Cult Pens 2022 World Advent Calendar

We've got Advent Calendars coming out of our ears this year. You liked last year's so much we've got TWO for 2022! Mainly because we couldn't decide on the contents (indecision is a terrible thing; well, it's good for you, if not us). Anyway, as the other one is Japanese, this one takes in the rest of the world. And what's in it? Well... (look away now, block your ears, sing 'la la la la' if you don't want to know)...

The notebook from Belgium. Not only can you easily remove pages, thanks to the disc binding system, you can put them back in again! In a different place, if that's what you want. Or a different notebook! As long as it's an Atoma, of course.

The hoover of pens; if you say 'I've a BiC you can borrow' everybody knows what you're talking about, just like deciding to do the hoovering even if you're using a Dyson (other vacuum cleaners are available). What might not be so familiar is that they're French.

Swiss through and through and rightly proud of the fact, Caran d'Ache is most commonly associated with coloured pencils. But their pens are great, too. The 888 is a hexagonal-barrelled retractable ballpoint, which has a matching...

Both vivid scarlet, because it's Christmas.

Also scarlet - or rouge, if you will - is this belle trousse à crayons. It's made of peau de mouton, with a soft suède interior. Yes, Clairefontaine are French.

Lightfast for a century under museum conditions is this oil-based coloured pencil, available in a century of colours. This one's as green as the green and pleasant land it's made in - England.

'Cute' is not a word that normally springs to mind when you think of edding. Practical, reliable, tough, maybe - they're German after all - and these three mini highlighters are all those things. But they're also cute.

Another German gem is this super-fine permanent marker in black. It's spot-on for marking stuff as yours as it'll write on glass, metal, plastic and even those old-fashioned CD thingies you sometimes see in retro-inspired homes.

A stellar addition to any self-respecting stationery addict's stash are these paper clips. They're star-shaped! They're gold! (Coloured, that is, not actual.) They're Italian!

Nice, thick, chunky pencils from the Czech Republic with multi-coloured lead (which, as we all know, isn't lead at all - that wouldn't be pleasant in something you might occasionally chew). So you can scribble in scarlet, write in red or go overboard with orange - all with the same pencil!

This little pencil sharpener is German, but you'll have the whole world in your hands when you use it.

What you need when taking notes is a noto, a LAMY noto to be precise. It's lightweight, has a comfortable triangular grip and - as Germany often can't help itself when it comes to subtle innovation - a cleverly-designed inset pocket clip.

Right, we have a trio of Legamis coming up. The first is a pen with a panda on the cap. Not a real panda, obviously, just one designed to make you smile when you pick up the pen to write. Oh, and the ink is erasable!

Carrying around a full-sized stapler, scissors, highlighter pen, a roll of sticky tape, plus page markers and staples would be tricky. You'd need a bigger bag. So this collection of small stationery is ideal. Don't buy a bigger bag.

Ever wondered what unicorns smell like? Well this scented eraser should answer your question. And even if it doesn't, it's Italian, so what does it matter?

Calligraphy without the faff. One end has a chisel tip, for getting to grips with fancy lettering, and the other end is a fineliner, for adding all those flourishes. One's black, one's turquoise. Both are British.

No, not French (mon ami! Ma cher!) but South Korean. A dual-tipped brush pen blendable with water. Or touch the tips together to create new colours. That's why we've included three - black, blue and mint green.

Not all colours are created equal, which is why US-based Pantone invented a colour matching system. Red could be scarlet, or crimson, or geranium, or any manner of shades. This eraser is 2035.

Wasn't quite enough room in the Japanese advent calendar for this, possibly the cutest Pilot G2, so we included it in the World version. Which is fine. Japan is in the world, after all.

Tiny weeny German-engineered stickers shaped like Christmas trees (triangles) and presents (squares) in different colours. Who says Christmas trees need to be green?

These are made from 88% biobased plastic - woohoo! They're sort of rubberised so they're super-comfy to write with - yay! You get three colours: Sapphire Black, Mystic Blue and Black Forest Green (though there are more) - hurray! And they're German. Naturally.

Swing cool, sweet chariot... (sorry). This is a Cloudy Blue highlighter from the land of wurst, bier and Lufthansa, not a song. If you leave the cap off it'll still be OK up to 4 hours later. But try not to do that.

Reliably German and a favourite the world over, this fineliner - a black one in this case, but there are other colours - is ideal for writing, sketching, colouring and annotating. If you leave the cap off this one it'll still be OK for as many as 4 days later. But try not to do that. There are limits.

A tiny little titanium toolpen! There's a ballpoint (refillable with a micro refill), two screwdrivers (one slotted, one Phillips), a capacitive stylus and a ruler (not a very long one). Born in England of gearknobs and cufflinks, and raised in Germany. Work that one out.