The 28 Best Advent Calendars For Teens, From Beauty Boxes To Snacks

Whether your family watches Elf every holiday season like mine or just occasionally, teens get a huge kick out of this 12-day Buddy the Elf-themed Advent box. Each day reveals edible versions of one of Buddy’s favorite things including items from each of the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn and, of course, syrup.

The affordable Sephora Collection Advent Calendar dishes up 24 beauty treats, including 12 full-size samples and six travel size items. While this calendar might not wow an older beauty aficionado, the price and sample mix is ideal for teen collectors. “My 12-year-old daughter was thrilled with the mini skincare, nail and hair samples she unwrapped each day with the Sephora Collection Advent calendar," says Forbes Vetted deputy editor Rose Gordon Sala. "She got a good mix of each category and the 2024-price of $50 felt reasonable to me for a beauty calendar and was on par with the Lego calendars her younger siblings received.” 

Filled with a dozen full-size Kitsch products, including hair and beauty accessories, this viral two week Advent calendar sold out quickly last year. The 2024 version included a satin pillowcase, hair clips and more. Who knows what 2025 will bring?

For the beauty guru, the Benefit Glam Cube includes full-, mini- and fun-sized products packaged in a 3D puzzle format. Products include full-size Benetint, the Porefessional Pore Primer, makeup removers, a scrunchie and more. 

Tonymoly’s wildly popular face masks team up with a teen-favorite cuddly stuffy in this new 2025 calendar. It’s a short and sweet Advent set, featuring only seven days, but it’s filled with the aforementioned sheet masks, zit patches and lip gloss, among other K-beauty treats—all in adorable Squishmallows packaging.

Each day of Anthropologie’s more petite beauty calendar (it’s 12 days of gifts) reveals a mini-sized version of popular and more high-end beauty favorites including Winky Lux Mini Very There Lip Oil, Solinotes Vanille Eau de Parfum, Youth To The People Superfood Gentle Antioxidant Cleanser and more. It’s a $130-value wrapped into one lovely illustrated package for them to get excited about. 

Lego releases several Advent calendars each year and this year’s lineup includes a fun new Star Wars option, too. “Last year we got our 13-year-old the Lego Star Wars advent calendar, and she absolutely loved it,” says one mom we spoke with. “Building ships and favorite characters made the countdown to Christmas so much more exciting.” The calendar comes with Star Wars minifigures like C-3PO, Jawa and Babu Frik, in addition to various droids and set pieces. If Star Wars isn’t their thing, there’s also a Lego Harry Potter Advent calendar and Lego Minecraft Advent calendar.

With 24 squishy, sensory Needoh toys, teens will have plenty of stress ball toys they can squeeze when they feel anxious. This calendar is full of unique and collectible toys, including some exclusive holiday editions.

If they’re into collecting Funko Pops, they’ll get kick out of these mini-sized figurines. Measuring under an inch tall, each day reveals another Marvel character Funko Pop!, stackable display piece, keychain or pin until they have 24 in all.   

Help them make their footwear festive with 26 days of Croc Jibbitz. The holiday- and winter-themed Jibbitz include a gingerbread man, a Christmas tree, a snowflake and more. Because many of them aren’t centered around a specific holiday, they’ll still be fun to wear all year long. 

With Wicked: For Good coming out only a few short days before the beginning of December, fans of the movie will probably still be riding the high come December 1. In this Advent calendar, they’ll find Wicked-themed trinkets, including a bracelet, magnets and a coaster. 

Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty is a highly popular slime-like putty. The 2025 Advent calendar includes eight clear base tins of putty as well as various Christmas and winter charms and mix-ins, such as Santa and reindeer.  

We know quite a few teen girls who have become obsessed with crocheting, and Woobles is their kit du jour given the step-by-step, beginner-friendly instructions. Imagine their excitement when they get to open four full-sized kits, accessories, a themed snow globe and more. It’s the perfect distraction leading up to the holidays. This could also work great as a standalone gift, too.

This is a more expensive Advent calendar, but when you consider you’re getting $250 worth of high-quality Papier products within, we think it’s worth it if you’re willing to splurge. This might also be one of those things you’ll really have to resist not asking to share with your stationary-loving teen. There’s also a less pricey 12-day version. 

