At the end of November, 24 empty little bags hang on a string in many homes. They are often filled with small things that end up in a drawer after Christmas. Skincare, by contrast, gets used in winter: hands and lips quickly become dry in the cold season, and a bar of soap is used up at some point. The usual open question is how to fill 24 doors without buying 24 samples.
How to divide up 24 doors
The split mixes full sizes with small formats and leaves room for doors that cost nothing. Prices and sizes: shop, as of 28 October 2026.
| Group | Product | Size | Price | What for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minis and small creams (6 doors) | Solid Body Butter Mini – Beeswax & Aloe Vera | 8 g | €5.90 | for a handbag, gym bag or travel |
| Minis and small creams | Aloe Vera Serum 99.6% | 50 ml | €9.90 | light, watery care, also under oil or solid cream |
| Minis and small creams | Solid Hand Cream - Beeswax | 30 g | €9.90 | dry hands; no essential oils |
| Minis and small creams | Solid Foot Cream – Rosemary & Sage | 40 g | €9.90 | dry feet and heels |
| Minis and small creams | Solid Body Butter - Beeswax & Aloe Vera | 40 g | €9.90 | elbows, knees and shins |
| Minis and small creams | Beeswax Salve – Larch & Mandarin in a Glass Jar | 50 g | €12.90 | dry, rough areas; works well for door 24 |
| Soaps (4 doors) | two bars of soap, for example Aloe Vera Soap – Lavender and Aloe Vera Soap – Rosemary & Lemon, each cut in half | 2 × 75 g | €17.80 | hands and body; two scents |
| Soaps, without cutting | Aloe Soap Set – 5 Scents, Individually Wrapped | 5 soaps | €42.90 | five doors, each soap already wrapped |
| Lip balm (4 doors) | Lip Balm - Lemongrass, pack of three | 3 × 5 g | €13.90 | three doors; lemongrass scent |
| Lip balm | Lip Balm - SPF15 Almond & Vanilla | 5 g | €7.90 | walks and winter sports; no essential oils |
| Accessories (4 doors) | Luffa Soap Dish – Natural | 1 piece | €3.90 | so the soap can dry |
| Accessories | Sisal Soap Pouch | 1 piece | €3.90 | lathering soap, using up leftovers |
| Accessories | Luffa Shower Sponge - Cleansing & Exfoliation | 1 piece | €4.90 | in the shower together with soap |
| Accessories | Aluminium Soap Tin with Drainage Grid | 1 piece | €8.90 | soap when travelling over the holidays |
| Free (6 doors) | cards, vouchers, things from around the house | – | – | see the plan |
A plan for all 24 doors
In 2026, St Nicholas Day and the second Sunday of Advent both fall on Sunday 6 December. The larger products are placed on the Advent Sundays and on Christmas Eve.
- 1 December: Lip Balm - Lemongrass
- 2 December: Aloe Vera Soap – Lavender, first half
- 3 December: Luffa Soap Dish
- 4 December: Solid Body Butter Mini
- 5 December: a handwritten voucher for a hand massage
- 6 December (St Nicholas Day, 2nd Advent): Solid Hand Cream - Beeswax
- 7 December: a pair of cotton gloves and a card about the overnight hand mask
- 8 December: Lip Balm - Lemongrass
- 9 December: Aloe Vera Soap – Rosemary & Lemon, first half
- 10 December: Sisal Soap Pouch
- 11 December: Aloe Vera Serum 99.6%
- 12 December: a tea bag and a card for an evening without screens
- 13 December (3rd Advent): Solid Foot Cream – Rosemary & Sage
- 14 December: loose cotton socks and a card about foot cream overnight with socks
- 15 December: Aloe Vera Soap – Lavender, second half
- 16 December: Lip Balm - SPF15 Almond & Vanilla
- 17 December: Luffa Shower Sponge
- 18 December: a small jar of fine sugar with the recipe for a body scrub made from oil and sugar
- 19 December: Lip Balm - Lemongrass
- 20 December (4th Advent): Solid Body Butter - Beeswax & Aloe Vera
- 21 December: Aloe Vera Soap – Rosemary & Lemon, second half
- 22 December: a voucher for a foot massage or a winter walk together
- 23 December: Aluminium Soap Tin with Drainage Grid
- 24 December (Christmas Eve): Beeswax Salve – Larch & Mandarin in a Glass Jar
With these examples, the filling costs €119.60: 18 doors with products or pieces of soap and six doors that cost nothing. If you leave out the beeswax salve, the foot cream and the soap tin and replace them with more cards, it comes to €87.90. If the person is heading to the mountains over the holidays, the Solid Sunscreen SPF50 Mini (20 g, €9.90) also fits; background: Sunscreen in winter: when it makes sense in everyday life.
