The 10 Best Advent Calendars in Australia

An advent calendar is a 24-door countdown to Christmas, with a small gift behind each door: chocolate, a toy, a cosmetic sample or a puzzle. Advent calendars Australia sells split into two groups that behave very differently, and telling them apart is most of the decision. Sealed food calendars are bought once and eaten. Toy and beauty calendars are re-released every year with a new edition number, which is where nearly every bad purchase in this category comes from.

Five types are on shelves here. Chocolate calendars are the default and the cheapest. Building-toy calendars put a small model behind each door and are the biggest sellers for school-age kids. Beauty calendars hold makeup, skincare or bath minis and run the widest price range of any type. Food and drink calendars cover tea, coffee and spirits for adults who do not want chocolate. Activity calendars hold a puzzle, craft or game each day instead of an object to consume.

The number that matters is not the price, it is the age rating, and it has a legal basis. The ACCC uses a small parts cylinder of 31mm diameter by 57mm long to decide whether a component is a choking hazard for children under 36 months, and toys for that age group sit under their own mandatory standard. The spec almost nobody checks is the edition year printed on the box. Toy calendars from 2019 through to 2026 sit side by side in the same search results, often with near-identical photography.

This lineup compares ten advent calendars in stock in Australia now, across chocolate, building toys, beauty, tea and puzzles, from a supermarket-priced chocolate box to a 24-envelope puzzle game for adults. Nine of the ten are recognised brands, which is a deliberate choice explained below. If you are still setting the room up, our artificial Christmas trees guide covers that end of it.

Quick Picks

Advent Calendars Australia Compared

Product	Link	Type	Best For	Key Spec
Lindt Advent Calendar	Check price	Chocolate	A safe crowd-pleaser	24 doors, milk chocolate figures
Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Chunks Advent Calendar	Check price	Chocolate	Filling several calendars	258g, 24 doors, caramel and milk chunks
LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar 2026	Check price	Building toy	Ages 6 and up	24 mini builds and characters, ages 6+
LEGO City Advent Calendar 2026	Check price	Building toy	Ages 5 and up	24 builds, Santa’s workshop theme, ages 5+
Play-Doh Holiday Advent Calendar	Check price	Craft	Ages 3 and up	24 doors, pots and moulds, ages 3+
Monster Jam Mini Jams Advent Calendar	Check price	Die-cast toy	Collectors of small vehicles	24 days, mini monster trucks
Hello Kitty and Friends Beauty Advent Calendar 2026	Check price	Beauty and accessories	Teens and tweens	24 items, brushes, hair and bath
e.l.f. Sleigh the Holidays 24-Day Advent Calendar	Check price	Makeup and skincare	A known beauty brand	24 doors, skincare and makeup minis
VAHDAM Tea Advent Calendar 2026	Check price	Tea	Adults who do not want chocolate	24 days, 24 tea varieties
Hidden Games Professor Charlie’s World Tour Puzzle Advent Calendar	Check price	Puzzle game	Adults and older teens	24 envelopes, ages 14+, 1-6 players

1. Lindt Advent Calendar – Best Chocolate Advent Calendar

Roughly 7,500 ratings at 4.6 make this the most-reviewed advent calendar sold here by a very large margin, and for a category full of one-year-only editions with a handful of reviews each, that consistency is the whole point. It is the same product every December: 24 doors, moulded milk chocolate figures, no surprises.

Sealed chocolate also sidesteps the trap that catches people with toy calendars. There is no edition year to check and no risk of buying last season’s stock, because one box of chocolate is the same as the next. It is the cheapest type here and the one to buy in multiples if several kids each need their own.

The Australian caveat is heat, not quality. Chocolate designed for a European December will bloom grey and go chalky on a wall through a hot Australian one, and this is the single most common complaint about every chocolate calendar in this country. Put the whole box in the fridge on the 30th of November (it will claim most of a shelf) and take the day’s piece out each morning. Problem solved for the price of a shelf.

