How do you keep the Christmas magic alive once your teens (and some tweens too) are no longer putting cookies and milk out for Santa Claus? Trust me, it doesn’t mean they can’t still get excited for Christmas - you can keep the excitement going with an advent calendar - and there are loads which are great for tweens and teens.
Whether they’re an avid Roblox player, obsessed with makeup or just a Pokemon nerd, there’s an advent calendar that’ll make December extra special. Pleasing a teen isn’t always easy, so we’ve hand-picked the best ones you can buy in 2024, just keep scrolling…
Best for makeup beginners: H&M Advent Makeup Calendar
Best for Fortnite players: Funko Advent Calendar - Fortnite
For teens who love sparkly things: National Geographic Gemstone Advent Calendar 2024
For teen Potterheads: The Carat Shop - Official Harry Potter Potions Advent Calendar
For Friends fanatics: Friends: The One with the Surprises Advent Calendar
Our Senior Lifestyle Editor Karen Silas is the mum of a teen and has other teens in her extended family. So she knows the struggle. “Choosing an advent calendar for teens or tweens is as much as a minefield as picking out a gift for them,” she says. “No matter what, you’re always in danger of being ‘cringe’.
“So if you want to avoid eye rolls, in my experience, there are some surefire hits: snack food advent calendars, like popcorn or Pringles – and my older teen son likes a good tea advent – inexpensive jewellery and beauty Christmas countdowns, or an advent calendar with a nod to their interests, like Marvel, will do the trick.”
How we chose the best advent calendars for teenagers
- Price: We wanted to cater to all budgets in this gift guide, from those wanting a budget advent calendar to those with a bit more to spend.
- Personal experience: Several of the HELLO! team, myself included, are parents or tweens and teens with years of experience of buying advent calendars. We've included the tried and tested calendars we love, and we're constantly reviewing new releases.
- Reviews: Where it wasn't possible to try the advent calendars ourselves, we only included options with a high volume of positive reviews from verified shoppers
- Variety: Some teens are into makeup and jewellery, others are into Pokemon or gaming. We tried to include something for everyone in our gift guide to suit young tweens and older teens.
Best advent calendars for teens in 2024
1/9
H&M Jewellery Calendar
© H&M- Number of doors: 24
- Contents: Gold-hued and black jewellery; rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces
Why we rate it for teens: It’s amazing value, with 24 pieces of cute gold jewellery for £22.99 / $29.99 - which works out as either less than a pound or $1.25 per item. It includes a selection of earrings, necklaces and rings that teens will love. Also worth noting that it’s only available online.
I’ve been patiently waiting for the 2024 version of this advent calendar to go on sale so I can snap one up for my daughter - and here it is! It quickly sold out last year, so if you have a teen who loves jewellery, run don’t walk!
2/9
Funko Advent Calendar - Fortnite
© Funko- Number of doors: 24
- Contents: Mini Funko Vinyl figures of some of Fortnite’s best-loved characters, - including Fishstick, Peely, Rabbit Raider and more
Why we rate it for teens: No advent calendar teen guide would be complete without a Fortnite calendar - and I say this as a mum of a tween myself who has asked for this very calendar to countdown to Christmas 2024. The figures, being Funko Pop, are extremely well made and detailed, and make a great little collection for them to put in their cave - I mean bedroom.
3/9
Electronic Games Advent Calendar by EIGHT
© EIGHT- Number of windows: 24
- Contents: Kits to build electronic retro games
Any teens who love retro games will adore this advent calendar - behind each door is an electronic kit to build one of 24 different electronic games. They’re easy to assemble, with all the components and relevant wiring included. Whack a Mole, Ping Pong, Code Breaker and more are included. The kits start off easy then increase in difficulty as December progresses. By the end you might just have a teen who’s interested in engineering and electronics, which is never a bad thing!
4/9
H&M Advent Makeup Calendar
© H&M- Number of doors: 12
- Contents: 12 Full-size makeup products from H&M’s range, including lip gloss, mascara and a hair band.
Why we rate it for teens: It’s a lot cheaper than most beauty advents out there, and H&M’s makeup is perfect for teens. You can be sure that all the picks are on trend, and good for anyone who’s just started experimenting with makeup and beauty products, as everything inside will be easy to use and beginner-friendly. The pink and gold present design is super cute too.
5/9
National Geographic Gemstone Advent Calendar 2024
- Number of doors: 24
- Contents: A new gem every day of December - 24 stunning specimens including agate, green aventurine, hematite, sodalite, turquenite, tiger's eye, blue calcite and more. There's an extra special gem to dig out on the final day, and five jewellery settings so your teen can make their own unique jewellery with the gems. There's also a pouch to keep the gems in.
Why do we rate it for teens? You get a lot for your money with this one - and the gems are beautiful, and make beautiful decorative pieces for your teen's room. They'll outlast the contents of many other advent calendars for teens which are on the market.
6/9
Skibidi Toilet Advent Calendar
© Amazon- Number of doors: 24
- Contents: Mini vinyl figures from the Skibidi Toilet YouTube animation series
Why we rate it for teens: I have no idea why on earth this started trending on YouTube, but the weird animations of Audio Man, TV Man and the very strange Skibi Toilet character have millions of views and probably have the parents of teens across the globe scratching their heads. Well now you can get an advent calendar featuring characters from the viral videos - it’s sure to delight teen fans of the series.
7/9
Friends: The One with the Surprises Advent Calendar
© Amazon- Number of doors: 25
- Contents: Friends-themed keepsakes and trinkets ranging from fun ornaments and gift tags to classic Friends-inspired recipe cards and pins.
Why we rate it for teens: The majority of teens seem to love Friends, so this cute advent calendar is perfect. It’s highly rated at Amazon, with an impressive 66% star rating, and die-hard Friends fans give it a massive thumbs up in the reviews section. If you’re looking for an inexpensive Christmas countdown to make your teen smile each day as they remember their fave episodes, it ticks all the boxes.
8/9
The Carat Shop - Official Harry Potter Potions Advent Calendar
© The Carat Shop- Number of windows: 24
- Contents: Officially licenced Harry Potter-themed jewellery and accessories including a Golden Snitch necklace, Christmas tree bauble, bookmark, pens and more.
Why we rate it for teens: Few are the teens who don’t love Harry Potter - and if you have one in the family, this is a great option. It’s not cheap, but the items are high quality, and multiple reviews say it’s definitely worth the money. While we’re not totally ruling out boys liking jewellery and hair ties, the contents are traditionally more geared towards girls, so bear that in mind before you order…
9/9
Pokémon TCG: Holiday Calendar
Number of doors: 25
Contents: Eight foil promo cards with a festive stamp, five Pokémon TCG booster packs, seven Pokémon TCG 3-card fun packs, two Pokémon coins, two colourful sticker sheets, and one sidekick dangler featuring Pikachu and Glaceon. Oh, and you get a code card for Pokémon TCG Live.
Why do we rate it? This was top of my tween’s wish list last year and he absolutely loved it. He "got a lot of rares" which he quickly put away in special sleeves. You actually get a lot for your money considering a single pack will set you back £10 / $10 on average, and I love you get 25 days of surprises, instead of 24.
