UPDATED for December 10th! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Advent Calendars and 12 Days of Christmas Calendars in 2022

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

It’s that most wonderful time of the year! And I’m talking about the time where on-the-ball freebie fashionistas can scoop up dozens of free gifts from the many Second Life stores which have either an Advent calendar (running Dec. 1st to Dec. 24th or 25th) or a Twelve Days of Christmas calendar (usually running between Dec. 12th or 13th and Dec. 24th or 25th).

Lists of Stores with Advent Calendars and 12 Days of Christmas Calendars

The Advent Calendar list by TeleportHub.com

If you’re looking for a list of such calendars, here are some that I have found useful (note that this list will be updated as I find new ones; many are not published until later in the day on December 1st, or even on December 2nd!):

  • TeleportHub.com’s Advent Calendar Store List 2022 is already up!
  • UPDATE 9:53 p.m.: December Advent Listing by Fabulously Free in SL.
  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2022: Holiday Sales and Advent List from Seraphim.
  • UPDATE Dec. 6th, 2022: Dreamer’s 2022 Advent Calendar List, from the Dreamer’s Virtual World blog (there’s also a gallery on Flickr). Dreamer’s list also tells you which calendars allow you to collect the previous days’ presents, either for free (no group needed), free with group, or paid with group! Very handy info to have. What I like to do for those Advent calendars where I can pick up all the previous days’ gifts, is wait until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, teleport in, and then pick them all up at one time!
  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2022: Second Life Syndicate has a Google spreadsheet with over 200 Advent and Twelve Days of Christmas calendars, which you can access here (scroll down and click on the link that says “Commenting Spreadsheet”, which can only accommodate up to 100 people at one time; a second spreadsheet, called “Published Spreadsheet”, will be published soon, but is not yet available).
  • Low Price Fashion in Second Life is a little-known Japanese blog which, last year, posted a daily roundup of that day’s Advent calendar gifts. I expect they will do the same this year.
  • Last year, the very hardworking folks over at the Russian-language VKontakte group Second Life – FREE posted a daily roundup of that day’s Advent calendar gifts, with pictures! And those Russian freebie fashionistas are doing it again for 2022. They even went so far as to create an alphabetical list of stores with links to pictures of each day’s Advent gift! Bookmark this list and check back daily; this is probably THE easiest way to actually see each day’s calendar gifts without teleporting all over the grid, collecting and unpacking items! (Please remember to use the Russian-to-English translator in your Chrome browser, or Google Translate, to read the posts in this Russian-language community. You do not need to set up an account on VKontakte; just click on the “Not Now!” link every time the nagging pop-up appears asking you to log in.)
  • UPDATE Dec. 10th, 2022: I don’t know how on Earth I could have missed this wonderful resource until today, but Second Life YouTuber Naria Panthar has a Discord server, which you can join here. And in that Discord server is an -calendars channel, where somebody posts pictures of as many Advent calendar gifts as they can find! There’s much less clicking involved than with the VKontake group I mentioned above, all you have to do is scroll through each day’s listings! Even better, a direct SLURL to the gift is included. A big thank you to hupe, who makes these valuable posts! This might well be the best and easiest way yet to see what each SL store is offering, without having to teleport all over the grid, and then unpack and try on gifts.
A sample of hupe’s work from the -calendars channel on Maria Panthar’s Discord

Ryan’s Picks: Stores I Will Be Visiting Every Day

This year, instead of wearing myself out trying to hit every single calendar on the grid, I will be focusing my energy on just a select few which, year after year, consistently offer the best gifts. Here are my top picks for 2022!

  • Firelight Hair has a Twelve Days of calendar running from December 13th to 24th (you do need to join the Firelight group for free). You have to pick up each gift on the day it is offered. The gifts are mostly women’s hairstyles, but there will also be a few unisex styles. All hair gifts usually come with a mini 2 or 3-colour HUD.
  • 7 Deadly s[K]ins always has an advent tree in their store, with generous gifts every single day from Dec. 1st through to the 31st! Please note that you do have to join the store group, called SEVEN – [7DS]; there is a group join fee (when I checked on Nov. 30th, it was L$500). To get each day’s present from the tree, simply pay the vendor L$1, and it will automatically be refunded. If you missed a day, you can buy previous days’ gifts for L$25 each. Apparently, they are also giving away gifts each weekend, so pop in!

