Goodbye, the flimsy paper Advent calendars of my youth, hello decadent boxes stuffed full of everything from designer toiletries to gold jewellery that cost an arm and a leg. Happily, there are some festive countdown offerings that won’t make you feel quite so obscenely over-indulgent if you’re just after 24 treats to cheer you through the dark mornings running up to our second corona Christmas. To me, this time of year – especially in our current circumstances – feels like a very good time to, if it’s within our resources, support local, independent businesses and generally make planet-friendly shopping choices. Here are three German advent calendars that do just that.
Sustainable Calendar for Foodies
The Frischepost advent calendar (59,99€, delivery only within specific postcodes in the Mainz area) is made up of 24 boxes containing sweet and savoury vegan snacks, warming drinks, sustainable cosmetics and festive ingredients as well as a Frischepost voucher for future purchases. The products, all of which are produced in Germany, are selected adhering to the criteria by which Frischepost choose everything they sell: there’s a focus on promoting sustainable food and local produces, and various sustainability tips, recipes and upcycling hacks included each day. If I wasn’t outside Frischepost’s delivery area by a matter of metres, I’d have ordered it for myself!
Advent Calendar For Wine-Lovers
Mainz-based online wine shop Geile Weine, who sell wines from Germany’s new generation of winemakers, are offering two different advent calendars this year. Behind the 24 doors of each of them is a cute 100ml taster bottle. The Classic Advent Calendar (pictured top, 69,50€ plus shipping) contains easy-drinking wines – white and red, dry and off-dry. The Premium Advent Calendar (above, 89,50€), which they describe as being for “real wine connoisseurs”, features bottles from renowned vintners and VDP wineries as well as a 0.7l bottle of sparkling wine for New Year’s Eve as well.
At the time of publishing, you can save 10% on either calendar by using the code SANTA10 at checkout.
Advent Calendar for Beer Lovers
For the beer lover in your life, this box of 28 beers (59,00 €) provides you with a beer for each day of Advent, plus four for good measure. Biermarkt founders Gabriel Heßling and Marco Junkel Friedrich set very high standards for the beers they stock and sell, and the online shop sells high quality regional German beers that are usually hard to get your hands on. The calendar itself is a shipping box with an inserted perforated overlay – not as shiny as some of the mass-produced beer calendars available in the shops, but less likely to get damaged during transit, and what’s not to like about cutting down on packaging? If you’re not keen on surprises, you can also put together your own individual calendar from their range of over 300 different beers.
Overseas shipping available.
