How to Build a Foodie Advent Calendar for Adults
A foodie advent calendar does not need to come in a printed cardboard box. Twenty-four small things to eat, each in its own numbered bag, make a calendar that fits the person opening it, and you choose every door. A 24-day calendar runs from December 1 to Christmas Eve, so it needs to be packed and hung by the last day of November.
This guide gives a day-by-day list for a grown-up calendar built from single chocolates, mini bars, French pastilles, Swedish candy and one holiday tea, with the cost of each week at listed prices.
How to put it together
You need 24 small containers and a way to number them. Small kraft paper bags, a strip of string and 24 clothespins work, and so do small boxes in a basket or envelopes pinned to a ribbon. Write the numbers on tags or straight on the bags. Pack each day the night before you hang it, and keep chocolate away from a radiator or a sunny window.
Plan the order before you fill anything. A good rhythm is a small piece most days, a bar or a tin every few days, and something larger on the weekends and on the last day. That keeps the cost even across the month and leaves a reason to open the last bag.
Week one: small pieces and a first tin
- Day 1. A Venchi Nougatine: chopped Piedmont hazelnuts bound with caramelized sugar and covered in 60% dark chocolate, to a recipe Venchi dates to 1905 (shop Venchi Nougatine). $0.50.
- Day 2. A tin of Les Anis de Flavigny Anis pastilles. Each candy has a green aniseed at its center, coated in flavored sugar over about 15 days in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, France, and the maker says the recipe has not changed since 1591 (shop Anis de Flavigny, Anis). $8.00.
- Day 3. A Peppermint mini bar from Mayana, a chocolate maker in Spooner, Wisconsin: mint marshmallow, fleur de sel caramel and crushed candy cane in dark chocolate (shop Mayana Peppermint Mini). $4.49.
- Day 4. A Venchi Pistachio Gianduiotto, white chocolate with 25% pistachio paste and a touch of salt (shop Venchi Pistachio Gianduiotto). $1.00.
- Day 5. Pastiglie Leone tangerine pastilles, made with tangerine juice, from the Candy Originals line that Leone calls its oldest (shop Leone Tangerine Pastilles). $6.00.
- Day 6. A Venchi Chocoviar Arancia: a soft blood orange filling in a dark chocolate shell (shop Venchi Chocoviar Arancia). $2.40.
Week one: $22.39.
Week two: Swedish candy and single-origin chocolate
- Day 7. A bag of BonBon Sweet Wild Strawberry Fish, which the Swedish maker BonBon describes as a vegan and gluten free take on the classic Swedish candy fish (shop BonBon Wild Strawberry Fish). $8.00. The Swedish candy guide explains the styles.
- Day 8. A Venchi Cremino Pistachio, three layers of milk chocolate gianduia and white chocolate with pistachio paste (shop Venchi Cremino Pistachio). $1.50.
- Day 9. Naive's Dark Pollen bar from Lithuania, 67% dark chocolate blended with freeze-dried bee pollen, in a 20 g size that fits a small bag (shop Naive Dark Pollen). $5.99.
- Day 10. Mayana's Coffee Break mini: coffee marshmallow, salted caramel and dark chocolate topped with coffee grounds (shop Mayana Coffee Break Mini). $4.49.
- Day 11. A Venchi Strawberry & Cream Crunch Pearl, a strawberry and cream filling in milk chocolate with strawberry pieces (shop Venchi Strawberry & Cream Pearl). $1.50.
- Day 12. A tin of Anis de Flavigny Rose pastilles, the same aniseed center with a rose coating (shop Anis de Flavigny, Rose). $8.00.
Week two: $29.48.
Week three: a milk bar and candy clouds
- Day 13. Cacao Hunters Tumaco 53% milk chocolate from Colombia, which the maker describes with notes of caramel, nuts and spices (shop Cacao Hunters Tumaco Milk). $6.99.
- Day 14. A Venchi Pistachio & Whole Nut Pearl, a whole pistachio in salted fruit paste and pistachio chocolate (shop Venchi Pistachio Pearl). $1.50.
- Day 15. Pastiglie Leone strawberry pastilles, made with strawberry juice (shop Leone Strawberry Pastilles). $6.00.
