Tea advent calendars and holiday teas for 2026

A tea advent calendar gives tea lovers a different cup for every day from December 1 to Christmas Eve: a small daily pause in the busiest month of the year. If you're shopping for a tea drinker, or for yourself, our favourite way to do it this year is to build your own from the holiday teas on our shelves. We also have two ready-made advent calendars for kids in stock now.

Below you'll find what a tea advent calendar is, the two calendars we carry, a simple 24-day plan using festive teas, and the holiday blends we'd put behind each door. Everything here is in stock as we write this, and in HRM it can be at your door the same day with Luminate Express.

What is a tea advent calendar?

A tea advent calendar is a holiday countdown with 24 small compartments, one for each day from December 1 to December 24, and a different tea inside each door. Most hold tea bags; some hold loose leaf in little tins or pouches. The fun is the surprise: a black tea one morning, a herbal blend the next, and a few new teas you might never have picked off the shelf yourself.

A good calendar mixes caffeinated teas for the morning with caffeine-free herbal infusions for the evening, and leans into the flavours of the season: cinnamon, ginger, clove, orange, peppermint, vanilla and chocolate. Some include enough for two servings each day, so you can share a pot or brew a second cup.

When you compare boxed calendars, look at four things: how many cups you get (most hold one tea bag a day, some hold two, and a few add a 25th door for Christmas Day), whether the teas are loose leaf or bagged, the caffeine mix, and the packaging. Some are plastic free, with compostable or biodegradable tea bags and recyclable boxes.

Which advent calendars do we have in stock?

Advent calendars start on December 1, so buy one in November and it's home before the first door. These two are in stock now. Order online, or call ahead and we'll check your nearest store.

For the grown-up tea drinker, we think a homemade tea advent calendar is the better gift this year. You choose every tea, you can match it to the person, and the leftover bags carry on into January.

How do you make your own tea advent calendar?

Pick six or seven holiday teas, divide the bags into 24 numbered pouches, and you're done. A box of tea holds 15 to 20 bags, so you'll have plenty left over for January.

1. Choose your teas. Pick six or seven boxes: a couple of black teas or chai for mornings, and caffeine-free herbal blends for the evening.
2. Find 24 little containers. Paper envelopes, small kraft bags, a box with 24 compartments, or matchboxes all work. Paper keeps the packaging plastic free.
3. Fill each door. Put one tea bag behind each number, or two if you want two servings a day to share. Keep the tea bags in their own wrappers where they have one.
4. Number and mix. Spread each tea across the month so the same flavour never lands two days in a row.
5. Save a good one for the 24th. Stash Christmas Eve is the obvious choice for the last door.
6. Add a note. A line about how to brew each tea, or a small square of chocolate, makes it feel finished.

Here's the plan we'd use, with seven teas from our shelves:

Holiday teas on our shelves

These are the festive blends we'd fill a calendar with, or tuck into a stocking on their own. We've grouped them by brand, and you can shop them online or at either store. Each box makes a small, easy gift.

Stash holiday teas

Stash has been blending bold, flavourful teas since 1972, and its holiday boxes are a seasonal favourite. Each box holds 18 tea bags.

Christmas Eve is sweet and spicy, a hot cinnamon tea with orange and spearmint, and it's caffeine free, so it suits the evening. Christmas in Paris is built on cocoa shells, peppermint and lavender; add a splash of milk and a little sugar and it drinks like a minty hot chocolate. Christmas Morning is a full-strength breakfast-style blend for an early start, and Holiday Chai is best brewed strong with milk and sugar.

Celestial Seasonings holiday teas

Celestial Seasonings makes a set of nostalgic, caffeine-free holiday blends. Each box holds 20 tea bags. Bengal Spice is a good pick for anyone who loves chai but not the caffeine.

Four O'Clock: a Canadian family tea company

Four O'Clock is a Canadian family tea company that has been crafting blends since 1992. Its teas are organic, with no added sugar and no artificial flavours, the bags are unbleached and compostable, and the boxes are recyclable. Both of these make a cosy latte with steamed milk.

