Craftsman’s First Advent Calendar Packs $200 Worth of Stuff for Just $65

Expect full-size tools, a battery voucher, and fun extras, plus a storage case for all the loot.

Craftsman is getting in on the Advent-calendar game this holiday season. The iconic red-and-black tool brand’s first limited edition box set is slated to release on October 1 and is currently available for preorder. All in all, it amounts to $200 worth of stuff—including a battery voucher—reasonably priced at just $65.

An Advent Calendar for Tool Fans
Craftsman 12 Days of Craftsman Advent Calendar

An Advent Calendar for Tool Fans
Craftsman 12 Days of Craftsman Advent Calendar
$65Amazon

I got my hands on an early mailing and can attest that the more than a dozen tools found inside the perforated windows are the real deal and feel solid in hand, protected by Craftsman’s lifetime warranty. That includes an 8-inch ratchet, a magnetic bit driver with 11 bits, two sets of sockets, and two stubby screwdrivers.

Rachel Klein
My favorite non-tool item in this advent calendar is the bottle opener with the retro acetate handle.

There’s also a magnetic pickup tool that was strong enough to lift a multitool and a folded pocket knife off my desk. Most of the loot fits inside the hard case hiding behind Door Number One. Like a kid putting a puzzle together, I had fun fitting each item inside and snapping the case shut.

As you can probably guess, this Advent calendar isn’t all serious business. There’s no chocolate or booze inside, but there is a deck of playing cards, a cute key-chain tape measure, and—my favorite—a bottle opener with a retro acetate handle.

The advent calendar includes a voucher for a free battery, valued at about $50.

Just keep in mind that this Advent calendar isn’t meant to replace a compact tool kit—something we think makes a great stocking stuffer for the person in your life who loves to tinker.

Rachel Klein
Deputy Editor

Rachel is the Deputy Editor of Reviews for Hearst's Enthusiast and Wellness Group where she supports Popular Mechanics, Runner's World, and Best Products. Her background is in service journalism and earlier in her career she worked as a daily newspaper reporter and book editor. She spent more than a decade as a staff editor and writer at TripAdvisor and Penguin Random House and her byline has appeared in Time Out New York, the New York Daily News, and New York Magazine. Outside of work, Rachel can be found planning her next trip, visiting museums and galleries, and walking her wirehaired dachshund in Central Park.