By
Michaël Maarek
Sainsbury’s has put a Nectar price on 23 of the 35 advent calendars on its Christmas page, and the headline one is its Beauty & Skincare calendar at £40 instead of £80. The same card brings Maltesers and Galaxy down to £2.50, and Cadbury Dairy Milk to £2.00. Here is what each calendar costs, which ones undercut Lidl Plus and what is behind the beauty doors.
Which Sainsbury’s advent calendars have a Nectar price?
On 2 November 2026, Sainsbury’s Christmas advent calendars page listed 35 calendars, covering chocolate, beauty, pet and home, and 23 of them had a Nectar price. The chocolate ones you are most likely to buy are below, with the price you pay without a Nectar card alongside.
| Calendar | Size | Nectar price | Without Nectar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadbury Dairy Milk | 90g | £2.00 | £2.45 |
| Maltesers Reindeer | 108g | £2.50 | £3.75 |
| Galaxy | 110g | £2.50 | £3.75 |
| Milky Way | 110g | £2.50 | £3.75 |
| Milkybar | 85g | £2.50 | £3.50 |
| Kinder Chocolate Minis | 144g | £4.50 | £6.50 |
| Reese’s | 245g | £5.50 | £6.80 |
| Cadbury Heroes | 230g | £6.00 | £7.50 |
| Cadbury Dairy Milk Extra Special Day 24 | 340g | £8.00 | £10.00 |
| Kinder Pokémon Holiday Calendar | 198g | £9.50 | £12.00 |
| Lindt Lindor Assorted Gold | 233g | £10.00 | £12.00 |
Terry’s Chocolate Orange (106g) has no Nectar price and costs £3.00. The Nectar prices on the Cadbury, Maltesers, Galaxy, Milky Way and Heroes pages run for delivery or collection until 2 December, and the Reese’s one until 1 December.
Source: Sainsbury’s (product pages, checked on 2 November 2026).
How cheap are the cheapest chocolate calendars?
With Nectar, the cheapest calendar is Cadbury Dairy Milk 90g at £2.00, or £22.22 a kilo by Sainsbury’s own unit price. It has 24 pieces, so it works out at about 8p a door. That matches the £2 Clubcard price at Tesco that we listed in our Tesco Clubcard advent calendars guide and the 8p a door in our price per door ranking.
Next come Reese’s at £22.45 a kilo, Galaxy and Milky Way at £22.73, and Maltesers at £23.15. Maltesers, Galaxy and Milky Way each drop by a third, from £3.75 to £2.50, so the Nectar card matters more here than anywhere else on the page.
How do Sainsbury’s Nectar prices compare with Lidl Plus?
Lidl’s Lidl Plus offers started on 1 November, and we ranked them in our Lidl advent calendar price per door guide. Set side by side for the same calendars, the two stores are within a few pence of each other, with Sainsbury’s ahead on the two cheapest chocolate calendars.
| Calendar | Sainsbury’s with Nectar | Lidl with Lidl Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Maltesers 108g | £2.50 | £2.70 |
| Galaxy 110g | £2.50 | £2.75 |
| Terry’s Chocolate Orange 106g | £3.00 (no Nectar price) | £2.99 |
| Kinder Chocolate Minis 144g | £4.50 | £4.49 |
| Reese’s 245g | £5.50 | £5.49 |
| Cadbury Heroes 230g | £6.00 | £5.49 |
Lidl wins on Cadbury Heroes by 51p, Sainsbury’s wins on Maltesers and Galaxy by 20p and 25p, and on the rest the gap is a penny either way. The catch at Lidl is that its offers are app-only and run until 20 November, while Sainsbury’s Nectar prices last into December. Without either card, Sainsbury’s Kinder is £6.50 and Lidl’s is £6.49.
Source: Sainsbury’s and Lidl (product pages, checked on 2 November 2026).
Is the Beauty and Skincare advent calendar worth £40 with Nectar?
The Beauty & Skincare Christmas Advent Calendar is £80, and the product page shows half price with Nectar at £40, available until 24 December 2026. Sainsbury’s describes 24 surprises from “much-loved brands” across skincare, cosmetics, haircare, bodycare and nailcare, with a stated worth of over £170 and a free luxury vanity bag.
At £40, that is £1.67 a day, and under a quarter of the stated worth.
The named products include:
- CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser with Hyaluronic Acid, 88ml
- BIODERMA Sensibio H2O Micellar Water, 100ml
- Garnier Vitamin C Fresh & Bright Hydrating Sorbet Cream, 85ml
- Maybelline Lash Sensation Mascara in Sky High Black, 7.2ml
- Maybelline Lifter Gloss in Ice, 5.4ml
- NIVEA Glowy Lips Berry SPF 30 and NIVEA Intensive Moisture Hand Cream, 100ml
- REHAB. Mini Dose 1.0 Hair Oil, one jar
- Tangle Teezer Mini Ultimate Detangler
- Truyu Iconic Lash & Brow Set
You also get one Rimmel Oh My Plump! Lip Shaper in either Café Latte or Beige, so you cannot pick the shade. The sizes are mixed: there are minis such as the John Frieda root booster at 25ml and the Aveeno moisturiser at 15ml, and larger ones such as the 100ml Bioderma water and a 200ml L’Oréal Paris Studio Line Glue In spray.
Source: Sainsbury’s (Beauty & Skincare Christmas Advent Calendar product page, checked on 2 November 2026).
What are Sainsbury’s own calendars?
Sainsbury’s has also added its own advent calendars. The Taste the Difference Mini Mince Pie Advent Calendar is £20 for 610g and is on sale from 1 November to 1 December only. Behind each door is a mini mince pie, either a Viennese Whirl, an All Butter or a Brandy, Port & Brown Butter one, according to Sainsbury’s Christmas food and drink lookbook.
The Sainsbury’s Christmas Advent Calendar is £18, and neither of these two has a Nectar price.
Source: Sainsbury’s (product pages and Christmas Food & Drink Lookbook 2026, checked on 2 November 2026).
What we think
If you have a Nectar card, buy the Beauty & Skincare calendar at £40, since the Nectar price is half the £80 list price. For chocolate, Sainsbury’s Maltesers and Galaxy at £2.50 beat Lidl Plus and the £2.75 Tesco Clubcard price we found for Galaxy, and its Cadbury at £2.00 matches Tesco. Lidl is better on Cadbury Heroes.
Without a Nectar card, every calendar in the table goes up by 45p to £2.50, and the beauty calendar by £40, so check the card is in your wallet or app before you shop.
For more advent ideas, see our beauty advent calendar hub and our advent calendars for men, or browse chocolate advent calendars 2026.
Price and Nectar: the essentials
- Beauty & Skincare calendar: £40 with Nectar, £80 without, until 24 December 2026.
- Cheapest chocolate: Cadbury Dairy Milk 90g at £2.00 with Nectar.
- Maltesers, Galaxy, Milky Way: £2.50 with Nectar, £3.75 without.
- Kinder Chocolate Minis: £4.50 with Nectar, £6.50 without.
- Nectar prices end: 2 December for most, 1 December for Reese’s.
- Own-brand: Mini Mince Pie calendar £20 until 1 December.
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