Pros

• Around 7,500 ratings at 4.6, by far the largest evidence base in this category
• Sealed chocolate, so there is no edition year to get wrong
• Cheapest type here, and cheap enough to buy several
• Identical product every year, so you know exactly what arrives

Cons

• Will bloom grey and turn chalky if it hangs on a wall through an Australian December
• Chocolate figures only, so there is nothing kept after Christmas Eve
• The doors tear easily, and a determined child can reopen one without anyone noticing
• Nothing here for anyone avoiding dairy or sugar

Key specs: 24 doors, moulded milk chocolate figures, sealed food calendar, no age restriction.

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2. Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Chunks Advent Calendar – Best Value Chocolate Pick

The same idea as the Lindt above at a lower price per box, in 258 grams of caramel and milk chocolate chunks instead of moulded figures. If you need three or four calendars because three or four children each want their own to open, this is the one that makes that affordable.

The chunks are a real difference, not merely branding: a chunk survives warm weather slightly better than a thin moulded figure because there is more of it and less surface area per gram. It still wants the fridge. Same tearable doors, same nothing-left-after outcome, and the review base is a fraction of the Lindt’s at around 725 ratings, though the score is identical.

Pros

• Cheapest per calendar here, which matters when you need several
• Chocolate chunks hold up marginally better in heat than thin moulded figures
• 4.6 rating, matching the far more reviewed Lindt above
• A brand every Australian household already recognises

Cons

• Around 725 ratings against the Lindt’s 7,500, so the evidence base is much thinner
• 258g across 24 doors means the daily piece is small
• Still blooms in the heat without refrigeration
• Caramel chunks are a narrower taste than plain milk chocolate for a fussy child

Key specs: 258g, 24 doors, caramel and milk chocolate chunks, sealed food calendar.

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3. LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar 2026 – Best for LEGO Fans

The biggest seller in the category for school-age children, and the reason a lot of people search for an advent calendar at all. Twenty-four doors, each holding a mini build or a character, rated for ages 6 and up. This is the 2026 edition, and that year matters more than anything else on this page.

Search for this and you will be shown editions going back to 2019, with photography so similar that the year is often the only way to tell them apart. The older ones are cheaper because they are clearance. If you want the current one, confirm 2026 appears on the box in the listing images before you order, and not only in the title.

Being a brand-new seasonal release, it has no review history yet, which is the honest trade for getting the current edition. What carries over from every previous year is the actual risk: 24 days of very small pieces distributed across a floor. The ACCC considers anything that fits inside a 31mm by 57mm cylinder a choking hazard for under-threes, and most of what comes out of these doors does. Fine for a six-year-old, a real problem if a toddler shares the room.

Pros

• Current 2026 edition, not a prior-year clearance set
• 24 mini builds and characters that stay in the toy box after Christmas
• The brand with the strongest track record in this whole category
• Rated 6+, with build complexity to match

Cons

• Brand-new release, so there is no review history behind it yet
• Nearly every piece fits inside the ACCC’s 31mm choking-hazard cylinder
• Older editions appear in the same search results at lower prices and look almost identical
• One of the dearer picks here for something consumed over 24 days

Key specs: 24 doors, mini builds and characters, ages 6+, 2026 edition.

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4. LEGO City Advent Calendar 2026 – Best for Younger Kids

The same annual release aimed a year or two younger, rated 5 and up, on a Santa’s workshop theme with Santa, Mrs Claus, three elves and a snowman among the 24 doors. Where the Star Wars set above assumes some building patience, this one is closer to a daily toy than a daily model.

It is also the 2026 edition, with the same year-checking warning attached and the same absence of reviews that comes with a fresh release. Pick between this and the Star Wars set on the child, not the price, because they cost within a few dollars of each other: one suits a five-year-old who wants a thing to play with, the other a seven-year-old who wants to build something.

Pros

• Rated 5+, a year or two younger than the Star Wars set above
• Recognisable Christmas characters instead of licensed film ones
• Current 2026 edition
• Simpler daily builds suit a child who loses patience with instructions

Cons

• Nothing to read before buying: the 2026 edition landed too recently for owner feedback
• Small pieces throughout, so the same under-three choking risk applies
• Prior-year editions sit in the same search results at clearance prices
• A child who already collects the licensed sets will spot that these characters are generic Christmas ones

Key specs: 24 doors, Santa’s workshop theme, ages 5+, 2026 edition.

