Holiday Gift Guide: Advent Calendars
Welcome to the first in a full line-up of LAST CALL Holiday Gift Guides! We’re kicking things off with Holiday Advent Calendars, and throughout November we’ll have you covered on Food & Provisions, Drinks & Spirits, Lo Spirito d'Italia, Books & Cookbooks, and Stocking Stuffers. Even though you won’t start counting down the days with these Advent Calendars until December 1, we are featuring these first as they often sell out by Thanksgiving. (Note that most of these are the full 24 days worth of surprises while others fall in the 8- or 12 Days of… variety.)
And a shout-out to Ed Anderson for digging out the old vintage lights from the attic to decorate the LAST CALL neon sign with some holiday cheer. The next “Captain ‘n’ Coke, three limes if you got ‘em” is on the house!
This year’s Holiday content will be free to all readers thanks to the generous support and underwriting of our sponsors. But as this is 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.
The Bonne Maman Limited Edition Advent Calendar is quite popular among food lovers. I found out the hard way and waited too long the past two years and they sold out (or were marked up by third-party sellers). But I’ve secured mine for the holiday season, and recently sent one to my sister for her birthday. Behind the numbered, perforated doors of this big, beautiful gift set (illustrated with a Santa’s Workshop design) you’ll discover 24 mini Bonne Maman jars of jams, jellies, marmalades, and honey, including some holiday exclusives like Raspberry Chocolate, Caramel with Cinnamon, and Pineapple with Ginger.
One of the more decorative and design-forward Advent Calendars you’ll encounter is this Snowflake Symphony Calendar from world-renowned, French chocolatier La Maison du Chocolat. The oversized ornament is hot-stamped with a flurry of snowflakes—if you tilt it or hold it at an angle the snowflake colors will shimmer from blue to black. And behind each numbered door you’ll uncover a 24 handmade chocolate bars, dark and milk chocolate pralinés, and more confections.
I have one of these tucked away in a cool, dry place until December 1, but can’t wait to dive in. But will I be able to be patient enough for a daily reveal or go all in? I’ve always been a bit jealous of watching my friend David Lebovitz tuck into the gift boxes of Maison du Chocolat Pralines, so if I have a little extra folding money in the coming weeks I plan to stop by one of their NYC chocolate shops to treat myself.
Oh, how I enjoy the See’s Candies. Thankfully for me, but not for my wallet, the California chocolatier has a shop here in the Village where I like to load up on loosies of Milk Chocolate Almond Caramel and Milk Chocolate Peanut Crunch. Who knows what secrets the See’s Candies Advent Calendarholds among the 24 individually wrapped confections.
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