With the holiday season finally here, Advent calendars are making their way back into our shopping carts. Whether they are a gift for a loved one or a daily surprise to treat yourself, Advent calendars have remained popular since first being created in 1851.
The tradition of marking the days of Advent in December started by burning a candle for each day or marking walls with chalk. Since then, Advent calendars have evolved into cardboard calendars with a small door for each day, revealing something new. Advent calendars can contain a wide variety of items, from candy and chocolate to makeup products. In fact, Target has three main categories of Advent calendars: toys, food & beverage and beauty. Wondering which advent calendar section would be the best for the holiday season, I decided to buy one calendar from each of the four categories and evaluate them on a ten-point scale based on their appeal to a variety of customers and their price.
Chocolate Advent Calendar – 10/10
This Advent calendar brings a sweet treat for the first 25 days of December. Featuring individually wrapped chocolate with flavors like milk chocolate, dark chocolate and peppermint bark, they truly are a surprise every day. The chocolates take unique forms as well, with shapes like Santa, a tree, a star and many more. At $15, it is affordable but also high quality. This calendar can appeal to chocolate lovers of all ages, so it makes it a great gift option for anyone. Its price and appeal to a wide audience makes it deserving of a perfect score.
12 Days of Beauty Advent calendar – 7/10
The Beauty Advent calendar has a mix of skincare, makeup and beauty tools. It has brands like Bioderma, E.L.F., NYX and more. The box claims to have over $70 worth of products and the calendar is only priced at $20, making it a big opportunity for saving on expensive beauty products. It has skincare such as micellar water and makeup remover wipes, makeup items like lip gloss and tools like beauty blenders and a powder puff. Even though there is a wide variety of surprises in the box, the calendar only lasts for 12 days instead of 24, which cuts the gifts in half. Also, all of the makeup items are sample sizes, which makes them only useful in the short term. This calendar is a great option for makeup lovers, and it can also appeal to a wide variety of customers who are looking for extra glam this holiday season!
Sonic The Hedgehog Advent Calendar – 2/10
The Sonic the Hedgehog Calendar gives 24 days of toys, with each day having a two-inch figurine related to the video game. There are also special holiday characters in the calendar, like Santa and Reindeer versions of Sonic. Even though the calendar may be enjoyable for kids or people who like Sonic, the variety of people that this appeals to is limited. Additionally, the pricing of this item is not ideal, with the calendar being $49.99. Overall, this item is overpriced and very selective as to who would purchase it, making my rating a 2 out of 10.