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5. Play-Doh Holiday Advent Calendar – Best for Toddlers

The highest-rated calendar in this lineup at 4.8, and the only one here that suits a house with a child under three. Twenty-four doors of pots, moulds and cutters (the pots are about shot-glass sized), rated 3 and up, and critically the contents are large enough that they do not fit inside the ACCC’s small parts cylinder the way a building brick does.

For a two or three-year-old, this is the answer to the problem every other toy calendar creates. It also produces something to do instead of something to own, which for a toddler in the last fortnight before Christmas is arguably the more useful gift.

It makes a mess, and that is the honest trade. Twenty-four days of modelling compound means dried crumbs trodden into carpet by about the 10th, and the pots are small enough that they dry out fast if the lids are not pressed back properly. Keep it to a hard floor or a table.

Pros

• 4.8 rating, the highest in this lineup
• Contents too large to fit the ACCC choking-hazard cylinder, unlike the building sets
• Rated 3+, so it works in a house with a toddler
• Gives a young child an activity instead of an object

Cons

• Twenty-four days of modelling compound ground into the carpet is a realistic outcome
• Small pots dry out quickly if the lids are not pressed on firmly
• Nothing lasting once the compound hardens or gets mixed into one grey lump
• Too simple to hold the interest of a child over about six

Key specs: 24 doors, pots, moulds and cutters, ages 3+, no edition year to check.

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6. Monster Jam Mini Jams Advent Calendar – Best for Truck-Mad Kids

Twenty-four days of miniature monster trucks, at 4.7 across roughly 760 ratings, and no edition year to trip over. For a child already into vehicles this lands better than a building set, because there is nothing to assemble and nothing to lose mid-build.

The die-cast scale is the appeal and the limitation at once. These are small, solid and collectible, which makes them satisfying to line up on a shelf and easy to vacuum up off a floor. Against the Play-Doh calendar above it swaps mess for small parts, which is the trade you are actually choosing between for a younger child.

Assume the trucks end up everywhere. A tub or a shoebox by the calendar from day one is the difference between a collection and a slow disappearance, and it is worth setting up before the 1st, not hunting under the sofa on Boxing Day.

Pros

• 4.7 across roughly 760 ratings, solid evidence for this category
• No edition year, so there is no clearance-stock trap
• Die-cast trucks are collectible and survive being played with
• Nothing to build, which suits a child who wants the toy immediately

Cons

• Small die-cast vehicles are exactly the size the ACCC flags for under-threes
• Twenty-four small trucks disappear into carpet and under furniture quickly
• Narrow appeal, since a child not interested in trucks will be bored by day four
• Repetitive by design: it is the same kind of item 24 times

Key specs: 24 days, miniature die-cast monster trucks, no edition year, small parts throughout.

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7. Hello Kitty and Friends Beauty Advent Calendar 2026 – Best Beauty Calendar for Teens

A 24-item beauty and accessories calendar built around a licence that does most of the work: brushes, hair ties, a sleep mask, bath pieces and small cosmetics, aimed squarely at tweens and younger teens, not adults. It rates 4.7 across around 385 ratings and is a current 2026 edition.

The age targeting is the reason it is here. Adult beauty calendars are full of skincare actives a 12-year-old has no use for, while this is mostly accessories and low-risk items with a character licence attached, which is a much better match for that age.

It is also the one pick in this lineup from a seller, not an established beauty brand, and that deserves stating given Choice found unbranded marketplace items failing safety testing at a far higher rate than known names. Nothing here is electronic, which removes the button battery question entirely, but if you want a recognised name on cosmetics that touch skin, the e.l.f. calendar below is the safer choice.

Pros

• Age-appropriate for tweens and younger teens, unlike adult skincare calendars
• 4.7 across roughly 385 ratings on a current 2026 edition
• Mostly accessories and bath items, so nothing electronic and no battery concern
• The character licence carries a lot of the appeal at this age

Cons

• The only pick here from a marketplace seller, not an established beauty brand
• Cosmetics that touch skin are where an unrecognised name matters most
• Accessory-heavy, so several doors are hair ties and clips instead of products
• Licensed packaging dates fast for a child who moves on to another character

Key specs: 24 items, brushes, hair accessories, bath and small cosmetics, 2026 edition, no electronics.