Rooibos and fruit teas

Rooibos is a South African red bush that brews a naturally caffeine-free, slightly sweet cup, which makes it a good base for evening teas. Stash builds several of its fall and holiday flavours on rooibos: Maple Apple Cider brings apple, cinnamon and maple flavour with a little hibiscus, and Cinnamon Vanilla pairs warm cinnamon and vanilla with rooibos and chamomile.

JusTea loose leaf tins

JusTea is a Vancouver company that buys its tea directly from small farmers in Kenya and shares the profit with them. Its loose leaf tins come with a hand-carved wooden spoon, which makes them one of the nicest tea gifts in the store. In the Herbal Trio, Little Berry Hibiscus is a bright fruit tea of hibiscus, rosehips, berries and rooibos.

Holiday tea flavours at a glance

Loose leaf or tea bags for a calendar?

Tea bags are the easiest choice for a homemade advent calendar: they're pre-measured, and they fit in a small envelope. Loose leaf teas take a little more work, since you'll need small paper pouches or tins and a spoon, but they make a beautiful gift for a serious tea drinker. A JusTea trio tin is a good middle ground: three blends in one gift, and each makes about 15 cups, or 30 if you re-steep the leaves.

For a spiced pot on the stove, our bulk section has organic mulling spices from Lemon Lily Tea: cinnamon, cloves, orange and allspice, with no tea leaf, so it's caffeine free. Warm a spoonful in apple cider, or simmer it in water to make the house smell like the holidays.

Lemon Lily TeaOrganic mulling spicesCinnamon, cloves, orange and allspice, sold by weight.Shop →

Getting your calendar and teas in time

December 1 comes quickly, so give yourself a few days to put a homemade calendar together. In HRM, order by 11 am with Luminate Express for delivery between 2:30 and 6 pm the same day, or choose pickup at either store at checkout; orders are usually picked within two hours. Anywhere else in Canada, shipping is free on orders over $80, and tea travels well; our shipping page has the details.

Looking for more gift ideas? Our Christmas gift guide covers local candles, honey, coffee and stocking stuffers, and the Christmas and holiday gift ideas collection has everything seasonal in one place. For everyday blends, see our herbal tea guide.

Questions we get a lot

When should I start a tea advent calendar?

Open the first door on December 1 and the last on December 24. If you're making your own, buy the teas in November so you have time to fill and number the 24 pouches.

Does Stash Christmas in Paris tea have caffeine?

Only a trace, from the cocoa shells. It's made with cocoa shells, peppermint and lavender rather than tea leaves, so it's a good choice for the evening.

What does Stash Christmas Eve tea taste like?

Sweet and spicy: cinnamon first, then orange, spearmint, clove and vanilla. It's a caffeine-free herbal tea; enjoy it with a little honey.

Which holiday teas are caffeine free?

Stash Christmas Eve, Maple Apple Cider and Cinnamon Vanilla, Celestial Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride, Gingerbread Spice, Bengal Spice and Cinnamon Apple Spice, Four O'Clock Gingerbread and JusTea Starry Night are all caffeine free. Christmas in Paris has only a trace.

How many tea bags do I need for a homemade advent calendar?

Twenty-four for one cup a day, or 48 if you want two servings behind each door. Six or seven boxes of tea give you plenty of variety, and the extra bags slot into your regular tea routine in the new year.

Do you carry the Pukka tea advent calendar?

We carry Pukka teas. Its Organic Tea Advent Calendar holds 24 organic tea bags, but it isn't in stock right now. Ask at either store, or build your own with the plan above.

Find holiday teas at Luminate

Holiday teas are in the tea aisle at both stores: 486 Starboard Drive in Bedford and 590 Portland Street in Dartmouth, open seven days. In HRM, order by 11 am with Luminate Express for same-day delivery, or choose pickup. Anywhere else in Canada, orders over $80 ship free.

This article is general information. Check each package for ingredients and allergen information.