Advent Calendars 2025 - Let the Unboxings Begin!!

[itsfi]

The holiday countdown has begun!! 🎉 Please use this thread to share your advent calendar unboxings. 🎁

Whether you open all the doors to your calendar at once, or you open a box one day at a time and follow the traditional schedule (e.g., 24 day unboxing beginning on 12.1 and 12-day calendar unboxing beginning 12.13 or 12.25), WELCOME!! 

For those of us who just can't wait to see what goodies are in our advent calendars, if you will be opening all the doors/boxes at once before the end of the season, please consider hiding your unboxing posts behind a spoiler tab so those who want to be surprised day by day can still do so.

[CorgiMommy]

You deserve it @caitbird 

[itsfi]

Funsies!! Love that advent calendar unboxing is a whole family affair at Casa Caitbird ❣️ All the Bird & Blend teas you've unboxed are looking good @caitbird and it's only been a couple of days! 🍵 The little notes on the doors to Frida's advent calendar are really cute (yeah, yeah, it's for you-and-Frida, I know; but for some reason, it's still  Frida's advent calendar in my mind 🤣), especially Days 8 & 16. Ooooh, that's a fab way to start out the YesStyle calendar - Dr. Althea has a great collection of products and that Relief Cream 👍 That's cool Papier started out with a gratitude journal its advent calendar - the calendar is so beautifully packaged, I don't know if I would open it right away, lol.

[caitbird]

@itsfi  thank you! Haha yes, we have all kinda gone all in on advent calendars this year 😂 something for everyone! It's fun, I think we are all enjoying it. Well, my dad is on a business trip at the moment so he hasn't been participating in the family advent extravaganza, but at least he has something fun to look forward to when he gets back.

I am really enjoying the Bird & Blend teas so far - have not tried today's (day 3) yet, but days 1 & 2 were good. The Papier advent packaging is indeed gorgeous, and I will definitely be saving it after I'm done with unboxing! Not sure what I'll use it for, but it's too pretty not to reuse somehow.

[danielledanielle]

So I'm thinking of alternating since I picked up 2-12 days

Bloomingdale's AKA Bloomies 

 

Macy's 

Day 1

The Byredo smells wonderful, this is a problem 😂

[nuinui933]

@danielledanielle 

that lipstick calendar looks amazing! 

[CookieGirl1]

@danielledanielle nah, smelling good is never a problem 😁

[danielledanielle]

Hehe 😆 @CookieGirl1 , it's a problem for my willpower, but touché 🥂

[caitbird]

@danielledanielle  oooh, Byredo! 😍 I have a certain weakness for mini fragrance bottles, as well...

[danielledanielle]

Mini fragrance packaging 🤌🏽🤌🏽 @caitbird 

[itsfi]

Ahhhhh Byredo! A beautiful way to start out an advent calendar, and Bal d'Afrique, too. Their mini's are adorable and look so cute lined up on the vanity or together on a tray. I'm excited to see what's next in that calendar. 

I love your idea of alternating your 12-day calendars @danielledanielle and am happy to see that the exterior of the lipstick advent will stay intact. 😍

[missjeanie]

@danielledanielle I just noticed Byredo is coming to Sephora..... coincidence? 

[itsfi]

Ohhhhh!!!! I wonder if this may mean Sephora US might follow suit at some point @missjeanie? Excited for Byredo to arrive at Sephora Canada - do you know if you'll get the candles and makeup too, or just the fragrances? I shouldn't say "just the fragrances" as they have quite an extensive collection.

[missjeanie]

Ohhhhh I didn't even check to see that it wasn't on the US side as well @itsfi !  So far I've seen fragrances, candles, and gift sets. 

Do you have a favourite fragrance from them?  I feel like I've smelled a few years ago, but I can't remember which I liked or not, and at those prices I'm not super inclined to blind buy. 