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8. e.l.f. Sleigh the Holidays 24-Day Advent Calendar – Best Adult Beauty Calendar

A recognised beauty brand at an accessible price, which is a narrow gap in this category: most name-brand beauty calendars cost several times this, and most calendars at this price carry no name at all. Twenty-four doors of skincare and makeup minis, 4.6 across roughly 440 ratings.

Minis are the point, not a compromise. A skincare calendar is a cheap way to try two dozen products without committing to full sizes, and the ones that work become a shopping list in January. That is a different kind of value from chocolate, which is gone.

The catch is the edition year: this is the 2025 release, not a 2026 one, and beauty calendars refresh annually like the toy sets do. The contents are current-generation products and it is in stock now, but if a 2026 version appears before you order, take that instead and pay the same attention to the year you would with LEGO.

Pros

• An established beauty brand at a fraction of typical name-brand calendar prices
• Two dozen minis is a cheap way to trial products before buying full sizes
• 4.6 across roughly 440 ratings
• Skincare and makeup mix instead of accessories padding out the doors

Cons

• This is the 2025 edition, so check whether a 2026 release has landed before ordering
• Sample sizes are small enough that some are one or two uses
• Skincare actives make it wrong for a young teen, despite the price looking family-friendly
• Nothing kept after the doors are open, like every consumable calendar here

Key specs: 24 doors, skincare and makeup minis, 2025 edition, adult beauty.

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9. VAHDAM Tea Advent Calendar 2026 – Best Non-Chocolate Gift

Twenty-four different teas across 24 days, at 4.5 across roughly 940 ratings, and a current 2026 edition. This is the pick for an adult who would rather not be handed a fortnight of chocolate, and it is the only calendar here whose contents are useful at any time of year.

Variety is what it is selling. Two dozen distinct blends is more than most people would ever buy individually, which makes it a reasonable gift for someone whose tastes you do not know well. Against the chocolate calendars at the top of this list it costs considerably more, and against the LEGO sets it lands in similar territory for something consumed instead of kept.

Practical notes. Loose-leaf and pyramid bags need a pot or an infuser mug, so it is the wrong gift for someone who only owns a kettle and mugs. And unlike chocolate, an Australian summer does it no harm at all, which quietly makes it the lower-maintenance choice in December.

Pros

• 24 distinct teas, more variety than most people would buy on their own
• 4.5 across roughly 940 ratings on a current 2026 edition
• Unaffected by heat, unlike every chocolate calendar here
• Contents stay useful after Christmas instead of being finished

Cons

• Needs a teapot or infuser mug, so it is wrong for a kettle-and-mugs household
• Costs considerably more than the chocolate calendars above
• Twenty-four different blends means some will not suit the recipient’s taste
• One bag per door makes a single cup, so two tea drinkers in a house end up splitting or skipping days

Key specs: 24 days, 24 tea varieties, 2026 edition, needs an infuser or pot.

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10. Hidden Games Professor Charlie’s World Tour Puzzle Advent Calendar – Best for Adults Who Want a Puzzle

This is the one that is not a countdown of objects at all. Behind each of the 24 envelopes is a puzzle to solve, building a story across the month, rated for ages 14 and up and playable by one to six people at once. It rates 4.4 across roughly 810 ratings.

It answers a problem the other nine cannot. An advent calendar for adults is usually just a delivery mechanism for 24 small consumables, whereas this gives a household something to do together for ten or fifteen minutes each evening in the busiest fortnight of the year. Played as a couple or a family, it is closer to a shared ritual than a gift.

The material is not destroyed in play, which is worth knowing: the puzzles can be passed on to another household afterwards instead of binned on Christmas Eve. That makes the cost read differently from a chocolate or beauty calendar at a similar price.

Two honest limits. Fourteen and up is a real rating, not a cautious one, so it will not work as a family activity with primary-schoolers. And the puzzles run in sequence toward a single solution, which means missing several days in a row leaves you catching up rather than simply opening the next door.