If baking cookies is part of your family holiday tradition, this charming Advent calendar helps them start building their own set of baking tools to use and treasure for years to come. Two dozen goodies are tucked away inside the beautifully illustrated package including a mini spatula, cookie cutter, icing bottle, stencils, gift bags and more. 

"I’m eyeing this sweet advent for my avid reader teen. Each of the 24 days unveils a miniature book filled with prompts, trivia and illustrations they can then place on the little bookshelf to keep as a display piece all year long. There’s also a mini journal for them to keep track of all their favorite reads of the year, and the final day is an extra special treat that’s sure to delight. Note that this Advent calendar already went out of stock at some retailers, so you may not want to delay your purchase if you’re interested in this one.

Do they ever really get too old for stickers? We think not. Whether they’re into collaging, decorating their water bottles or designing mood boards, this fun 12-day advent a full-size page of groovy stickers each day. There’s also a Hello Kitty version if that’s more their vibe. 

Teen life—school and sports schedules and all—can feel extra overwhelming during December, so help them take a little time for themselves each day and quiet down that busy brain with this sweet 12-day advent calendar featuring a new mini puzzle each day. When Christmas finally arrives, they can combine all of the puzzles to create one larger picture.

Whether you’ve got a teen who plays baseball or is just a huge fan, behind each of the 24 doors are exclusive TeenyMates figures from all 30 MLB teams and a baseball stadium puzzle. No two advent calendars are alike, though, with some containing rare figurines like Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani.

Football fans can crack open those tiny doors to uncover 24 Funko Pocket Pops, each spotlighting a favorite NFL player. Since no two sets are alike, they’ll have fun trying to guess who’ll be the next 2-inch player to join their MVP lineup. (This popular sporty calendar from Funko already sold out online on Target and Amazon while we were writing this, so the time is now to purchase for any NFL fans.)

Teen boys who love gaming, coding or just solving cool challenges will get a kick out of this 24-day retro games advent calendar. This calendar gives them a daily dose of fun and focus with bite-sized coding puzzles inspired by classic arcade games. Each day unlocks a new challenge that builds their skills and keeps their brain engaged, and by the end, they’ll have created a complete playable game. 

Teens who are a little bit sad to leave spooky season behind them will enjoy solving this winter themed mystery. It’s a great option for family bonding, and the real test might be determining whether you can wait and open the doors day by day or if the itch to solve the mystery becomes so great that you make a family game night of it. 

This is such an exciting advent calendar for fans of Japanese culture, with 30 surprises, making it enough to last almost all the way through December. From snacks to plush collectibles, there is a wide variety of items in the calendar, and they can scan a QR code to learn more about each item. 

If they’re into puzzles, space adventures or just love a good challenge, this intergalactic-themed advent calendar is a stellar pick. Each day leading up to Christmas, they’ll tackle a new riddle as part of a cosmic race to host the most epic holiday party in the universe. It’s packed with mind-bending clues that build on each other—so by the time December 25 rolls around, they’ll have solved their way through a full escape-room-style story.

For the anime-obsessed teen who’s counting down to the holiday, this official My Hero Academia Advent calendar is a total win. Each day reveals a new collectible surprise—from mini figures and keychains to pins and stickers—featuring favorite characters from U.A. High. 

Sweet tooth? No problem. The 2025 Sugarfina Advent Calendar has plenty of sweets to try, including pink diamonds, passion fruit gummies, raspberry cereal balls and more. With multiple pieces of candy in each box, this is an ideal option if you’re looking for something siblings can share. 

Looking for something unique? Universal Yums has an advent calendar full of candies from around the world. Each box has four treats in it, so it’s another one that’s good for sharing, and it comes with an informational booklet so they can learn more about the treats they’re trying. 

If they’re counting down the days until Season 5 of Stranger Things, this quirky advent calendar is the perfect way to pass the time. With 11 compartments (naturally), each one reveals a nostalgic treat—from lemony Pac-Man hard candy and waffle lollipops to gummy pizzas and a sweet cassette tape, so they can get a small dose of The Upside Down each day.