2026's best advent calendars for food and drink lovers

Foodies will be happy to hear that advent calendars have come a long way since a square of chocolate behind each door. Enter: the ultimate list of the best food and drink advent calendars for 2026. You can count down to Christmas with cheese, craft beer, wine, cocktails, coffee, tea, spices and more, and we’ve rounded up our ultimate favourites, sorted by category so you can jump straight to the section that fits the bill. 

Whether you're buying for a foodie friend, treating the cook in your life or just fancy a daily dose of something totally unique this December, we've done the research (and the eating) to make the recommendations. These little doors could be hiding a wax-sealed dram of whisky, tea and biscuit pairings, or small-batch coffee or even sommelier-guided wines to discover. With food and drink advent calendar options like these for 2026, a standard chocolate seems a little, well... boring. If you enjoy a tipple at Christmastime, pick a gin advent calendar. Partial to a Jacob’s cracker during winter? Get yourself 25 days of cheese. Or maybe you are more of a gourmet snack kind of person – a popcorn calendar it is, or perhaps one of the artisanal marshmallow variety? 

These food and drink advent calendars are now on shelves and online, and you can find our round-up of the best calendars for food and drink lovers below, suiting a range of tastes, styles and budgets. Some of the most popular sell out every year, so it pays to order early - and we'll keep you updated with any new ones that hit the market in the run up to Christmas 2026.

Check out our top picks, which have been neatly categorised by theme, so that you can head straight to the section that tickles your fancy.

The best cheese advent calendars

Cheese is love, cheese is life. Whether you're after a savoury cheese stick to pair with your crackers and chutney, or a cheesy late-night snack, cheese advent calendars are a treat for you, or your cheddar-loving friend, this Christmas.

The Crafty Herd Cheese Advent Calendar

What: For those with a savoury tooth, swap your chocolate advent calendar for cheese. Enjoy 25 days of flavoured cheese bites, with this calendar that's designed to sit in your fridge door. There are 13 inventive pairings, from truffle cheddar and Red Leicester with black pepper and garlic, to sweeter surprises like Wensleydale with chocolate and orange, and Wensleydale with panettone-inspired fruits. Get yours in time for December and start building the ultimate Christmas cheese board.
How much: £14
Where to buy: The Crafty Herd Cheese Advent Calendar

Paxton & Whitfield Artisan Cheese Advent Calendar

What: Paxton & Whitfield is the UK's oldest cheesemonger, and its festive fromage deliveries are incredibly popular. This cheesy calendar brings together 24 British and European artisan cheeses, each hand-cut and hand-wrapped, with a few whole cheeses in the mix. Plus, you get proper portions - at least 75g a day. Rather than one bulky box, it arrives in three fresh deliveries of eight cheeses, with the first landing on Friday 27 November, and UK delivery is included in the price.
How much: £175
Where to buy: Paxton & Whitfield Artisan Cheese Advent Calendar

The best food advent calendars

Sure, the standard chocolate advent calendars are great - we won't say no to a tiny sweet treat! But there are also some brilliant food advent calendars out there, from gourmet marshmallows to hand-iced biscuits. Whether you're into a savoury food advent calendar or want to stick to sweet, here are some of our favourites for 2026.

Fortnum & Mason Tea & Biscuits Sharing Advent Calendar

What: This one narrows Fortnum's down to two of the things it does best: tea and biscuits. Each of the 24 days pairs a tea with a biscuit chosen to match it, and there are two servings of each, so it's built for sharing - that's 48 silky tea bags and 88 biscuits in total. We're obsessed. Our top pick was the chocolate orange, which comes matched with Countess Grey, a slightly citrussy earl grey. Also look out for Smoky Earl Grey, Piccadilly Clotted Cream Biscuits and the chunky Chocolossus. 
How much: £100
Where to buy: Fortnum & Mason Tea & Biscuits Sharing Advent Calendar

Naked Gourmet Marshmallow Advent Calendar

What: Nothing says winter quite like a fluffy marshmallow, and Naked Marshmallow Co has 25 gooey pieces to get you through those December mornings. With 12 alternating flavours, you'll find everything from cinnamon churro to s'mores and coconut. The larger Christmas Day door contains a Black Forest marshmallow bar, and we'd 100% recommend you add the toasting kit for ease and a bit of extra fun: campfire-style snacking in front of the telly, anyone?
How much: £25
Where to buy: Naked Gourmet Marshmallow Advent Calendar