In the room immediately to the left of the 7 Deadly S[k]ins Advent tree, you can purchase a fatpack of skins for L$1 from the Today’s Offer board, as well as pick up another free skin fatpack from the Giftboard, plus there are six Mini-Mania boards to try your luck for even more skins (see arrows in the picture below):

  • WOW Skins had extremely generous gifts of skin fatpacks every day in their Advent calendar, and I expect nothing less this year! (UPDATE Dec. 1st: Looks like this year it’s just single skins each day, no fatpacks!) You do have to be a member of their group (the group costs L$350).
  • Essenz has an Advent calendar running from Dec. 1st to 24th, where you can pick up a gift of high-quality women’s footwear every day (you must be a group member; the Essenz store group costs L$350 to join). If you missed a day, or you are not a group member, you can pick up previous days’ gifts for only L$50 each.
  • Every year, the Baby Monkey 12 Days of Christmas calendar (Dec. 13th to 24th) offers a free gift each day (women’s clothing and footwear). All the gifts together form a complete, colour-coordinated capsule wardrobe! You do have to show up each day to pick up that day’s gift (no group needed; just pay the vendor L$1, and it is automatically refunded).
An example (from 2 years ago) of the gifts from the 12 Days of Christmas calendar at Baby Monkey; every year, the gifts form a colour-coordinated capsule wardrobe in three colours!
  • JUMO will be giving away lovely gifts of women’s apparel and jewelry from Dec. 15th, 2022 to Jan. 1st, 2023 (no group required, and you can visit on New Year’s Day and pick up all the gifts at one time). This is the place to pick up some beautiful ballgowns and costume jewelry!
  • Last year, SOFIA had some absolutely gorgeous ballgowns and jewelry in their advent calendar. This year, their calendar will run over 20 days, from Dec. 5th to Christmas Day. You must join the SOFIA store group for free to pick up these presents!
  • ALB Dream Fashion will have a calendar again this year, stuffed with gifts for both male and female avatars (the first Advent gift is already available when I checked on Nov. 30th!). If interested, join the group now while it is still free (the name of the group to search for is “LAMU GROUP”). Per the notices, it will be L$500 to join beginning Dec 1st, 2022.

UPDATE Dec. 3rd, 2022: I just noticed that ALB Dream Fashion has provided a sneak preview of some of the presents from their Advent calendar! As you can see, they will have an assortment of wonderful gifts this season, for both male and female avatars.

  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2022: Both Vagrant (womenswear) and its sister store Zerkalo (home decor) have Advent calendars running from Dec. 1st to 24th (both require a free group join).
  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2022: Salt and Pepper will be offering clothing gifts on December 1st, on the weekends, and on Christmas Eve, and gift cards on weekdays, which can be applied to any merchandise in the store. The Salt & Pepper group costs L$300 to join.
  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2022: Glitzz has an Advent tree encircled with 24 teddy bear-adorned giftboxes, where you can pick up each day’s present for free (no group required). Previous days’ gifts can be purchased for L$25 each.
  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2022: Celestina’s was slightly delayed in setting out their Advent calendar gifts, but the first few are now out, in a row along the front counter of the store. If you act quickly, you can pick up the gifts from both Dec. 1st and Dec. 2nd today, a strapless violet ballgown and a salmon shrug. The gifts for the next few days have previews on the boxes, and they look very nice! You must join the Celestina’s group for free to pick up these presents. If you miss a day, you can buy that day’s gift for L$35.
  • UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2022: Seniha (womenswear) has an Advent calendar located outside their store. You need to join their group for free to obtain each day’s gift.
  • UPDATE Dec. 3rd, 2022: The advent calendar at ALTER is giving away lovely gifts of women’s clothing (you must join the ALTER group for free to get these gifts). If you miss a day, you can buy the previous days’ presents for L$55 each.
  • UPDATE Dec. 3rd, 2022: If you’re looking for something a little bit naughtier in your fashion, why not visit the Advent calendar at Erotik? Join their free store group to pick up each day’s gift. Previous days’ gifts can be purchased for L$35 each.

A final note: I regret to say that, unlike previous years, I will not be doing a daily round-up of Advent calendar gifts each day, either here on the blog or in the RyanSchultz.com Steals, Deals, and Freebies Second Life group (although I will still post some fabulous freebies and bargains to the latter, as I come across them). I’m sorry, but it’s just too much for me this year.

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

Happy freebie shopping!

UPDATED! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: What Advent Calendars and 12 Days of Christmas Calendars I’ll Be Hitting This Holiday Season

Looking for the 2021 Edition? What Advent Calendars and 12 Days of Christmas Calendars I’ll Be Hitting This December (2021 Edition)

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

This year, after several successive years of hitting as many Advent and 12 Days of Christmas calendars as I could across the grid, I have decided to scale back to only those calendars which I consider essential, those among my personal favourites.

