Best Foodie Advent Calendars: Five Festive Countdowns Worth Gifting

Introduction

Advent calendars have quietly outgrown the flat chocolate box. These five picks each take a different angle on the December countdown: a classic ethical chocolate calendar, a build-your-own vegan gummy tree, a spice-discovery box, a specialty coffee journey, and a full-blown gourmet feast from one of London’s most storied food stores. Here is how they compare, and who each one is really for.

The Classic Pick: Montezuma’s Extraordinary Chocolate Advent Calendar

Montezuma’s is known for ethically sourced, organic chocolate, and that ethos carries through the calendar itself: fully recyclable packaging and tray, no palm oil, no GM ingredients, no preservatives or colourings, and gluten free. Behind each door you get the same sweet, satisfying milk chocolate, moulded with the brand’s “M” motif, with a different picture printed under every window. It is simple, delicious, and dependable.

At £9.99, you are not paying for a 250g bar. You are paying for 25 mornings of opening a little door, and that daily moment is exactly what an advent calendar is for. If you want a crowd-pleasing, fuss-free classic that most people will genuinely enjoy, this is the safest bet on the list.

The Alternative Pick: Candy Kittens Advent Calendar Tree

This one is for anyone who cannot, or does not want to, eat chocolate. Candy Kittens’ calendar is a build-your-own cardboard Christmas tree filled with numbered drawers, each holding at least two of the brand’s vegan gourmet sweets from their gourmet range. Assembly is part of the gift: it becomes a small family activity to build the tree, fill the drawers, and then count down through them.

There is a worthwhile ethical hook too. Candy Kittens partners with Tree Sisters, a reforestation charity, and plants an actual tree for every tree calendar sold. At £12 it is a lot for a box of sweets on paper, but you are buying the experience of building and opening it, which is where the value sits.

The Super Foodie Pick: Terre Exotique Calendrier de l’Avent

The spice discovery calendar from Terre Exotique contains 24 sachets of sweet and savoury spice blends and single-origin ingredients from around the world, including standouts like white Penja pepper PGI and a Breton curry blend. Each sachet comes with ingredient details and practical recipe ideas, so the calendar doubles as a month-long cooking inspiration kit.

The sourcing story is solid: the founder works closely with farmers and spice plantations, prioritising quality and sustainability, and the spices are stored in metal tins to protect them from light and deterioration. At £25, roughly a pound per sachet, it is fair value, and the sachets keep well beyond December so nothing needs to be rushed. This is less an advent calendar and more a genuinely inspiring pantry gift that happens to arrive one day at a time.

The Enthusiast Pick: Brew Company Coffee Lover Advent Calendar

The Brew Company’s coffee calendar delivers 25 single-estate specialty coffees, each in its own sachet, with the origin and story of every coffee printed on the box. The packaging is genuinely clever: recyclable pouches that double as brewers, so you pour in hot water, let it steep for four to eight minutes in something between a French press and a pour-over, then pour it out. Each sachet makes two cups.

The coffee is ethically sourced and hand roasted in small batches at the company’s artisan micro roastery in Denmark. At £38.95, it works out to under £2 a day for a genuinely good, different coffee every morning, which fits naturally into a daily routine in a way a gin or wine calendar never could. For the coffee lover in your life, this is an easy recommendation.

The Go Big or Go Home Pick: Fortnum & Mason Feasting Advent Calendar

Fortnum & Mason’s feasting advent calendar is the statement gift of the list. Across the month you get sweet things, savoury things, condiments and drinks: chocolate coins, exclusive chocolate bars, cognac butter, orange and champagne marmalade, salted caramel hot chocolate, chocolate truffles, chocolate mice, heather honey gin, English Frambroise, Christmas tea, pistachio and clotted cream biscuits, and a small bottle of champagne behind the final door.

The treats are built for sharing, whether they land on a cheese board, come out with afternoon coffee, or get gathered together for hosting over the holidays. The box itself is reusable, so you can refill it with your own treats next year. At £200 it is undeniably expensive, but the contents justify the number, and it lands as an experience rather than a simple gift. This is the pick for someone you really want to spoil.

Overall Buying Advice

Match the calendar to the person: Montezuma’s for the classic chocolate fan, Candy Kittens for the chocolate-free or vegan recipient who enjoys a bit of craft, Terre Exotique for the curious cook, the Brew Company for the daily coffee ritual, and Fortnum & Mason for the big festive splurge. Every option here delivers something most flat chocolate calendars do not: a reason to look forward to opening the door.

Conclusion

Advent calendars have become one of the most fun corners of the food gift market. Whether your budget is £10 or £200, there is a well-made option here that turns the December countdown into something genuinely worth the daily ritual.