‘Friends’ and ‘Nightmare’: Two New Advent Calendars for the Holiday Season

I have a lifelong love affair with Advent calendars. When I was a little kid, we had reusable paper ones on which my sister and I took turns opening the little windows, one each day, counting down to Christmas and infusing the season with all the festivity that we could. When I became an adult, I had the power to go Full Advent Calendar, and over the years procured several Playmobil calendars, other fun paper calendars, ornament-based calendars, and even an Olive, the Other Reindeer calendar. So I’m always excited to learn about new Advent calendars.

A couple of new Advent calendars are coming out later this year from Insight Editions, celebrating two beloved properties: the TV show Friends and the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. I displayed my love of Friends earlier this year with the Friends Central Perk LEGO set, and my partner, Rory, adores The Nightmare Before Christmas in all forms. Though you may not think “Christmas” when you think of Friends, that’s okay. It’s always nice to make new traditions.

I’ll get to review these sets pretty soon, but in the meantime, I wanted to share a sneak peek.

Friends: The Official Advent Calendar: The One With the Surprises

Though it’s a countdown-to-Christmas product, this set is also a book and has 25 days’ worth of things to discover. It includes over 40 items within it, such as recipe cards (who wants to have a Friends-themed holiday party?), ornaments for the tree, and more. You’ll be reminded of many fun and iconic moments from the show. It’s currently available for pre-order.

The Nightmare Before Christmas: Pop-Up Book and Advent Calendar

In addition to its countdown functionality, this one is a pop-up book as well. Open it up to reveal a pop-up tree, and decorate it with ornaments found behind 25 little doors, one for each day counting down to Christmas. You can be sure to anticipate skeletons, ghastly celebratory elements, and Zero, Jack’s adorable ghost-dog. The set also includes a 28-page guidebook that includes information about Halloween Town. This one looks like it will be a lot like the Harry Potter Advent calendar I reviewed last year. But you could even use this one to count down to Halloween, instead of Christmas, since it comes out at the end of September!

I know it’s August and, in many places, it’s still quite hot, but this year has been full of such challenges for us all, and it’s a nice mental break to think about cooler weather and fun family holidays. It’s almost September, and then it’ll be October before we know it, since time doesn’t actually work very well in 2020.

Stay tuned for my full reviews of these sets. If other products that I’ve seen from Insight Editions are any indication, we’re in for a treat.