Fortnum & Mason Feasting Advent Calendar

What: Need more Fortnum's in your life than just tea and biscuits? Look to the redesigned Feasting Advent Calendar for 2026, and journey through its famous Foodhall hidden behind the doors. There are 26 treats, 20 of them full-size, from Christmas hot honey and parsnip hot sauce to blackcurrant and cassis curd, Amalthea gin, chocolate chestnut liqueur and a mulled wine spice box. Your cupboards will be well and truly stocked by the time Christmas Day rolls around.
How much: £265
Where to buy: Fortnum & Mason Feasting Advent Calendar

Degusta Cook & Bake Advent Calendar

What: For keen home cooks, Degusta's Cook & Bake edition swaps snacks for store-cupboard inspiration. The XXL calendar stands 58cm tall, and its 24 doors hide full-size cooking and baking products, from chocolate to marmalade and sauces, worth more than £100, plus a recipe booklet with ideas for every one. It's currently on offer at £43.99. Prefer snacks? Degusta's standard A Cosmic Christmas calendar (£39.99) packs in 24 full-size sweet and savoury treats, from surprise twiglets to sweets and more. Or, you can bundle both for £84.99 (currently £75.99).
How much: £49.99
Where to buy: Degusta Cook & Bake Advent Calendar

Biscuiteers Advent Luxe Biscuit Tin

What: Fancy a new biscuit to dunk in your tea each morning? Treat yourself to 24 hand-iced biccies from the folk at Biscuiteers. Each vanilla biscuit is decorated with a nod to the circus - think lions, elephants, and the big top tent itself. All the biscuits come in a keepsake tin, which you can hold on to for Christmases to come. 
How much: £65
Where to buy: Biscuiteers Advent Luxe Biscuit Tin

Lakrids by Bülow Liquorice Advent Calendar

What: Liquorice divides a room, but Lakrids by Bülow has converted plenty of sceptics by treating it as a flavouring rather than the main event. Behind each of the 24 windows are two pieces of Danish liquorice coated in chocolate or paired with complementary fruit such as raspberry, mixing old favourites with new combinations. The liquorice is made with rice flour rather than wheat, so it's suited to gluten-free diets as well! Even liquorice haters enjoy this one.  
How much: £45
Where to buy: Lakrids Liquorice Advent Calendar at Sous Chef

Terre Exotique The Spice Discovery Advent Calendar

What: One for the cook who already owns every spice in the supermarket. French spice merchant Terre Exotique fills this letterbox-style tower, decorated with Christmas market scenes, with 24 envelopes, each holding a different spice or blend with tasting notes and a QR code linking to a recipe. This year's line-up runs from Voatsiperifery pepper to gochugaru, za'atar and two Madagascan vanilla pods, so the spice rack stays stocked well into the new year. The cut out dispensing system is pretty nifty too. 
How much: £45
Where to buy: Terre Exotique The Spice Discovery Advent Calendar at Sous Chef

The best vegan advent calendars

Just because you’re vegan, doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the fun of counting down to Christmas Day. Check out our favourite plant-powered picks hiding behind the doors of the best vegan advent calendars of 2026.

Candy Kittens Advent Calendar

What: Candy Kittens' plant-powered advent calendar is back for 2026, with 24 doors of gourmet vegan sweets. Door 24 is all about giving back: you choose which charity receives a donation from Candy Kittens. Sweet treats for you, and something meaningful for someone else.
How much: £14.90
Where to buy: Candy Kittens Advent Calendar

Popcorn Shed Vegan Advent Calendar

What: If plant-based popcorn sounds up your street, allow us to introduce you to Popcorn Shed. Its 2026 vegan advent calendar holds 24 bags of popcorn in six flavours, from butterscotch and cherry pie to chocolate orange, Christmas pudding and gingerbread. Every flavour is vegan and labelled gluten free (it's made in a factory that also handles gluten, so check the allergen information if that matters), and there's a Christmas joke inside each door.
How much: £27.99
Where to buy: Popcorn Shed Vegan Advent Calendar

The best drinks advent calendars

If you prefer liquid pleasures to foodstuffs, pick from one of these drinks-focused advent calendars instead. From speciality coffee to matcha and warming tea blends, these drink advent calendars will have you sipping pretty all the way until Christmas Day.

