Whether dangling from the tree or dressing up the Christmas table, these festive delights promise a prettier alternative to crackers filled with paper hats and dad jokes.

Every year, a slew of beauty brands unveil their limited-edition baubles, bonbons and Christmas crackers containing their edit of beloved minis to
treat a loved one (or yourself) come December 25.

These merry must-haves promise impact without the designer price tag, offering a wallet-friendly alternative to luxurious beauty advent calendars.

Many make for an elevated option to dress up the Christmas table, a beauty-filled treat to burst at your seat without a paper hat or plastic toy in sight.

Here are our picks for the 15 best baubles, bonbons and Christmas crackers to celebrate with this season, from scented body mists or travel-sized sunscreens through to miniature soy candles and luxurious hand creams. All of which are ideal to give as a stocking filler or for Secret Santa.

This sweet-scented set houses two of MCo Beauty’s top-rated body mists in miniature, purse-friendly sizes. No.6 evokes sun-soaked days spent lounging on the beach with its tropical blend of coconut cream, white florals and vanilla, while No.7 is a blend of sweet guava, fresh coconut and orchid. Wear them individually or layered together for added oomph.

Find Mecca Cosmetica’s best-selling sunscreen inside this painterly limited-edition cracker, which features a custom design by Mecca’s 2025 Holiday artist, Karen Black. The lightweight SPF primes skin perfectly for makeup application, thanks to its blend of skin-loving ingredients, including vitamin E, antioxidant-rich maritime bark extract and hydrating sodium PCA. Smooth on 20 minutes before stepping outdoors to allow the formula to fully absorb into skin.

One of the many highlights of the holiday season is seeing what whimsical design Glasshouse Fragrances dreams up for its Christmas collection, and this year’s Holiday Express campaign doesn’t disappoint. Step into a world where art and fragrance collide, with custom packaging designed by Australian digital NFT artist Aeoniumsky – as seen on this prism-shaped tree decoration, which houses a 30g mini of the brand’s Midnight In Milan scent.

In search of an elevated cracker to style upon your Christmas table? Look no further than Ashley & Co’s timeless take – boxy emerald tubes tied with canary yellow ribbon. Inside, discover the brand’s Soothe Tube Hand Cream, which couples shea butter and vitamin E to nourish parched hands and dry cuticles.

This bell-shaped bauble makes for a chic addition to any Christmas tree, with gold accents and white looped ribbon. Pick a sturdy branch to hang the 70g White Fig & Cedar candle from, which channels a white Christmas with cosy notes of pine tree, juniper, cardamom and sandalwood.

For a trip to the tropics without shelling out for a plane ticket, Pure Fiji brings a little Pacific bliss with its four-piece Christmas cracker containing a lotion, lip balm, body butter and body mist. While a handful of Pure Fiji’s scented infusions have already sold out, White Gingerlily, Noni and Moringa are still available.

A brightly-hued treat to spoil the teen or tween in your life. Inside Urban Jungle’s hot pink and yellow cracker, find two of the brand’s best-selling skincare products, including a 30ml size Melt Met Softly Cleansing Balm and a 15ml Créme de la Créme Face Cream. Ideal for travel, use the balm cleanser to melt away waterproof makeup and SPF before rehydrating skin with a layer of the moisturiser.

Ecoya surprises us every year with its playful packaging and unique gift sets, of which this festive duo has both. Shaped like something you would hang from a hotel doorknob rather than the tree, Ecoya’s distinctive two-piece set features a mini Fresh Pine room spray combined with a fragranced ceramic stone to keep the festive feeling going long after Christmas lunch.

An ideal treat for the lip balm-obsessed person in your life, this holiday-ready trio includes three full-size lip balms, including Vanilla Bean Lip Balm, Fig Lip Shimmer and Red Dahlia Tinted Lip Balm. Each tube is infused with beeswax, coconut oil and shea butter to keep lips soft, supple and perfectly kissable for a rendezvous under the mistletoe.

Channel celebrity hairstylist Sam McKnight’s signature “done, undone” hair look with this texturising and volumising spray. Unlike other texturising sprays, which can leave hair feeling crunchy, this lilac canister lends lightweight hold while being able to brush out easily. It’s sold out online but stock is available from Mecca Cosmetica in Ponsonby or the Mecca stores in Newmarket and Sylvia Park.

Give the gift of a good night’s sleep and less stress this silly season with this sleep-inducing trio, which contains the Deep Sleep Pillow Spray, Sleep Plus Pillow Spray and Stress Check Mood Manager Roll-On. Spritz either of the sprays on to your pillow before slumber, or apply the Stress Check Roll-On to pulse points as required throughout the day or during times of stress.

Whether you’re after a thoughtful gift to spoil a loved one (or yourself), find two of Revlon’s full-sized makeup products inside this sparkling tree decoration, including the All In Tubing Mascara and ColorStay Eyeliner. Create a multitude of makeup looks using Revlon’s long-lasting liner, whether winged or smoked out, and finish with a lick of mascara to achieve a wide-eyed effect.

A hand and lip duo is a timeless treat and this pairing by Malin + Goetz delivers all the hydration needed to see you through the current heatwave. Discover a 30ml of the Vitamin B5 Hand Treatment, enriched with fatty acids to hydrate hands, cuticles and nails, alongside a 10ml of the Mojito Lip Moisturiser, which drenches lips in long-lasting moisture.

This luxurious cologne and hand cream-filled decoration is sure to delight even the fussiest recipient. Discover a 9ml Lime Basil & Mandarin cologne, which can be worn on its own or layered with the 15ml Wood Sage & Sea Salt Hand Cream for extra impact. As with all of Jo Malone London’s minimalistic holiday packaging, this chic bauble won’t look garish when dangling from the Christmas tree.

It may be the most expensive bauble on this list, but what’s inside justifies the price tag. Discover a full-size Omorovicza Perfecting Lip Balm to smooth, plump and soften lips, alongside 30ml of its Queen Of Hungary Mist, which is powered by the brand’s Healing Concentrate to restore hydration and suppleness to skin when applied throughout the day.

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