Pros

• Twenty-four puzzles rather than 24 objects, so nothing is consumed
• Playable by one to six people, which makes it a shared evening activity
• Material survives play and can be passed to another household
• 4.4 across roughly 810 ratings, and no edition year to check

Cons

• Rated 14 and up, so it rules out younger children entirely
• Puzzles run in sequence, so missing several days means catching up
• Ten to fifteen minutes an evening is a real commitment in a busy December
• Every listing image is a marketing composite, so the physical contents are hard to judge

Key specs: 24 envelopes, sequential puzzle game, ages 14+, 1 to 6 players, no edition year.

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How to Choose an Advent Calendar

Check the edition year before anything else. This is the single biggest trap in the category. Toy and beauty calendars are re-released annually, and a search for one will return six years of editions with almost the same photograph on each. The older ones look like a bargain because they are clearance. Find the year on the box in the listing images, not in the title, because sellers reuse titles.

Match the age rating to the youngest child in the house, not the one receiving it. The ACCC tests small parts against a cylinder 31mm across and 57mm long: anything that fits inside it is a choking risk for under-threes. A building-toy calendar rated 6+ scatters 24 days of small pieces across a living room floor where a toddler also lives. That is the actual risk, and it is not on the box.

Take button batteries seriously. Four button battery standards became mandatory in Australia in June 2022, and the ACCC reports three children have died and 44 have been severely injured here. When Choice tested 24 children’s toys bought from five large online marketplaces against those standards, 17 failed, with batteries that could be opened without a tool and missing warning labels among the faults. Those marketplaces included the one every pick in this guide links to. If a calendar contains anything that lights up or beeps, check the battery compartment needs a screwdriver.

Remember that an Australian December is hot. Advent calendars are designed in the northern hemisphere for a cold December, and a chocolate calendar hanging on a wall through a Brisbane or Perth summer will bloom grey and go chalky well before the 24th. Keep chocolate ones in the fridge and take the day’s piece out in the morning. It is the most common complaint about chocolate calendars in this country and it is entirely avoidable.

Buy branded where the contents go in a mouth or on skin. That is the practical lesson from the Choice testing above: unbranded marketplace items failed at a far higher rate than established names. Chocolate, cosmetics and anything for a small child are the three places to pay for a brand you recognise. A no-name puzzle calendar carries much less risk than a no-name cosmetics one.

Decide whether you want it to last. Wondering why some cost five times as much as others? Chocolate and beauty calendars are consumed and thrown out on Christmas Eve. Building-toy calendars leave 24 models that go in the toy box, and puzzle or game calendars can be re-gifted or replayed. Work out which of those you are actually buying before you compare prices across the two groups, because they are not the same purchase.

You’ll Also Want

A reusable fabric or wooden calendar is worth considering if you buy one every single year. You fill the 24 pockets yourself, which costs more up front and less annually, and it lets you control exactly what a toddler can reach.

Fridge space is the accessory nobody plans for. A chocolate calendar needs somewhere cool for three weeks of an Australian summer, and a full family fridge in December has none. Clear a shelf before the 1st.

A small storage tub keeps the 24 daily pieces from a building-toy calendar together. Otherwise the models end up vacuumed up or trodden on by about the 12th, which is the most predictable outcome in this entire category.

Batteries and a small screwdriver matter if the calendar contains anything electronic. Check the compartment is screwed shut, and if it is not, that is the calendar to keep away from small children entirely.

If the calendar is for a baby or a very young toddler, a single safe soft toy beats 24 small pieces outright. Our baby comforter toys guide covers the options that are actually age-appropriate under three.

Frequently Asked Questions

Verdict

For most Australian households the Lindt Advent Calendar is the straightforward buy: it is the cheapest type, it carries by far the largest review base in the category, and there is no edition-year trap to fall into with sealed chocolate. Families with school-age children should go to the LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar 2026 and check that 2026 is the year on the box, because the same search will offer several older editions at tempting prices. If the calendar is for an adult, the VAHDAM Tea Advent Calendar 2026 is the pick that does not end in a fortnight of chocolate, and for a house with a child under three the Play-Doh calendar is the only one here whose daily contents are too big to swallow.