Grind Coffee Advent Calendar

What: Count down to Christmas with Grind's speciality blends. With Grind's advent calendar, you can start each morning with a home-compostable, Nespresso-compatible coffee pod - 17 different blends in all, ranging from the House Blend to a single-origin Kenyan and Pumpkin Spice, with a bonus limited-edition Christmas Blend pod on the 25th. This year's festive illustration is by Lottie Alexandra, who also designed Grind's 2023 calendar. What better way to perk up those cold, dark mornings? 
How much: £29.95
Where to buy: Grind Coffee Advent Calendar

Pact Coffee Advent Calendar

What: For anyone who brews with a cafetière or pour-over rather than pods, Pact's calendar is a world tour in a box: 25 speciality coffees from six countries, with no repeats and the story of each grower alongside. Curated by coffee expert Will Corby, this year's line-up includes the calendar's first coffee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a Brazilian Cup of Excellence winner and, for Christmas Day, a Honduran lot with just 12 bags produced per harvest. A shorter 12-day version costs £24.95, and you can see the full range of Pact advent calendars here.
How much: £39.95
Where to buy: Pact Coffee Advent Calendar

Bird & Blend Matcha Advent Calendar

What: Matcha fanatics, this is your calendar. Bird & Blend bills it as the only matcha advent calendar with 24 different flavours, each in its own little tin with enough for two cups. Flavours span mince pie, eggnog, toasted marshmallow and pistachio gelato, and for the first time there's a hojicha blend too. The contents are worth £80, so it's a bit of a steal, and it's also plastic free, recyclable and vegan friendly. 
How much: £55
Where to buy: Bird & Blend Matcha Advent Calendar

Bird & Blend Tea Advent Calendar

What: Bird & Blend launched the first tea advent calendar back in 2016, and since then it's become the go-to calendar for tea lovers at Christmas time. For 2026, each window holds not one, but two teabags, with hand-blended flavours including mince pie, creme brulee and London Fog. Or upgrade to the 25-day edition (£50), which adds a special Day 25 cube of five exclusive blends to mark the ten year anniversary. It's plastic-free, and there's a totally caffeine-free version too.
How much: £39.50
Where to buy: Bird & Blend Tea Advent Calendar

The best wine advent calendars

Christmas is the season to break out the good vino to enjoy with pals. If you're planning on just doing a little bit of moderate quaffing each day, these great wine advent calendars are just the ticket!

Laithwaites Mixed Wine Advent Calendar

What: The ultimate gift for the wine lover in your life, or a little treat for yourself - we won't judge - the Laithwaites mixed wine advent calendar offers a bit of everything, with 23 miniature bottles of red, white and rosé, most of them 187ml. There's sauvignon blanc, malbec, riesling and more, and for the first time a 200ml bottle of ruby port. Laithwaites prioritises quality in every pour: there are no bulk wines in cheap plastic bottles here. You'll even get a full-sized bottle of Prosecco to pop open on Christmas Eve, making this calendar brilliant value for money.
How much: £99.99
Where to buy: Laithwaites Mixed Wine Advent Calendar

The Online Wine Tasting Club World Tour Advent Calendar

What: If you'd rather travel the world's vineyards than stick to the usual supermarket names, this calendar is built for armchair explorers. Its 24 wines come from family-owned producers, starting with a Kent chardonnay and heading through Armenia, Georgia and Lebanon to an Indian zinfandel and a Japanese koshu, before finishing with a white port. Each comes as a 100ml serving with a short video about what's in your glass, and the compact, fully recyclable calendar arrives in mid-November.
How much: £100, including delivery
Where to buy: The Online Wine Tasting Club World Tour Advent Calendar

The best beer advent calendars

If you, or someone you love, is obsessed with beer, we’re happy to report that there’s an advent calendar for that. Our pick of the best beer advent calendars feature some of the best beers from all over the UK – cheers to that!

