A reusable & eco-friendly Christmas should be on everyone’s agenda this year. Together, we can take little steps to transform the way we buy, eat, bathe and care for our world this festive season. In a bid to save the planet, I’ve found some brilliant Earth-friendly, sustainable and upcycled advent calendars on the market that I just had to share with you. A range of different price tags available, if you’re open to having a greener Christmas, here’s the best way to start yours.
Please note, I have been gifted a few samples with the ones marked **
PLAYin CHOC – £27.50**
PLAYin CHOC deem themselves to be the ‘kindest’ chocolatiers who really do care about both protecting the planet and ethically sourcing their ingredients. Plastic free, zero waste and 100% recyclable, there are 24 windows in this advent calendar and each day, you’re surprised with a vegan/natural/organic chocolate, card puzzle – or fun fact card. The outer sleeve turns into a play mat for the puzzle toys. There are two advent calendars available – ’12 Sleeps Til Christmas’ is £27.50, whereas the 24 window is £55. Available to purchase from www.playinchoc.com, customers will get 10% off your order when you sign up. Dairy, nut, soy, gluten and plastic free – 100% organic chocolate and carbon negative.
H!P ADVENT CALENDAR – £10
Completely sold out online via their website (but I’ve been told it will be available via independents stores) – this is certainly a calendar I’d love to get my hands on. For £10, oat milk lovers can indulge in a square of creamy oat milk salted caramel chocolate each day. It’s main selling points are that it’s vegan friendly, plastic-free packaging, and uses Single-Origin Colombian Cocoa.
CHARLOTTE RHYS – £199**
One for beauty product lovers, vegan and sustainable beauty brand Charlotte Rhys is proud to launch their own brand of advent calendar ahead of Christmas, priced at £199. Packed full of opulent fragrance and beauty treats, Charlotte Rhys has carefully crafted an exceptional countdown that aims to entice and excite beauty lovers in the lead up until Christmas. This calendar may seem on the pricy side, but is certainly one to look out for if you want a touch of luxury and indulgence. A range of beautifully fragranced treats are hidden behind each door, including signature scents, bath soaps, candles, body crèmes and hand creams.
TEAPIGS – £29.99
I couldn’t create an advent round up without including Teapigs. A failsafe brand that I revisit every year, discover a new blend of tea to try in the lead up to the big day. Arriving in recyclable cardboard packaging, the Teapigs advent calendar showcases a wide range of different tea blends -all suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Save 15% when you sign up to the website.
STREET THEATRE CALENDAR – £25
Music and theatre lovers, rejoice! Featured on BBC Breakfast Show and Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4 – enjoy a festive cheer calendar for all to hear. From magical elves to Christmas classics, this is certainly a calendar with a difference. Enjoy a beautiful Christmas song, in video format, delivered right to your inbox each day in December. The most perfect gift for those enjoy the finer things in life… have you ever heard of such a wonderful thing?
BIRD & BLEND TEA CO. – £38
One of the UK’s most loved indie tea companies are looking to entice people in with their reinvented festive advent calendar launch. 100% plastic free, with recyclable packaging (and plastic free tea bags!) – customers can even save the outer box and refill next year. New for 2021, it has some amazing features that really up the WOW factor. Gulping a whopping 48 tea bags in total, this calendar is ideal for those looking to share the goods. Flavours include Christmas tastes: Snowball, Mulled Cider and Fairytale of NY. Plus, enjoy a random act of kindness printed each day to encourage the joyful Christmas spirit. Regular / decaf available.
ADVENT OF CHANGE – £17.95
Being the angel that you are, how do you fancy helping a charity every day in December? Foodcycle are pleased to be part of the new Advent of Change which has been pioneered as the UK’s first advent calendar with a charity behind each door. Redesigned for 2021, with stunning artwork and all-new charity donations, each day represents a 50p donation to one of 24 charities, ready to brighten anyone’s Christmas experience. Each opened door will tell you how your contribution could be used – from providing food or medicine, to protecting the oceans and endangered animals. The Advent of Change range is available to buy online via both their own website and John Lewis & Partners.
LIME TREE LONDON – £39.50
Showcasing high quality, gorgeous, very unique and reusable advent calendars! Lime Tree London is an independent business run by two very professional, talented mothers, who also thrive on promoting a more sustainable Christmas. I’m especially loving this eco Peter Rabbit version with 25 wooden characters included. Suitable for age 12 months and upwards, you’ll see no plastic here!
INSPIRE CHARITY – £45
Yet another charity-based calendar to make you smile, The Kindness Advent Calendar gives 100% of its profits to those who need it most. Designed to be used year after year, each of the magnetic pieces includes a number on one side and a feel-good / kindness message on the other. On the run up to Christmas, turn over the magnet and take time for your daily act of kindness. It comes flat packed for easy storage and has 2 reusable 100% cotton bags, one for the tree and one for the magnets.
NATURAL DOG TREATS – £29.99
Our pets are like children, there’s no denying this. So here’s a wonderful little calendar for the long-eared furry children in our lives. We can’t forget about the pooches on the run up to Christmas, can we? 25 boxes with 25 treats, some days have one treat in, and some have multiple. There are 4 different calendar styles to choose from, including a toy/treat box, doggy chocolate and toys.
THE ADVENT STORY – £150
What a brilliant idea! How would you like a Christmas Story for Every Day of Advent? The perfect present for busy minds, this luxury advent calendar book concept will allow you to immerse your family in twenty-four stories from some of the best loved children’s authors and illustrators. Age ranges start from 0-2 years old, and there’s also a calendar for those 3+. The siblings package is adorable too! View the collections via their website.
BAKER ROSS WOODEN TREE – £14.99
This craft-your-own advent calendar is no doubt going to become one of the best sellers for 2021. Have fun counting down to Christmas with this calendar tree, allowing you to decorate your own as you wish. Encouraging minds of all ages to get creative, use acrylic paint or deco pens to bring yours to life! Add a number to each drawer and include a small treat or sweet as you wish each day. A timeless calendar to use for many years to come, it’s made from thick plywood.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this small roundup of eco-friendly advent calendars and that you’ll be inspired to make a change from the usual plastic-filled ones. Let’s help the planet – one advent calendar door at a time.
Looking for a CHRISTMAS greeting card with a difference? Head over and purchase an eco-friendly PLANTABLE CARD for loved ones via my own business – BLOOMINGHECK.CO.UK . Cards that can be torn up and planted, then watch flowers bloom.