After the NessMarket blog closed down earlier this year, there are now only two lists of Second Life Advent/Twelve Days of Christmas calendars:

FabFree’s December Advent Listing will be published Dec. 1st

UPDATE Dec. 2nd, 2019: Today I learned about two other Advent calendar listings, which I had not known about before:

Advent Calendars I Will Be Visiting Every Day

  • Firelight Hair has an Advent calendar, and last year made all the previous days’ Advent gifts available for free on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day (you do need to join the Firelight group for free). Gifts are men’s and women’s hairstyles with a mini 3-colour HUD.
  • 7 Deadly s[K]ins has an advent tree in their store, with generous gifts every day from Dec. 1st through to the 31st! You do have to join the group for L$1,000 if you are not already a member.
  • Appliqué Chic always has lovely clothing gifts for women. No group is required. New this year is a separate advent calendar for men!
  • Virtue is another calendar with beautiful clothing gifts for women. The emphasis here is on classic, modest fashion. You do need to join the Virtue group for free.
  • Entice has numbered gifts of womenswear under a Christmas tree instead of a traditional advent calendar. They also have a very handy sign nearby which shows you what each of the gifts look like! You do have to join the group for free to pick up these advent gifts.
  • Essenz has an advent calendar offering gifts of women’s footwear (the group costs L$350 to join)

Twelve Days of Christmas Calendars I Will Be Visiting Every Day

  • The Baby Monkey calendar runs from Dec. 13th-24th and is free each day, and L$10 each if you missed a day. Every year, each gift comes with a 3 colour HUD, and the all the gifts together form a complete, colour-coordinated capsule wardrobe.
  • Altamura has a 12 Days of Christmas calendar starting Dec. 12th, with a gift every day. You can pick up all twelve gifts on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. Last year the gifts included Bento mesh heads for men and women, and skin appliers.
  • JUMO will be giving away gifts from Dec. 12th-Dec. 24th, as well as on New Year’s Eve. And you can pick up all the gifts at once on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day/New Year’s Day!
  • The eBENTO Event has an advent calendar that runs from Dec. 11th to Dec. 25th. This year, the large red calendar numbers are randomly scattered around the event.

UPDATED! Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: Three Lists of Stores with Advent Calendars and Events, Plus My Top Ten Advent Calendars!

Looking for the 2021 Edition? What Advent Calendars and 12 Days of Christmas Calendars I’ll Be Hitting This December (2021 Edition)

Have you joined the RyanSchultz.com Discord yet? More details here


markus-spiske-466188-unsplash
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…”

It’s December 1st, and if you are an avid Second Life freebie fashionista like me, you know what that means: advent calendars! There are dozens of stores who have put up advent calendars. All you have to do is show up each day, click on the correct day on the calendar, et voilà! Free gifts!

This year there are not one, not two, but three different lists of Second Life advent calendars. There’s a fair bit of overlap among the three lists, but each has some unique listings which the other two missed, so do be sure to check them all!

FabFree

The longest-running, biggest, and most organized list is by the Fabulous Free in SL blog:

2018advent.jpg

This list is broken down into four parts:

  • 24 and 25-day advent calendars (no group required, or the group is free to join)
  • 24 and 25-day calendars (with a group fee to join, or a certain cost per gift)
  • 12 Days of Christmas calendars (no group required, or the group is free to join)
  • 12 Days of Christmas calendars (with a group fee to join, or a certain cost per gift)

TeleportHub.com

The TeleportHub.com blog also has a list of advent calendars:

teleporthub-advent-calendar-2018-poster.jpg

There are two separate lists, one for advent calendars, and another for Twelve Days of Christmas calendars.

NessMarket

Finally, we have a detailed list of advent calendars, sales and events compiled by NessMarket:

NessMarket Advent List.png

This list differs from the previous two in that it includes a few advent hunts.

The sheer number of advent calendars to be found across the grid can be overwhelming! I have visited the advent calendars of the various stores for many years now, and here (in no particular order) is my personal Top Ten list (with SLURLs to take you or point you to the calendar) of what I consider to be the consistently best advent calendars, year after year:

  • 7 Deadly s[K]ins has an advent tree in the back of the first floor of their store, with generous gifts every day from Dec. 1st through to the 31st! You do have to join the group for L$1,000 if you are not already a member.
  • Appliqué Chic always has lovely clothing gifts for women. No group is required.
  • Virtue is another calendar with beautiful clothing gifts for women. The emphasis here is on classic, modest, non-slutty fashion. You do need to join the Virtue group for free.
  • The Annex (women’s clothing; a free group join is required).
  • Emerald Couture has two calendars: one requires you to join their group for free, and the other is for anyone.
  • Firelight (20 female hairstyles, 3 unisex hairstyles and 1 male hairstyle; a free group join is required).
  • Sweet E’s (women’s clothing; a free group join is required).
  • Amazing Creations has 3 advent calendars at the back of their store: one for women, one for men, and one for unisex gifts! You do need to join their group for free to pick up all the gifts every day.
  • Entice has numbered gifts under a Christmas tree instead of a traditional advent calendar. They also have a very handy sign nearby which shows you what the gifts look like! You do have to join the group for free to pick up these advent gifts.
  • Finally, ALB has a long-running advent calendar with fun and funky haute couture for male and female avatars!

Have fun!

UPDATE Dec. 8th: It turns out that you do not have to join the ALB group to participate in their advent calendar, and if you should miss a day, you can pick all of the previous days’ gifts, too! I love it when stores do that 🙂