Stylish Advent Calendar

Forget the cheap chocolate countdowns€”this Canadian-designed treasure chest will make every day feel like a special occasion.

It’s hard to wait. A much-needed vacation, a reunion with a long-distance love, a meeting with the big boss that may just mean a promotion—there’s lots of reasons to tick the days off the calendar and plead to the chronology gods for time to move just a little bit faster. But it all pales in comparison to the burning anticipation of being a child during the holidays, knowing that in your future, piles of toys and treats are yours for the taking. We’ve long been a proponent of the good old advent calendar to help take some of that edge off—a chocolate a day, hidden behind little cardboard doors that make up a happy winter wonderland scene, soothes the holiday anxiety nicely. So when we recently discovered the Pomegranate advent calendar, which offers a slightly more sophisticated take on the classic holiday countdown (and fewer calories), we were charmed to the core.Made in Toronto, the cheery pink calendars, delivered in an equally cheery pink box, offer tiny tokens and gifts to brighten each day. Customize your box from a selection of 31 options—think cozy cup sleeves, fortune teller games, sugar cookie cutters with a recipe—or select the “Surprise Me!” option to get a mystery box. And as good as a little hit of chocolate each morning feels, many of the Pomegranate gifts will make you feel even better: there’s plenty of “good deed” gifts to throw into the mix, which pair a cute chipboard ornament with a note explaining that a donation has been made to a worthwhile cause, like animal shelters or drought-stricken countries.There’s 24-day, 12-day or 8-day options to choose from, starting from $55, so place your order online, and then get yourself one of the chocolate grocery store calendars anyways—you’ll need it to manage the anticipation as you wait for your Pomegranate picks to be delivered. Let the countdown begin.