Best men’s advent calendars for 2025 from grooming to socks, tried and tested

Known for its mixture of well-loved brands and more niche fragrance and skincare offerings, the Liberty men’s calendar is back for 2025 with some heavy hitters. Grooming products are exceptionally good value, with notable inclusions from expensive brands like Augustinus Bader and Malin + Goetz. You’ll get a 15ml bottle of Augustinus Bader’s beloved but expensive the cream (£77, Cultbeauty.co.uk) and Malin + Goetz’s recovery treatment oil (£72, Selfridges.com), so the calendar is very good value.

However, the highlight this year is the range of fragrances on offer. You get travel-size perfumes from cult brands, offering a great way to road-test premium fragrances without spending lots of money on a full-size bottle.

It’s a great way to road-test premium fragrances without spending lots of money on a full-size bottle. For example, you get to try Escentric Molecules 01 eau de toilette (£75, Spacenk.com), DS & Durga’s radio bombay eau de parfum (£155, Cultbeauty.co.uk), and Vilhelm Parfumerie’s morning chess eau de parfum (£220, Libertylondon.com) without spending hundreds of pounds.

On top of that, this year’s Liberty calendar is great for thoughtful accessories. I loved the To My Ships perfumed ceramic tablet to keep clothes or a gym bag smelling fresh, and the Ripple mini incense cones in a comforting, festive berry scent.

The men’s grooming advent calendar from Lookfantastic is always a solid choice and comes at a very reasonable price. This year, the calendar is £85 with a worth (according to the brand) of £425. With 10 full-size products inside, there’s a little something every day leading up to Christmas.

There are relatively budget options like shaving cream from Bulldog (£2, Boots.com) and a lip balm from Dr Pawpaw (£5, Amazon.com).

However, there are a few luxury options. There is a travel body wash from Molton Brown (full-size £26, Johnlewis.com) and ESPA’s hydrator moisturiser (£35, Espaskincare.com). The skincare is a highlight of this year, with ingredient-forward brands featured heavily, such as a travel-size of Vichy’s mineral 89 face cream (£24.50, Amazon.co.uk). If your budget doesn’t stretch to a luxury calendar, this still makes an excellent gift.

Penhaligon’s Christmas collection is knitwear-inspired with a classic, vintage look in keeping with the brand’s heritage status. You 24 miniatures across a wide variety of products, including fragrances, candles and body care.

This calendar offers a way to explore a variety of products across the brand’s collections with limited edition festive options, including Christmas candles, and fragrances of 5ml, 10ml and 30ml quantities.

For example, you’ll receive the brand’s luna soap (£28, Penhaligons.com), the halfetti eau de parfum (£110, Penhaligons.com), and a maduro leaf candle (£65, Sephora.co.uk). If you know your giftee loves Penhaligons already, this is a great way to stock up.

Acqua di Parma is a mainstay for fragrance fans, leaning into citrus notes, Mediterranean flora and clean soapy scents. While the calendar costs £460, it's packed with signature scents that should last you all year, so it’s surprisingly good value.

There are 13 fragrances – mostly 12ml vials with a 20ml colonia eau de cologne – plus bodycare essentials including soap, lotion, body wash and shampoo.

There are two festive candles too. My favourite? Bosco (£76, Acquadiparma.com), with rich pine notes that feel like you’re walking through a Christmas tree farm.

On top of that, you can get some bonuses, too. If you’ve never bought from Acqua di Parma, you get a free 40ml colonia shower gel, and the £460 price tag takes you over the £180 limit for a free 5ml colonia eau de cologne.

Socks for Christmas are a bit of a cliche; they’re the gift you get someone when you don’t know what else to get them. But sometimes an on-the-nose present is exactly what’s needed. Sockshop’s calendar this year has 25 pairs of bamboo viscose blend socks suitable for feet size men’s UK 7-11.

The designs are a mixture of universal patterns that can be worn throughout wintertime, with some cheeky fun ones thrown in, like Father Christmas’ floating head. While still colourful, the designs seem more cohesive and wearable than last year’s version – you won’t be stuck with Christmas-themed socks for the rest of the year.

Luxury fragrance and body care brand Molton Brown has returned with a calendar packed with bits to stock your bathroom. It’s a heavy one; all the body washes, lotions, shampoos and conditioners come in substantial 100ml bottles.

For example, you’ll get a 100ml bottle of the beloved recharge black pepper bath and shower gel (£26, Amazon.co.uk), 100ml of the mesmerising oudh accord & gold body lotion (£33, Johnlewis.com), and 100ml of the reviving rosemary conditioner (£24, Amazon.co.uk). There are many more options too, so you get a lot for the money.

Fragrances come in 7.5ml with classics like fiery pink pepper and rose dunes, a spicy, oud rose scent, plus a fragrance travel case to carry your scents with you. This unisex calendar is one for sharing with a partner or friend and a great way to try out new scents.

From its beginnings in a Shoreditch coffee shop in 2011, Grind has become one of the coolest coffee makers with restaurants, coffee shops and pop-up trucks around London and beyond. The pink packaging is instantly recognisable, and can even be found in Dubai airport.

With a few advent calendars, you can opt for 25 days of pods (£29.95, Grind.co.uk) or 12 days of ground coffee or beans. Each sachet has 18g of coffee, perfect for a cup of coffee each morning. The nutty and flavourful coffee is a great way to start the day throughout December.

Moth crafts some of the best canned cocktails around and now it’s launched a huge 24-door advent calendar with a cocktail behind every window.

There’s a mixture of all the signature favourites from the brand in full size. Expect spicy margaritas that have a real heat to them, espresso martinis that feel mixologist crafted and negronis that I think make the perfect bitter Christmas cocktail.