Christmas decorations barely go up in Singapore’s malls before the advent calendars start selling out, and the good ones tend to disappear from shelves weeks before the first window is due to open.
Picking from the best advent calendars in Singapore for 2026 means looking past the packaging and figuring out what will actually survive the full countdown, whether that is a box of skincare minis, a strip of chocolate wells, or two dozen small LEGO builds for a five-year-old. Prices and formats vary a lot more than the uniform grid-of-windows look suggests, and not every calendar earns its asking price once you work out the cost per window. A few of this year’s picks pair nicely with a trip to the Christmas markets and bazaars in Singapore, so browsing one can double as research for the other.
Below, we go through seven calendars worth a look this year, picked for variety across beauty, tea, chocolate and toys rather than one single category. After the picks, we cover what we looked at when narrowing the list and a few pointers for choosing the right calendar for your household, budget and the people you are buying for.
Quick Picks: Advent Calendars
- Best for beauty lovers: Sephora Collection Premium Advent Calendar packs the widest spread of makeup and skincare minis into one box, making it a safe pick when a recipient’s exact beauty preferences are not fully known.
- Best for skincare fans: Kiehl’s 24 Days Of Kiehl’s Advent Calendar leans into full-size and near full-size staples instead of sample sachets.
- Best for pampering nights in: LUSH 12 Days Of Christmas turns bath time into a daily event for the first half of December.
- Best for tea lovers: TWG Tea Twelfth Night Advent Calendar keeps the countdown going past Christmas Day itself.
- Best for supporting a homegrown brand: Janice Wong Festive Days Of December brings a Singapore pastry chef’s chocolate work to the format.
- Best for families with young kids: LEGO City Advent Calendar 2026: Santa’s Workshop gives a small daily build instead of a sweet treat.
- Best for a luxe chocolate gift: Venchi Chocolate Advent Calendar suits someone who would appreciate Italian pralines over stocking fillers.
Best for: Beauty lovers who want variety in one box
Estimated price: $165
Website: sephora.sg
Location: Sephora stores islandwide (ION Orchard, VivoCity, Jewel Changi Airport and more) and online at sephora.sg
Sephora’s own house-brand calendar has been a reliable yearly pick for anyone who wants a broad spread rather than a single category. Past editions have mixed makeup, skincare and the odd haircare or fragrance miniature across all 24 windows, which makes it a reasonable Secret Santa pick if the recipient’s beauty preferences are not fully known. The box itself also tends to double as a drawer organiser once emptied, a small bonus for anyone short on vanity space in Singapore apartments. Because it is a Sephora house brand rather than a single label, expect a wider spread of skin tones and shades across the makeup windows than a single-brand calendar would offer.
Image Credit: BestLah (illustrative image)
What to note: The 2026 edition’s exact line-up had not been published on sephora.sg at the time of writing, so it is best to confirm contents on the site closer to the November launch window.
2. LUSH 12 Days Of Christmas
Best for: Pampering nights in with bath and body treats
Estimated price: $250
Website: lushsg.com
Location: LUSH stores islandwide (ION Orchard, Raffles City, Jewel Changi Airport and more) and online at lushsg.com
Lush’s festive box swaps the usual grid-of-windows format for twelve individually wrapped bath and body items tucked around a central gift box, including a run of its best-known bath bombs and shower gels in seasonal scents. It suits someone who treats a bath as the actual event instead of a quick wash, and the packaging illustration alone gives it a dose of old-fashioned Christmas card charm that a plain cardboard box would not.
Image Credit: LUSH Singapore
What to note: This set has sold out before December in past years, so an early November order is the safer bet over waiting until the last minute.
3. Kiehl’s 24 Days Of Kiehl’s Advent Calendar
Best for: Skincare fans who want full-size staples
Estimated price: $197.60
Website: kiehls.com.sg
Location: Kiehl’s counters islandwide (Takashimaya, ION Orchard and more) and online at kiehls.com.sg
Kiehl’s calendar tends to favour fuller sizes over the sachet-sized samples that some beauty calendars rely on to fill 24 windows, which means fewer throwaway minis at the end of the month. Past editions have included staples such as its Ultra Facial Cream and Midnight Recovery Concentrate alongside smaller travel formats, so it works well for someone who already has a Kiehl’s routine and would use every item instead of setting a few aside. It also tends to suit normal to dry skin types best, given how many of Kiehl’s bestsellers lean toward richer creams and oils, so someone with oilier or more acne-prone skin may want to check the exact 2026 line-up before committing to the full price.
