Most dog advent calendars are made of cardboard and chicken, and by Boxing Day the only thing left of them is the box. We like the ritual. We have never been convinced by the contents. So here is a dog advent calendar for grown-ups: no twenty-four doors, but four Sundays and one evening, each with a single gift your dog will still be using next winter.
To be clear from the start, Perro Collection does not make an advent calendar. It is a house for dogs, founded in Amsterdam in 2017, whose leather pieces are designed in house and handcrafted in Italy. The five gifts below all come from its Gift Edit, and all five were available as we wrote this.
Why Count Down in Sundays?
Because Advent was counted in Sundays long before it was counted in chocolate. The season opens on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and this year that is 29 November, followed by 6, 13 and 20 December. Four weeks, four candles on the wreath, four mornings on which a household slows down long enough to notice the dog asleep under the table.
A daily calendar asks for something small every morning. A Sunday calendar asks for something better once a week, and it leaves room for ceremony: the box on the breakfast table, the ribbon your dog will try to carry off, the walk afterwards in whatever the gift happens to be. The animal charity Blue Cross makes a similar point with its own dog-friendly advent calendar, a row of fabric pouches you fill yourself and can reuse year after year. We agree with the principle. We have simply replaced the pouches with leather.
Everything here is part of our luxury dog gifts in The Gift Edit, and the palette is deliberate: felt grey for the first Sunday, then Marrone, Nero and Cacao, the browns and blacks of a December afternoon, ending in a blanket the colour of the bark on the tree.
One Gift for Every Advent Sunday
Dog Toy Star
For the dog, the first light of the season
Advent begins with a single candle, and this calendar begins with a star. The Dog Toy Star is made in Italy from soft felt in light grey, with the embroidered Perro Collection logo and a sturdy rope handle.
It is the smallest gift on the list and the one most likely to be carried from room to room for the rest of the afternoon. Gentle tug, fetch or a quiet cuddle: the soft texture stays kind on teeth and gums. Its sibling, the felt Christmas tree, has its own page among our dog toys for Christmas.
Marrone Leather Bowtie
For the dinners that start in December
This year the second Sunday falls on St Nicholas' Day, and the first invitations are on the mantelpiece. The Marrone Leather Bowtie is natural grain Italian leather in a rich brown, glove-like to the touch and handcrafted in our atelier in Tuscany.
It ties around a Perro collar with a leather knot, fits collars up to size 45 and also attaches to a Perro harness or leash. It arrives in a Perro Collection gift box, which on a Sunday morning counts for a great deal. If your dog does not yet own the collar to go with it, the matching Marrone Collar is in the same leather.
Poopbag Holder Nero
For the darkest walks of the year
By the third week the walks are dark at both ends, and nobody enjoys searching for a roll of bags with gloves on. The Poopbag Holder Nero is natural grain Italian leather in deep black, handcrafted in our atelier in Tuscany and designed not to look like a poop bag holder at all.
It holds a few waste bags, measures 11 x 6 cm and attaches to your Perro leash. The detail you notice is the gold-plated logo plate. It is the least festive object in this calendar and very possibly the one you will be most grateful for in February.
Leather Scarf Cacao
For the last week before the family arrives
The fourth Sunday is the one for looking the part. The Leather Scarf Cacao is handcrafted in Italy from fine bovine grained leather, skived so that it drapes softly, more like a shawl than a strap, and finished with the gold-plated Perro logo.
It comes in sizes S and M, arrives in a Perro Collection gift box and pairs with a matching collar or leash. Cacao sits easily beside the Marrone bowtie of the second Sunday, which is rather the point: by now the calendar has begun to look like a wardrobe.
Fur Blanket Marrone
For the dog, the night before
Every calendar keeps its largest door for last. Ours is a blanket. The Fur Blanket Marrone is handcrafted in our Italian atelier from ultra-soft faux fur in a warm marrone brown, 80 x 75 cm, for the dog bed, the sofa, the car or wherever your dog decides to rest.
Each piece is unique and delivered in our signature gift box with ribbon, so it goes under the tree exactly as it arrived. Lay it out on Christmas Eve and you will know within minutes whose blanket it is. For a small dog who travels to the family table, the Perro City Bag Cacao, in fine grained bovine leather and made for dogs up to 6 kg, is the alternative for the same evening.
A calendar of treats counts down to Christmas. A calendar of gifts carries on after it.
How to Set Up the Calendar
Order all five at once and keep them out of sight. Four of them come in a box, the blanket in one with a ribbon, so most of the wrapping is done for you. Write a date on each lid, put the boxes somewhere the dog cannot reach, and open one every Sunday morning before the walk. The felt star is the only one you may want to wrap yourself.
Then allow for the season. During the December peak, delivery takes up to 3 business days in the Netherlands, 7 to 10 days elsewhere in Europe and up to 14 days to the United States, depending on the carrier. If 29 November is your deadline, order with that in mind. If it is not, nothing is lost: a calendar that starts on the second Sunday is still a calendar.
And if you would rather give one larger gift than five smaller ones, our list of Christmas gifts for dogs covers five more, from a fur collar with your dog's initial in gold foil to a leather blanket in a ribbon-tied box.
The Advent Calendar at a Glance
Frequently Asked
Does Perro Collection sell a dog advent calendar?
No. Perro Collection does not make an advent calendar with 24 doors. Its alternative is one gift for each Sunday of Advent and one for Christmas Eve, chosen from The Gift Edit: the Dog Toy Star, the Marrone Leather Bowtie, the Poopbag Holder Nero, the Leather Scarf Cacao and the Fur Blanket Marrone, all made in Italy.
What is a good alternative to a dog treat advent calendar?
A calendar of gifts that last. Give one piece on each Advent Sunday, for example a felt toy, a leather bowtie, a leather poop bag holder and a leather scarf, and something larger, such as a faux fur blanket, on Christmas Eve. Each one stays in use long after December.
When are the Sundays of Advent in 2026?
In 2026 the four Sundays of Advent fall on 29 November, 6 December, 13 December and 20 December. Christmas Eve is Thursday 24 December.
Are the gifts delivered in a gift box?
The Perro Collection Marrone Leather Bowtie, Poopbag Holder Nero and Leather Scarf Cacao are delivered in a Perro Collection gift box. The Fur Blanket Marrone arrives in the signature gift box with ribbon. The felt Dog Toy Star is the one piece you may want to wrap yourself.
How long does delivery take before Christmas?
Perro Collection pieces are made in Italy and shipped from the Netherlands. During the December peak, allow up to 3 business days for delivery in the Netherlands, 7 to 10 days elsewhere in Europe and up to 14 days to the United States, depending on the carrier.
Will the bowtie and the scarf fit my dog?
The Perro Collection Marrone Leather Bowtie ties around a Perro collar with a leather knot and fits collars up to size 45; it also attaches to a Perro harness or leash. The Leather Scarf Cacao comes in sizes S and M.
Every piece in this calendar comes from The Gift Edit, our selection of gifts for dogs and the people who love them. For one larger gift instead of five, read the five Christmas gifts for dogs in the Perro Journal. Made in Italy, shipped from the Netherlands.
Fewer Doors, Better Gifts
Advent was never really about the chocolate. It was about waiting, and about the small household habits that make the waiting a pleasure. A dog understands that better than most of us: the same walk, the same corner, the same hopeful look at the same hour every evening.
Give that instinct four Sundays and one evening, and something to show for each of them.
Four Sundays, one Christmas Eve, five gifts that stay.
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