4 of the best alternative advent calendars

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December is nearly upon as and as we prepare to deck the halls with boughs of holly, we're also counting down the days until the big day. And where's the fun in counting down to Christmas without an advent calendar?

While we are fans of traditional paper art advent calendars – the ones that you open to reveal a quaint nativity scene, bit by bit – as well as the classic chocolate ones, this year we thought we'd see what else is out there. So here are our favourite alternative advent calendars in 2018 for those who love web design, animals, print, beautiful products and err...naked people.

01. Mr Bingo's naked advent calendar

Find out what's underneath the gold ink in a tantalising Christmas countdown from Mr Bingo

What more festive than naked people in a pub? Well... quite a lot of things, but that doesn't make this naked calendar from Mr Bingo any less fun. 

Count down the days by scratching off the gold ink to reveal a naked body underneath, and then you get to tell your friends you've seen 25 naked people in December. They may or may not be impressed.

The people featured in the calendar are ordinary folk who applied to be part of the project, and you can see more about the making of the project via the video below.

02. Here Design's advent calendar shop

An Anarchy of Chillies poster is one of the products available in December from the Here Design shop, but which day will it be on?

In another alternative advent calendar project, Here Design is revealing a new item on its online shop each day. Products include tote bags designed by Here for the Tate and notebooks from the Nigella cookbook collection. This is a great way to combine your Christmas shopping with some festive counting, or just drool over Here Design's beautifully crafted work.

03. 24 ways' advent calendar for web geeks

Last year's 24 ways provided plenty of insight

If you're looking to improve your web design and development skills, then 24 ways is the advent calendar for you. This website posts a different web article for each day in December in the run up to Christmas, and this curated list is a fantastic way to improve your skills. This advent calendar also lasts post-Christmas as the site stays live, meaning you can binge in the new year if you miss some articles.

04. Junique's the animal kingdom

This advent calendar features a rolled up print by a different artist each day

One for print lovers: get a new print every day with this advent calendar in a box by Junique. Various themed calendars are available – including black and white, motivating mantras and botanical beautie – but there's something about getting a box full of flamingos, owls and penguins that pleases us. 

Read more:

• The best Christmas gifts for illustrators
• Indie film goes viral with the true meaning of Christmas
• Iceland Christmas ad banned due to political message

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