Image Credit: BestLah (illustrative image)
4. TWG Tea Twelfth Night Advent Calendar
Best for: Tea lovers who want to mark the full twelve days
Estimated price: $120
Website: twgtea.com/sg
Location: TWG Tea salons and boutiques islandwide (Takashimaya, Raffles Hotel Arcade, Changi Airport and more) and online at twgtea.com/sg
Rather than ending on Christmas Day, TWG’s calendar follows the older Twelfth Night tradition and opens from 13 December through to 6 January, pairing twelve mini tins of loose-leaf blends with a reusable keepsake box. It fits a household that already drinks loose-leaf tea daily and wants the countdown to run into the new year instead of stopping short, and the tins themselves get reused for loose tea storage long after the calendar is done.
Image Credit: TWG Tea
5. Janice Wong Festive Days Of December
Best for: Supporting a homegrown chocolatier
Estimated price: $105
Website: janicewong.online
Location: Janice Wong outlets islandwide and online at janicewong.online
Janice Wong is a Singapore-founded pastry and chocolate brand built around chef Janice Wong’s edible art background, and its festive calendar brings that same attention to detail to a countdown format, mixing chocolates, cookies and small caramels across the month. It is a natural pick for anyone who would rather put their festive spending behind a local name than an international chain, and it travels well as a gift for overseas friends curious about Singapore-made chocolate.
Image Credit: Janice Wong
What to note: The brand’s exact 2026 assortment and release date were still being finalised at the time of writing, so checking janicewong.online or an outlet directly closer to December is the more reliable way to confirm details.
6. LEGO City Advent Calendar 2026: Santa’s Workshop
Best for: Families with young builders
Estimated price: $43.99
Website: toysrus.com.sg
Location: ToysRUs outlets islandwide and online at toysrus.com.sg
This year’s LEGO City set hides 24 small builds behind a Santa’s Workshop theme, including Santa, Mrs Claus, three elves, a snowman and a baby reindeer figure, with the emptied box unfolding into a play mat once the last window is opened. At $43.99, it sits well below most beauty and food calendars on this list while giving a child something to build each morning instead of something to eat or apply, and the finished minifigures slot into any other LEGO City sets already in the house.
Image Credit: ToysRUs Singapore
What to note: ToysRUs also carries Harry Potter, Star Wars, Friends and Minecraft-themed LEGO calendars this year, so it is easy to match the theme to a specific child’s interest instead of settling for the generic option.
7. Venchi Chocolate Advent Calendar
Best for: A luxe chocolate gift or client present
Estimated price: From $35
Website: sg.venchi.com
Location: Venchi boutiques (Marina Bay Sands, Raffles City, Parkway Parade) and online at sg.venchi.com
Venchi’s Italian pralines and gianduiotti have built a loyal following in Singapore, and its advent calendar line has ranged in past years from compact chocolate-only boxes to a larger wooden keepsake edition meant to be kept well after the chocolates are gone. It suits someone buying for a client or colleague rather than a child, where the brand name and presentation count for as much as what is inside, and the smaller size still works as a stocking filler on a tighter budget.
Image Credit: BestLah (illustrative image)
What to note: The 2026 edition had not yet appeared on sg.venchi.com at the time of writing; its boutiques at Marina Bay Sands, Raffles City and Parkway Parade are a reliable way to check stock in person once the range lands.
What We Looked At When Choosing These Advent Calendars
- Variety across categories: We looked beyond beauty alone, covering tea, chocolate, skincare and toys so the list works whether you are shopping for yourself, a child or a colleague.
- Value for the price: We checked an estimated per-window value given the price, favouring calendars with reusable packaging or full-size items over ones padded with sachet-sized freebies.
- Local availability: Every pick has a stockist or storefront in Singapore instead of something that only ships from overseas with long delivery windows.
- Reusability: Where a calendar’s box or tin collection has a second life once empty, we noted it, since that changes the value calculation.
- A mix of local and international names: Alongside the bigger international brands, we made sure at least one homegrown Singapore name made the cut.
- Honest pricing over time: We also noted how each brand’s past pricing has held up, since a calendar that quietly creeps up in price every year while shrinking its contents is a different proposition from one that has stayed consistent.
How To Choose The Right Advent Calendar For You
- Decide who it’s actually for: A calendar bought for yourself can lean indulgent; one bought as a gift should match what the recipient already uses or enjoys.
