (Bonne Maman)