Advent calendars have become one of those super fun traditions of Christmas that help us to count down the days from the 1st of December to Christmas Eve.

They can be traced back to the 19th century when families would mark every day in December until Christmas Eve with a chalk line. Then in the early 1900’s German-born Gerhard Lang began making the first printed cardboard calendars.  The story is his mother made him one that featured coloured little pictures attached to cardboard and he loved it so much he turned it into a business. It became a commercial success but sadly was shut down at the start of the war due a shortage of cardboard in Germany.

In 1958 the first chocolate Advent calendar was made but it wasn’t until 1971 that Cadbury jumped on the bandwagon and launched it’s own version which became the template for those delicious treat filled calendars that we know of today.

What to Put in an Advent Calendar

The Advent Calendars of today are generally filled with little chocolate treats however there are so many other options.  There have been a lot of different variations over years with some businesses going next level in their creations. 

One of the most expensive Advent calendars was created in 2007 and could be purchased for a whopping $50,000.  It was in the shape of Christmas tree, carved from elm & walnut wood and stood 1.2 metres tall.  Each of its compartments housed a piece of organic chocolate with the proceeds of each sale going to support cocoa farmers in Belize.

According to Guinness World Records, the world’s largest advent calendar was built in 2007. It stood 71 metres tall and 23 metres wide to celebrate the reopening of the newly renovated St. Pancras train station in London.

What is the Best Advent Calendar?

The best Advent Calendar would have to be one that is filled with gin.  Wouldn’t you agree?  But here in Australia it can’t just be any gin – it simply must be local Aussie gin as we all should be supporting home grown. 

In support of the fledgling Aussie craft gin industry Gintonica launched their first 100% Australian Gin Advent Calendar in 2017 to much applause and excitement.  People were rushing to buy one before they all sold out – and they did.  Now every year Gintonica releases a new edition with that year’s favourite Aussie gins.  You can choose a calendar filled with 30ml or 50ml bottles of craft gin whichever suits your budget or your drink size. 

This year, in celebration of the original craft gin Advent calendar, Gintonica upped their game and re-released it making it a bit of a collector’s item.  This re-release contains most of the gins from back in the day –  many of which are gold, double gold and trophy winning gins.  You can get your hands on the ultra-limited release by pre-ordering it today and paying it off in 2 interest free payments.  It will then be sent to you in November so you are ready and raring to enter your festive gin journey on the first day of December.

If you are not so much of a traditionalist and would like a gin Advent calendar with some more recently released gins then you can’t go past the 6^th Edition Perfect Pour 50ml Advent Calendar.  Inside you will find a few faves, many new gins that you possibly have been eyeing off and some you may never have heard of…yet. This gin calendar is ready to pre-order today.

No matter what your style these Aussie Gin Advent Calendars are every gin lovers dream and are sure to add some festivity to this Christmas season.

You can check out the Gintonica range of 100% Australian craft gin advent calendars HERE