Rituals deluxe advent calendar
- Number of products: 24
- Size of products: Full-size and travel-size
- Worth: £199
- Why we love it
- Good variety of products
- Take note
- Slightly fiddly to set up the festive scene
The Rituals deluxe advent calendar arrives in a large box, which is quite flat and compact. That’s because the contents have been cleverly positioned inside, ready to be set up. The glossy red case has a separate lid and base, as well as a white grid layer, and you’ll also find lights, tape and 24 festive boxes in the shape of Christmas trees and sweet red and white houses. While there are instructions printed on the box, we decided to scan the included QR code for a video demonstration as to how to make the light-up scene.
At this point, we started taping the wire for the LED lights to the white grid with the stickers. It’s worth knowing you need two AA batteries (not included) for it to work. Admittedly, this part of the setup was a bit fiddly, as the lights are meant to be stuck on in a squiggly line, but once we’d worked it out, the process only took 5-10 minutes in total.
After the lights were attached in the correct position, we turned over the grid and put it onto the red base. There are spaces for each day’s house- or tree-shaped box to be placed on top. The boxes are numbered, so it’s quick, easy and fun to arrange. Once everything was organised, we had a twinkly Christmas village scene on our desk and found this presentation to be a sheer delight.
Read more: The best beauty advent calendars you need to know
On the contents front, there are 24 mini treats. For us, the standouts are the four travel-sized scented candles, including the fresh, powdery and woody orris mimosa (£40.90 for full size, Rituals.com) and earthy and warming wild fig (£40.90, Rituals.com). Speaking of home fragrance, we also like the full-sized 70ml ritual of Ayurveda mini fragrance sticks (£18.90, Rituals.com) for the glam-looking glass bottle and the rose and almond oil blend that filled our room.
For body products, we rated the 75ml ritual of mehr nourishing shower oil (£10.90 for full size, Rituals.com) for its skin-softening properties and the 70ml two-in-one hair and body wash (£10.90 for full size, Rituals.com) with charcoal and mint for an invigorating morning shower. Meanwhile, the full-sized ritual of jing sleep night rescue hand mask (£12.90, Rituals.com) offered a soothing treatment for unwinding at bedtime.
We’re also fans of the mini hourglass in there – for an interiors accessory and to time a moment’s unwinding. We’ll be using the travel and standard-sized products for de-stressing during busy times and also as treats to pack when going away overnight. Cost wise, while £120 is a splurge, it measures up to the price of many other similar offerings on the market. Plus, the Rituals calendar has the added bonus of twinkly lights – which makes it ideal for use as a Christmas decoration, too.
In short, there is everything you need in this advent calendar for a relaxing and decadent December.