[itsfi]

I would highly recommend a wear test with them first, not just a sniff test. Some of the fragrances are more agreeable to a blind buy @missjeanie, but for the most part, try them out on your skin for a full day - there have been many fragrances from the brand that I would have steered clear of if I based it just on the notes and my experiences with the notes in other fragrances/brands but something about those notes in Byredo's perfumes wear differently on me. 

Favorite from the line, hmmmm...  it would be Mojave Ghost Absolu - it's a recent addition to the house, launched in 2024. Byredo started its Absolu Collection in 2024 with this one; the collection takes some of the brand's most well regarded scents and creates a more concentrated, intense version of it. At first, I took that to mean that it just makes the fragrance stronger or longer lasting but it actually changes the characteristics of the fragrance to some extent. So far, there's been 4 made. I've only smelled 2 - Mojave Ghost Absolu and Bal d'Afrique Absolu and love both. (I also like the original versions of both). 

Before they launched Mojave Ghost Absolu, my favorites from the collection would be (and I still love them) Rose of No Man's Land, Young Rose and Vanille Antique. I'm extra particular (read: picky) about rose scents but pretty much every rose fragrance from Byredo has been a hit for me. 

[missjeanie]

@itsfi I feel like this will be a prime opportunity to pick up a fragrance sampler!  I flipped through their offerings on here last night and several do sound lovely.  

[itsfi]

Yes, samples or a discovery set would be an excellent idea @missjeanie. I will also say that if there's a scent from the brand that doesn't necessarily suit you, don't give up on it immediately - it could be one that layers well with other fragrances from the line. I've met a few folks that have at least one Byredo fragrance that is their go-to layering scent; for some, it's a scent that they enjoy on its own as well. There are a couple of those for me, but the really interesting thing is that there's one scent from the collection that really not suit me on its own but for whatever reason, I layyer it with almost anything from the Byredo line and the pairing is something else, in a good way. It used to be a running joke among all the employees at the Byredo boutique. I'd try a fragrance and whether I liked it on its own or not, I would at some point during that visit, try it layered with that one less desirable scent and 9 out of 10 times, the two would be a hit. So bizarre, but true story. 

[missjeanie]

@itsfi Good to know.  I'm not usually one to layer scents, not for any real reason at all, I just don't do it often.  So I'll make a note on these to give it a shot!

[itsfi]

PSA - many advent calendars are on sale or clearance for Black Friday / Cyber Week. If there's an advent calendar you've had your eye on, now might be a good time to see if it's been marked down on the brand's site or through another retailer. 

Edited to add: Feel free to jump on in whenever you get yours if you pick one up during the sales. You can catch up to where we are in the advent season or you can go with your own schedule.

from Litmus

December 1 is just around the corner!  HERE!! Let the unboxings begin!!!

Counting down to unboxings - we've got 3 more sleeps until the start of unboxing for the 24/25 day advent calendars. 🎉

[itsfi]

We are literally days away from the start of advent calendar unboxings!! 

Whether you're part of the cast and crew for one of our unboxing events or you're here to watch and cheer along, this looks to be another fun year of seeing what treats await us as we work our way through our advent calendars.

12.1.2025 is the general kick off for the unboxing of the 24-day or 25-day advent calendar and

either 12.13.2025 or 12.25.2025 is typically the start for the 12-day advent calendar BUT if you have a different schedule that works better for you, go for it! 

Getting more and more excited for our unboxing with each passing day! 

[caitbird]

@itsfi  I can't believe there's only a week left until Dec. 1st - I feel like I've been looking forward to these unboxings forever! 😂

[itsfi]

hahaha, completely understand @caitbird! I pulled my advent calendar from the back of one of the hall closets where I hid it (so I wouldn't be tempted to start opening it) and put it in the front of the closet, and then put a post-it on the fridge to let me know where it is because it wouldn't surprise me if November 30 rolled around with me scratching my head wondering "where's my advent calendar?!!!!" 😂