What began with chocolate has evolved to include every manner of thing that can be parsed out over 12 to 24 days and hidden behind perforated cardboard panels. Of course we’re talking about advent calendars. Originally developed to satiate nagging and impatient children in 1800s Germany, advent or countdown calendars now satiate people of all ages all over the world, giving them small, daily pleasures to look forward to during the harried holiday season.
Cheese features as an element, or better yet as the main event, in a number of advent calendars, which we naturally fully approve of. Cheese advent calendars also go blissfully hand-in-hand with other types of calendars that feature edible goods such as chocolate, jam, nuts, hot sauce, sausage, etc. We’re giving you a head start on advent calendar season here, since these things have a tendency to sell out, by calling out some of the top cheese countdown calendars you’ll want to get your hands on. Clear out your fridge, get yourself in a holiday mood, and get ready to click on one or more of these craveable calendar options.
12 Days of Murray’s Cheese
$90
Murray’s 12 Days of Cheese
Classic Advent calendars are 24 days, but “12 days of” is also a common theme in the holiday exploration calendar format. (Your move, Whole Foods.) America’s largest artisanal cheese retailer, Murray’s, offers 12 Days of Murray’s Cheese, featuring mostly family-friendly cheese selections in generous, cheeseboard portions — you can enjoy some daily or save it all up for a terrific holiday dinner cheeseboard. The 2026 edition includes hunks of familiar favorites such as Pepper Jack, English Cheddar, Manchego, and two types of Gouda, and then ups the festive ante with several fun, flavored cheeses including Merlot Bellavitano, Double Gloucester with Chive, Wensleydale with Cranberries, and a truckle of Truffle Cheddar. Several of the daily reveals consist of inspired accompaniments for your exponentially growing cheese collection, like Divina jams and Effie’s cocoa biscuits.
Aldi Emporium Selection Cheese Advent Calendar
Price TBD
Aldi Advent Cheese Calendar
As a German grocery chain, it follows that Aldi is one of the largest purveyors of advent calendars every year, and the fervor around scoring one is real, since they arrive in limited quantities and can only be purchased in-store. Aldi’s Emporium Selection Cheese Advent Calendar features 24 European cheese samples, some of which are duplicated on non-sequential days, comprising about 14 different cheeses altogether. Each sample is about a half-ounce, and the calendars have retailed for about $16.99 in the past. 2025’s calendar featured cheeses such as Red Leicester, various flavored Cheddars and Goudas, plus an aged goat cheese and a cheese mysteriously called “Bruschetta.” (Not a bread cheese, according to its ingredient list, but styled with pizza flavors.) In 2025 Aldi also released a 12-day, “premium” cheese calendar for $24.99 with larger samples, no duplicates, and far fewer variations on Cheddar and Gouda.
Aldi’s highly sought after calendars typically become available the first Wednesday in November, which in 2026 is November 4. If you sign up for their email newsletter, you can be among the first to know. (And to camp out, if you’re really serious.) According to the box design on previous cheese calendars, the cheese, wine, and chocolate calendars from Aldi coordinate with one another as harmonious pairings. The wine calendar is apparently in the highest demand, so you’re going to need to be ready to shop in early November to make this happen.
12 Days of Tillamook
Price TBD
12 Days of Tillamook
A countdown calendar for cheddar lovers, Tillamook’s “12 Days of Tillamook” calendar features six different variations on one of America’s favorite cheeses and drops on November 9 at 9 am PT. This year’s calendar features 12 full-size cheeses, twice the amount of cheese as last year’s calendar, including four types of aged Maker’s Reserve Cheddars, Farmers Collection Truffle White Cheddar and more.
For those who also enjoy the surprise element of holiday calendars, Tillamook’s calendar also comes in two parts, including a separate, no-refrigeration-needed “countertop” box whose six contents are actually kept a surprise, but you can bet that whatever they are either pair well or work well with cheddar cheese.
Redhead Creamery 12 Days of Cheesemas
$159
Redhead Creamery 12 Days of Cheesemas
Available for pre-order now, with options to ship either before or after Thanksgiving, Minnesota’s Redhead Creamery has one of the more artisanal offerings for its 12 Days of Cheesemas calendar. As such they are also extremely limited in quantity, with only 500 boxes available. (Read: click now!) Each window includes a two-ounce sample of one of Redhead Creamery’s cheeses, plus a miniature pairing. (Both! Every day! You deserve it!) Surprises await, but a sneak peak photo reveals pairings may include goods such as rosé salami, orange ginger marcona almonds, and salted caramel, among other treats.
Redhead makes a number of different kinds of artisanal cheeses, and from what we can glean you can expect generous portions of selections like Little Brie, Margie’s Clothbound Cheddar, St. North Fork Whiskey Washed Munster, and something that looks suspiciously like their Red Temper Honey Chipotle Cheddar, for days when you’re feeling more naughty than nice. One hopes that the little snowballs that are the creamery’s First Frost would also make an appearance, but you’ll have to wait for the actual surprise to find out.
Cheese Bros. 12 Days of Cheesemas
$120, on sale currently for $109.95
Cheese Bros
Wisconsin’s Cheese Brothers also celebrate Cheesemas with a 12 Days calendar, one where you might hope to delight in multiple days of cheese curds. Available now for pre-order, and at a discounted price, Cheese Bros.’ 2026 boxes will ship between November 18 and December 7. Fitting for an offering from America’s dairy state, this celebration is all cheese, with 12, full-sized blocks or packages from among its diverse cheese lineup, including unique selections like Bloody Mary Cheese Curds, a smoked Cheddar called Cinderblock, and Bantam, a honey sriracha gouda, for making the holidays both sweet and spicy.
Williams-Sonoma 12 Days of Cheese Gift Crate
$129.95
Williams-Sonoma 12 Days of Cheese Gift Crate
If you don’t require the unboxing element of traditional advent calendars, upscale kitchen retailer Williams-Sonoma offers a thematic “12 days” crate that you can gift to a cheese lover, even if (or especially if) that cheese lover is yourself. The reusable crate is a nice upgrade over the typical perforated cardboard, and you can have at all the cheeses in whatever order you want, or all in one go, if you want. For fans of Beehive, this is the ultimate holiday cheese bender, featuring 12 (!) different expressions of their unique, rubbed or infused cheddars and cheese curds such as Pour Me a Slice, Queen Bee Porcini, and Apple-Walnut Smoked Cheese.
BONUS: ice cream!
Cowboy Creamery 24 Days of Ice Cream
$69.99
Cowboy Creamery 24 Days of Ice Cream
Not cheese but still on-theme for dairy lovers, we admire the degree of difficulty that ice cream presents in an advent calendar format, and are certainly game to support the effort here by Cowboy Creamery. Available now for either local pickup or nationwide delivery, the brand offers 24 “perfectly portioned,” unique flavors to provide a daily moment of joy throughout most of December. For 2026, early in the month flavors include year-round favorites like Espresso Almond Fudge, Black Cherry, and Ultimate Oreo, and move into seasonally themed treats such as Egg Nog, Peppermint Stick, and Gingerbread Man leading up to the big day. (Other joyful highlights throughout the month include “Super Human,” “Fat Elvis,” and “This $&@! Just Got Serious,” the latter naturally being made of salted caramel ice cream with sea salt fudge and salted cashews.)