When I was little, my mother made advent one of the happiest times of the year.

There were tiny presents and scripture verses and encouraging words and the anticipation of counting down the days until Christmas showed up.

I repeated that same tradition with my children.

And now?

Whitney called me from college the other day to tell me that she had advent all ready for her roommates.

Another generation.

Another advent season.

So today, with advent two weeks away, I wanted to share some of the CUTEST advent calendars I found. There’s one for the tea drinker and one for the beauty enthusiast and even one for dogs.

Around here even Buddy celebrates advent.

Here are 17 creative think-outside-the-box advent calendars to help countdown to Christmas in style.

1. 24 days of tea

This is such a cozy advent calendar. Behind each door is a festive tea blend.

They come in the cutest boxes that look like mini Christmas trees.

You can see the tea advent calendar here.

2. 12 days of Christmas puzzles

Westleigh loves puzzles. When I went to her apartment last week there was a Christmas puzzle on the table.

Here are 12 mini puzzles inside this advent calendar.

One for each of the 12 days of Christmas.

You can see the advent puzzle calendar here.

3. Winter wonderland advent calendar

Isn’t this one of the prettiest advent calendars you’ve ever seen?

Look at those silhouette scenes at the top.

There are 24 mini drawers and it closes into a box that’s 15″ tall.

You can see the winter wonderland advent calendar here.

4. Dog treat advent calendar

There’s a yummy dog treat behind each of the 24 boxes.

All the treats are made from natural ingredients.

You can see the dog treat calendar here.

5. Beauty Advent calendar

I thought about ordering this for myself.

This beauty advent calendar has 24 different sample-sized beauty products to try from The Body Shop.

You can see the beauty advent calendar here.

6. Mini fruit spreads and jelly advent calendar

Isn’t this the cutest ever?

It’s 23 mini fruit spreads and 1 honey all tucked behind the doors on the advent calendar.

See the mini fruit spread (and honey) advent calendar here.

7. Mindfulness Advent Calendar

There are 24 mindfulness tasks in the jar.

Draw one every day of advent and make December even more meaningful.

See the mindfulness advent calendar here.

8. Nativity Advent Calendar

This advent calendar is so beautiful.

There are wooden cutouts of the nativity at the top and 24 wooden doors below.

You can see the nativity advent calendar here.

9. Candy-tasting advent calendar

This advent calender by Sugarfina has the sweetest way to celebrate.

Countdown to Christmas with a taste of the holidays behind every door.

See the candy-tasting advent calendar here.

10. Metal advent calendar

I bought this advent calendar several years ago.

It’s so pretty and it has metal tags and it’s so sturdy.

They still have it in stock at Target here.

I also found these beautiful advent calendars over at Anthropologie. They are 30% off today and things are selling fast! Just a note that the discount doesn’t show up until you put them in your cart!

Some of them are a little more of a splurge, but they’re so pretty if you are looking for an heirloom advent calendar

• this village advent calendar
• this embroidered tree trimmer advent calendar
• this paper woodland creature advent calendar
• this village advent banner
• this fabric countdown advent banner
• this mini village countdown advent calendar

17. This DIY advent calendar

If you want to DIY an advent calendar instead of buying one—this project is so easy.

All you need are ornaments and some clothespins.

See the DIY here.

The first picture is a fun way we’ve celebrated in the past. It’s an advent I put together called “Finding a Joy Trail.”

You can see it here.

So let’s celebrate Thanksgiving first.

Then after the turkey and the pumpkin pie and sweet potato casserole are put away, it’s Christmas full speed ahead.

Especially since counting down the days until Christmas….

….have never looked cuter. 🙂

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