What the maker names is the whole difference: Funko names four of 24, Cinereplicas and Schleich keep the line-up secret beyond the exclusives, and the scores follow. For the child who builds, LEGO's Star Wars and Marvel boxes are this year's named sets; for the one who collects, Schleich; for the one who reads, the books page.
Step 01
Decide what you will spend first
Set the number before you browse, because it decides the shelf more than anything else here. Of the 13 priced in dollars, 9 come in under $50 and 4 sit between $50 and $200 — the range runs $28 to $135, and half are above $49. Compare the price bands →
Step 02
Match the doors to the days
Every calendar here has 24 doors: a 24-door box opens one a day from 1 December to Christmas Eve. There is no shorter option in this category, so if it will arrive late, plan on opening the missed doors in order and carrying on. Every start date →
Step 03
Know which season you are buying
5 of the 14 here are 2026 editions, and 3 are last season's — still sold, often discounted, and with the contents already on the page. The 6 older than that are listed for the record, not for buying. A brand's page keeps every edition together, so check whether the box you are looking at is this year's before you compare prices.
Step 04
Start from the ones we have opened
9 of the 14 here carry an editors' pick — the chip above the grid narrows the shelf to those — and 7 have a written score. Those are the boxes somebody on this site has actually judged. The rest are listed because they exist, not because we are recommending them; being on this page is not a verdict. How we review →