BrewDog Advent Calendar

What: Diversify your Christmas beer-drinking with this BrewDog advent calendar, which includes 24 different beers with no repeats. From limited editions to festive brews, the line-up spans everything from ‘Hoppy Christmas’ to the new ‘Jingle Juice’. The best part? The calendar also includes an exclusive BrewDog beer glass, which you’ll get to open on Christmas Day. We loved the silky Cocoa Reserve, a vanilla chocolate stout with a toasty caramel edge - it's 8%, mind, so be careful!
How much: £51.99
Where to buy: BrewDog Advent Calendar

Best of British Beer Advent Calendar

What: Looking to keep your brews local? The Best of British Beer Advent Calendar has just the thing, with 24 windows hiding beers from 24 different independent breweries from across the British Isles. This year’s selection showcases limited editions, collaborations and some exclusives, including a rather unusual blue beer. You can enjoy everything from jet-black stouts to fruity golden ales, and there are a few 500ml bottles in the mix for extra value. Prefer lager? There's a craft lager version too.
How much: £89.99
Where to buy: Best of British Beer Advent Calendar

Siren Advent Calendar

What: Siren has built its reputation on bold, full-flavoured and innovative beers, so you know this pick is in good hands. Inside are 24 brewery-fresh beers - 14 in 440ml cans and ten in 330ml cans - blending fan favourites with calendar exclusives, including four limited-edition Christmas brews and three seasonal dark beers crafted with chocolate lovers in mind. You’ll also find a festive tasting glass for enjoying each can, plus a surprise waiting behind door 25.
How much: £95
Where to buy: Siren Craft Brew Beer Advent Calendar

Beer52 Craft Beer Advent Calendar

What: If your beer lover likes to roam beyond these shores, Beer52's calendar mixes independent British breweries with brewhouses from across Europe. Behind the 24 doors are hazy IPAs, crisp lagers, rich stouts and seasonal specials from the likes of Arbor Ales, Burning Sky and The Garden Brewery, plus an exclusive Beer52 tasting glass. Delivery is free across the UK, and calendars ship from 9 November.
How much: £69.99
Where to buy: Beer52 Craft Beer Advent Calendar

The best cocktail advent calendars

Pre-mixed cocktails are all the rage, with supermarkets stocking a wide range of cocktail cans, and independent businesses offering creative taster packs. It's never been easier to whip up an expertly made cocktail from the comfort of your own home, and what better way to do it than with a festive cocktail advent calendar.

MOTH Cocktail Advent Calendar

What: When it comes to cocktail cans, MOTH delivers. Its limited-edition advent calendar is back for 2026, with 24 bar-strength cocktails made with full measures - ideal for a tipple in the run up to the big day. There are two new additions alongside bestsellers like the Espresso Martini, plus Spicy and Mango Margaritas, Passionfruit Martinis, Mojitos and more.
How much: £79
Where to buy: MOTH Cocktail Advent Calendar

NIO Cocktails Advent Calendar

What: With 12 drawers, each filled with two cocktails, NIO Cocktails' 2026 advent calendar has a variety of tasty tipples to keep you going during the run up to Christmas. Alongside a Christmas Margarita and a Winter Sidecar, there are plenty of classics, like an Old Fashioned and a Disaronno Sour. Simply fill your glass with ice, tear off the corner of the sachet, and pour away. 
How much: £155
Where to buy: NIO Cocktails Advent Calendar

The best spirit advent calendars

For whisky aficionados and devoted gin lovers alike, a spirit advent calendar is the ultimate way to count down to the big day. Behind each door you'll find a dram of something good, from top-shelf gins to smoky single malts – check out our full round-up of gin advent calendars for even more options.

Drinks by the Dram Premium Gin Advent Calendar

What: For a step up, Drinks by the Dram has a premium gin advent calendar. This boujie calendar holds 25 wax-sealed 30ml drams of top-shelf gin from producers across the world. Indulge in labels you know and love, such as Monkey 47 and Gin Mare, or discover newer names alongside Japan's Ki No Bi. With a wide spectrum of tipples on offer, this advent calendar is sure to keep you guessing throughout December. 
How much: £99.95
Where to buy: Drinks by the Dram Premium Gin Advent Calendar

Drinks by the Dram Whisky Advent Calendar

What: For the whisky lover in your life, Drinks by the Dram's 2026 Whisky calendar offers a tour of some of the world's finest. Behind its doors, you'll find 25 wax-sealed drams, spanning Scotch single malts, Japanese favourites, and even a Finnish rye. Smoky, sherried or smooth, it's a brilliant way to discover a new favourite bottle in time for Christmas - plus, you'll even get to open something on the 25th itself, ready for sipping after dinner.
How much: £99.95
Where to buy: Drinks by the Dram Whisky Advent Calendar

Looking ahead to Christmas Day? Here are the best London restaurants open on Christmas Day, and for those planning a December dinner, these are the best Christmas dinners in London offering festive lunch and evening deals.