- Set a budget before browsing: Prices here range from around $35 to $250, so deciding on a ceiling first avoids the temptation of the most expensive box on the shelf.
- Check what’s reusable: A calendar whose box or tins get a second life effectively costs less than the sticker price suggests.
- Think about the countdown length: Most run the standard 24 days to Christmas Eve, but at least one on this list runs into the new year instead, which suits a household that wants the festive mood to last longer.
- Order or reserve early: Several of Singapore’s most popular calendars sell out well before December, so early to mid November is a safer window to shop than the first week of the month itself.
- Think about skin type and dietary needs: A rich cream-based skincare calendar or a box of dairy-based chocolates may not suit everyone on your gift list, so it pays to check ingredients before a beauty or chocolate pick.
Online Versus In-Store: What To Check Before You Buy
Buying online is usually the easier route for calendars from Sephora, Kiehl’s, TWG Tea, Janice Wong and Venchi, since all five list their festive ranges on their Singapore sites once the season starts, with delivery or in-store collection as options. The trade-off is that popular boxes sell out online just as fast as they do in stores, sometimes faster, since one listing serves the whole island instead of a single outlet’s stock.
Buying in person at an actual counter or boutique still has an edge for anyone who wants to see the box before paying for it, particularly for the pricier picks like Kiehl’s and LUSH, where the physical packaging and size are part of the appeal. Several of the stockists above, including Takashimaya and ION Orchard, carry more than one of the brands on this list under one roof, which makes a single mall trip a practical way to compare a few calendars on the shortlist in person.
Advent Calendars As Gifts: A Few Practical Notes
An advent calendar makes an easy gift for a colleague, teacher or distant relative precisely because it does not require knowing much about their taste beyond a general category like tea, chocolate or skincare. For a child, the LEGO-style build calendars tend to land better than anything edible, since the daily task of building something small holds attention longer than a piece of chocolate does. For an office gift exchange with a fixed budget, the smaller Venchi or Janice Wong options sit comfortably under $50 without feeling like an afterthought.
Final Thoughts
Whichever box ends up under the tree or on the kitchen counter this year, the appeal of an advent calendar comes down to the same small ritual repeated daily, a short pause to open one window before the rest of the day gets going. Some households will go through a box of chocolates by the second week; others will stretch a tin of tea blends well past New Year. Either way, there is enough range across this list that the harder part is probably picking just one.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
When do advent calendars usually go on sale in Singapore?
Most brands launch their festive ranges from late October through November, with stock typically available through December until supplies run out or the countdown period itself begins. Popular picks, particularly limited-edition sets like LUSH’s, have sold out online before December in past years, so shopping from early November is the safer approach instead of waiting for the first door to open.
How does an advent calendar’s price compare with buying the items inside separately?
This varies a lot by brand. Calendars built around full-size or near full-size products, like Kiehl’s, tend to land close to or slightly above the combined retail value of the items inside, while ones padded with sample sachets or small novelty pieces can cost more per item than a single full-size product would. Checking roughly what each window would cost on its own is a reasonable way to judge whether a specific calendar is a good deal before buying.
Can I exchange or return an advent calendar once a window has already been opened?
Policies differ by retailer, and most physical and online stores in Singapore treat an opened advent calendar the same way they would any opened cosmetic, food or gift set, which usually means no refund or exchange once a seal or window has been broken. Checking the specific retailer’s return policy before buying is the safer approach if this is a concern, particularly for the pricier beauty and skincare picks.
What is the real difference between a beauty advent calendar and a lifestyle one like LEGO or tea?
A beauty advent calendar is built around a single category, usually skincare, makeup or bath and body, with each window holding a related product. A lifestyle calendar like the LEGO or TWG Tea picks on this list swaps that single category for an activity or a different kind of daily ritual, whether that is building a small model or steeping a new tea blend, which tends to suit a wider range of recipients since it does not assume a specific beauty routine.
Do advent calendars make sense as gifts for someone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas?
Many people in Singapore treat advent calendars as a general countdown-to-year-end gift instead of a strictly religious one, especially the chocolate, tea and toy-based options on this list, which carry little overt religious imagery beyond the festive packaging itself. For a colleague or friend who prefers to keep gifts secular, a plainer chocolate or tea calendar from brands like Venchi or TWG Tea tends to sit more comfortably than one with heavy Christmas branding.