Car Advent calendar: sometimes practical, mostly a bargain bin item
5-11-2026
Translation: Megan Cornish
Pictures: Christian Walker
If your eyes light up at the sight of spark plugs – even at Christmas time – you might be tempted by this car Advent calendar. Looking inside soon put the brakes on my enthusiasm, though.
Before we start: on average, how many items do you buy from the bargain bin at a discount store checkout? One? Five? Ten? If you don’t buy anything at all, already have a nodding dog, or hate nodding dogs – well, the car accessory Advent calendar isn’t for you.
It does what it should, filling 24 windows with items that fit the budget. Using the sales price as the basis for calculation, that works out at roughly 2.50 Swiss francs per day. So, you can’t expect too much – even though the calendar doesn’t look cheap.
The magic bits
The cardboard box has windows on both sides and a playful, albeit predictable design: a car with BMW-like headlights winks enticingly from the semi-darkness. Rims, frost patterns and tyre marks pepper the remaining surface – which shifts between black and blue – with an exhaust pipe or piston rod peeking out here and there. It’s excellent Photoshop artistry – or maybe AI working its magic.
Add to that «Merry Christmas», «We Wish you a Merry Christmas», and a promising «NEW» printed on it – and according to the description – the calendar’s «a stylish accessory for any garage or parking space». It definitely looks more premium than most of the things I pull out of the calendar. It only truly shines when it adheres to the first rule for gifts to adults: things you can use are good.
The practical bits
Thirty dashboard cleaning wipes are never a bad thing. The same goes for windscreen cleaning wipes or hygiene wipes – even a pack of Tempo tissues. They’re much more pleasant for your nose than the microfibre cleaning cloth for your glasses that’s also included.
This might be the best deal:
I’m just as puzzled by the microfibre «miracle cloth» as I am by the «rose thorn» scent of the [air freshener(/s7/producttype/lufterfrischer-2003?filter=bra%3D11088)], the unbranded fragrance sachet and the rectangular, super-light sponge – I haven’t seen one since I was at school. I’ll let all of those pass as practical, though. You know what, why not? I’ll include the gel eye mask, battery-less torch and two bungee cords in that too.
The bargain bin bits
The car Advent calendar doesn’t maintain this level of quality throughout, though. Eventually, the fancy decorations fade and the stage is set for junk – starting with a few cable ties. They’re practical, but – tied together with foam rubber into a sad little bouquet – they also scream «bargain bin». Even the dented nodding dog shakes its head at the sight of them, along with the shrivelled-up USB-to-USB-C cable.
I also don’t foresee a great future for the small reading light, the travel game, the guardian angel keychain with integrated shopping cart token or the so-called phone holder made of the cheapest plastic, which squeaks reluctantly as it unfolds to the width of my old iPhone X. You can see it in the photo; it’s the tiny black thing in the middle. But the real disappointment for me is the big plastic bag in the bottom left corner, which – judging by its small-scale checked design – looks like it could’ve rolled off an assembly line back in the 1980s.
The tragic bits
This calendar barely stands a chance. Anyone who loves their car – or merely slightly appreciates it – will already own a better version of almost everything. Even the decent parking disk with its integrated ice scraper is baffling, because you just don’t need more than one. Unbranded chocolate shaped like traffic signs isn’t exactly mouthwatering either. And the thought of standing in front of the Christmas tree on 24 December wearing a brand-new high visibility vest is bizarre, bordering on tragic. So, I advise against expecting too much from this calendar.
In a nutshell
A bit of glitz and too much junk
This Advent calendar has a fundamental issue: it’s meant to delight car enthusiasts – people who cherish their vehicles and for whom money’s virtually no object. That’s pretty much impossible when the calendar’s daily budget’s only 2 to 3 Swiss francs.
The contained consumable items are probably the most useful, such as cleaning wipes or an air freshener. After all, the recipient will likely already own better versions of everything else, or simply won’t want them in their car because they look cheap.
Pro
- Attractive design
- Contains useful items, e.g. cleaning wipes
Contra
- Accessories aren’t of great quality
- Some things look quite old
- Won’t please car enthusiasts
Michael Restin
Senior Editor
Michael.Restin@digitecgalaxus.chSimple writer and dad of two who likes to be on the move, wading through everyday family life. Juggling several balls, I'll occasionally drop one. It could be a ball, or a remark. Or both.
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