- Day 16. Mayana's Kitchen Sink mini, which the maker lists with peanut butter, pretzel and crisp rice, salted caramel, milk chocolate and dark chocolate, in a 1.5 oz bar (shop Mayana Kitchen Sink Mini). $4.49.
- Day 17. A Venchi Chocoviar Crema Cacao, a cocoa and hazelnut cream in milk chocolate (shop Venchi Chocoviar Crema Cacao). $2.40.
- Day 18. BonBon Moomin Candy Clouds, soft foam candy with strawberry and blueberry notes (shop BonBon Moomin Candy Clouds). $6.00.
Week three: $27.38.
Week four: the bigger days
- Day 19. Omnom's Sea Salted Toffee bar from Reykjavík, toffee milk chocolate with Icelandic sea salt (shop Omnom Sea Salted Toffee). $8.49.
- Day 20. Venchi Tiramisu Chocolate Pieces: coffee chocolate, a mascarpone filling and dark chocolate (shop Venchi Tiramisu Pieces). $2.50.
- Day 21. A tin of Anis de Flavigny Lemon pastilles (shop Anis de Flavigny, Lemon). $8.00.
- Day 22. Mayana's Monkey Bar mini: banana rum caramel and vanilla bean marshmallow in 66% dark chocolate (shop Mayana Monkey Bar Mini). $4.49.
- Day 23. Jacobsen Salt Co. Salty Natural Licorice, made with Oregon sea salt, toasted sugar and butter, molasses and anise, in the style of Scandinavian salty licorice (shop Jacobsen Salty Licorice). $14.00.
- Day 24. A 100 g canister of Mariage Frères Esprit de Noël, a black tea scented with cinnamon, almond and apple, for Christmas Eve and the mornings after (shop Mariage Frères Esprit de Noël). $35.00.
Week four: $72.48.
Foodie advent calendar budget
| Days | What is inside | Listed price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | Venchi pieces, Anis pastilles, a Mayana mini, Leone pastilles | $22.39 |
| 7 to 12 | Swedish candy fish, Venchi pieces, a Naive bar, a Mayana mini, Rose pastilles | $29.48 |
| 13 to 18 | A Cacao Hunters bar, Venchi pieces, Leone pastilles, a Mayana mini, candy clouds | $27.38 |
| 19 to 24 | An Omnom bar, Venchi pieces, Lemon pastilles, a Mayana mini, licorice, tea | $72.48 |
| All 24 days | Total | $151.73 |
Prices follow the listed price on each product page. Products ship across the continental U.S. from theambrosianpantry.com. For a smaller budget, swap the day 24 tea for a fourth tin of pastilles and the total comes to $124.73. For more small gifts at this size, see the stocking stuffers for adults guide.
A few things to check
- Nuts. Many of the Venchi pieces contain hazelnuts or pistachios, and the Kitchen Sink bar has peanut butter. For someone with a nut allergy, read every label and swap those days for pastilles or Swedish candy.
- Heat. Chocolate softens in a warm room. Hang the calendar away from heat and sun, or keep the chocolate days in a cool cupboard and hang a numbered tag in their place.
- Caffeine. The Coffee Break bar has real coffee grounds and the day 24 tea is a black tea, so think about the time of day it will be opened.
- Mailing it. If the calendar travels, pack it flat with the numbers on a printed list so it can be hung at the other end.
Short answers
What do you put in a foodie advent calendar? Small things to eat that are easy to pack: single chocolates, mini bars, tins of pastilles, a bag of candy and something larger, such as a tea, for the last day.
How much does a homemade advent calendar for adults cost? The list above comes to $151.73 at listed prices, or $124.73 with a tin of pastilles on day 24 in place of the tea.
Is there a non-chocolate advent calendar idea? Yes. Mix the Anis de Flavigny tins, the Leone pastilles, the BonBon candy, the licorice and the tea, and fill the remaining days with more pastilles.
When should you start an advent calendar? A 24-day calendar starts on December 1 and ends on Christmas Eve.
The fun of a calendar you build is that the last bag can be the one you know they will want most. Save that one for day 24.