Cutting soap, keeping creams in their tin, keeping the labels
Cutting soap: a 75 g bar can be cut in half with a large, sharp knife on a board. Leave the halves out for one to two days before wrapping so that the cut surfaces are dry, then wrap them in paper or a fabric bag. Why soap should be kept dry is explained in Solid soap goes mushy: causes and storage.
Don’t divide creams: solid creams and salves stay in their tin or jar; that way neither water nor other people’s fingers get in. Only decant a care oil into clean, completely dry little bottles and write the name and date on them.
Keep the information: under the EU Cosmetics Regulation, the packaging of cosmetics shows, among other things, the date of minimum durability or, for products that keep longer, the period for use after opening, along with particular precautions and the list of ingredients. The list of ingredients may appear on the outer packaging only (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009). If you unpack a product, cut a soap or decant an oil, this information stays behind. So put the box or the label in the door too, or write the name and ingredient list on a card. What the open jar symbol means is explained in Shelf life of cosmetics: the hourglass symbol and PAO after opening.
Not by the radiator: the product pages advise storing skincare somewhere cool, dry and out of direct sunlight. So don’t hang the calendar above the radiator; solid creams soften in the warmth. More on this: Storing solid cosmetics: heat, summer and winter.
Scent and age: what to watch for with 24 doors
With 24 doors, many scents come together quickly. The lemongrass lip balm, the foot cream, the beeswax salve and all the soaps contain essential oils. Without essential oils are the hand cream with beeswax, the body butter in both sizes, the lip balm with SPF 15 (scent from vanilla extract) and the aloe serum. If the recipient prefers little scent, shift the focus to these products; the overview Without fragrance and essential oils: ingredients at a glance helps with the choice.
For a calendar for children, the age information on the product pages applies: the foot cream is not suitable for children under 7 because it contains eucalyptol and camphor. Because of the essential oils, the beeswax salve is not intended for children under 3. Notes on almond oil, propolis and larch resin, and an overview of scent and age information for the small products, are on the page Secret Santa gift under €15: small skincare gifts.
The alternative: the ready-made calendar “Winter Well 2026”
If you would rather give a few larger parcels, you will find the Advent Calendar “Winter Well 2026” in our shop. It has six parcels instead of 24 doors, and each holds one full-size product for dry winter skin. Which products they are stays secret until you open them. More about the calendar is in the post Giving skincare: advent calendar, sets and small gifts.
| Filled yourself (plan above) | Advent Calendar “Winter Well 2026” | |
|---|---|---|
| Doors | 24 | 6 parcels |
| Opened | every day from 1 to 24 December | on the four Advent Sundays, St Nicholas Day and Christmas Eve |
| Contents | chosen by you and known | stay secret until opened; two products were developed specially for the calendar |
| Sizes | full sizes, travel size, halved soaps, cards | six full-size products |
| Scent | up to you | the two specially developed products with a warm, resinous winter scent |
| Price | €119.60 (example plan) or €87.90 (smaller version) | €54.90 |
| Effort | shopping, cutting, packing, labelling | unpacking |
Frequently asked questions
How many doors should contain skincare?
In the plan above it is 18 out of 24. Fewer works too: a card with a skincare tip, a voucher for a massage or a pair of socks fill a door at no cost.
Can I split a bar of soap between two doors?
Yes. Cut the bar in half with a sharp knife, let the cut surfaces dry in the air for one to two days and wrap the halves in paper. Put the box with the ingredient list in with the first half.
When should I fill the calendar?
Packing it in the last days of November is enough. If you buy earlier, keep the products cool and dry in their packaging until then. Cut soaps a few days before filling.
What goes behind door 24?
A product that lasts longer, for example the beeswax salve in the glass jar or the body butter in the 40 g tin. If the budget is already used up, a card with a shared plan for the holidays works well.
What goes into a skincare advent calendar for men?
The hand cream with beeswax without essential oils, the soap with eucalyptus and sage, a lip balm and the foot cream for anyone who is on their feet a lot. More ideas are in Skincare gifts for men: ideas that actually get used.
At forpeople
- Lip Balm - Lemongrass, 5 g, €4.90, pack of three €13.90
- Aloe Soap Set – 5 Scents, Individually Wrapped, five soaps, €42.90; single bars of soap 75 g each, €8.90
- Solid Body Butter Mini – Beeswax & Aloe Vera, 8 g, €5.90
- Advent Calendar “Winter Well 2026”, six full-size products, €54.90
More gift ideas are under Gift ideas & gift sets, Starter sets and Natural skincare gift boxes.
Sources
- Europäisches Parlament und Rat der Europäischen Union (2009): Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1223/2009 vom 30. November 2009 über kosmetische Mittel, Artikel 19 Absatz 1 Buchstaben c, d und g. Amtsblatt der EU L 342 vom 22.12.2009, S. 59. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2009/1223/oj
