This Luxe Advent Calendar Is the Perfect Holiday Gift for Your Candle-Loving Friend

I light candles in my home most days, and once it starts getting dark earlier in the evenings, I can hardly keep my wicks trimmed quickly enough to keep up with how much I’m burning them. Not only do they cast a warm, flickering light that makes everything feel cozier, they also make my space smell lovely and signal to me that it’s time to settle in. So when I had the chance to try Voluspa’s Candle Heritage 12-Day Advent Calendar, which reveals a new mini candle each day? I grabbed my favorite lighter and dove in. 

This 12-day advent calendar from candle brand Voluspa comes in a festive red-and-green patterned box that opens up like a big book. Inside, you’ll find a dozen miniature boxes that pull out like drawers, each containing a different 2.5-ounce, coconut wax blend scented candle in a petite glass vessel. Each candle has a burn time of approximately 25 hours, and all of the fragrances come from Voluspa’s Japonica and Holiday collections. 

When I first opened up the advent calendar, I noticed there was actually one extra box, mysteriously unmarked and longer than the others. I slid it open, and to my great joy, found it contained a candle essential I’ve been wanting for years but hadn’t gotten around to buying for myself: a wick trimmer. This one is gold-plated with a nice heft in hand, and it makes it so much less messy to trim the wick down to the appropriate one-quarter-inch size (I usually pinch it off with my fingers, getting sooty in the process).

Once I started opening the actual numbered compartments, I was taken by each unique scent. While some read straightforward holidays, like Crushed Candy Cane (in a red-and-white striped jar) and Noble Fir Garland (in a green jar embellished with silver dots), others are more seasonally agnostic, Goji Tarocco Orange or Gilt Pomander & Hinoki. It’s a great mix of gourmands, citrusy scents, and spiced fragrances. One of my new favorites is Sparkling Cuvée, which has notes of “sparkling wine, pomelo, woody oak, and rose petals” and smells like an expensive bubble bath to me. 

I also love that these candles are made with coconut wax, which holds and throws fragrance really well and burns cleanly with little soot. Especially given that I plan to burn these all fall and winter long, I appreciate that they’re free of any sulfates, phthalates, or parabens, which can be harmful to breathe in too much over time.

My only critique of this luxurious advent calendar is the same I have of any 12-day calendar, which is that I highly prefer the full 24 days. Why wait until mid-month to get the little treats started? In this case, though, I do appreciate the abbreviated approach, because even if I stayed up all day and night, I couldn’t burn each candle completely in just one day. The 12 boxes means you can open one up every other day and burn them as you go, save them up for the long (cold, dark) season ahead, or even give some away as adorable, wonderful-smelling gifts. 

Buy: Voluspa Candle Heritage 12-Day Advent Calendar, $175