Picture or chocolate advent calendars?

[hillbilly]

DCs have always had picture advent calendars but have started asking for chocolate ones. Am I mean to stick with picture ones? Ideally I would get the wooden ones with drawers and have a little gift in each but tbh I hate clutter and the thought of them each having 24 bits of nothing prior to Christmas days makes me feel ill. My sister does a quiz with a question every day and then at the end there is an anagram made up from the first letter of each answer. Maybe we could have choc calendars and the quiz?

Any other good ideas?

[ilovepowerhoop]

we have chocolate ones. We get cadbury ones where the chocolates get bigger as you get closer to christmas

[bobs123]

Once you get into the chocolate ones you're stuck with them every year!!!

Where do you get the picture only ones? so far I've only heard of them being sold in W H Smith. They're to cheap!

[bobs123]

*not

[NotCitrus]

I got chocolate ones once the kids asked for them - they're actually much cheaper and the weight of chocolate adds up to about half a Dairy Milk in total.

I'm reusing a wonderful golden Westminster Abbey one with pictures, and have a spare choc one because Sainsburys were doing 1 or 2 for £2, which will get shared by me and visiting children.

[Ragwort]

I was a bit prissy about chocolate calandars for years and had a lovely felt re-useable one with decorations in .............. now I compromise and buy the Fair Trade chocolate one.

I reuse a favourite picture one for myself every year, just fold back the pictures .

[squiggleirl]

So many advent things in this house! We have a wooden scene thing with 24 boxes around it. Each day you take out one item to ad to the scene, so that by Christmas you have the nativity in front of you.

We also get a picture advent calendar, because I always had one when I was small.

Then last year my Mum got them Lego calendars, so they want those this year too.

When MIL saw my Mum had got them advent calendars, she got them chocolate ones last year as well.

It was crazy, all this door-opening throughout December.

[CalamitouslyWrong]

We have lego advent calendars. Last year DS2 has a playmobil's calendar, which was good, but this year he wanted lego Star Wars.

Why do you think choclate calendars are so awful?

[hillbilly]

Thanks all. I'm not against chocolate calendars per se I just have a daughter who has a very sweet tooth and I'm constantly trying to limit sweet stuff and snacking in favour of proper food. Maybe I should just lighten up

[CalamitouslyWrong]

I'm not sure the amount if chocolate in the advent calendar each day is worth getting worried over. I doubt your DD will make any connection between than and your attempts to get her to have healthier snacks.

Although, you could maybe start a business selling rice cake calendars for next year.

[erin99]

We have a reusable one where the main thing is a mini decoration to hang on the 'tree', and I add the occasional choc coins and stickers.

This year my nearly-8-year-old asked very nicely if they could have choc calendars as well, and they'll be getting them.

The very worst year was when they were 1 and 3 and my mum bought them a choc calendar to share. Ugh, the tantrums! In the end I hid it and only brought it out on alternate days.

[TeenAndTween]

We have chocolates one, but also a resuable 'proper' one.

The 'proper' one came from Phoenix Cards a few years ago. It stands up like a card, and has small slits in it. Every day you put in a new character - starting with animals and shepherd boys, leading up to the kings and the holy family. The girls take it in turns to put in the pieces.

[Orangedaisy]

I was never allowed choc ones as a child as opening the window was a reward for brushing teeth in the evening. One year I persuaded my mum to get me one with little drawers-I was so excited! Until dec 1st when I opened drawer 1 to find a slip of paper guiding me to an educational reading/bible passage/poem.... 24 bite size chunks of education instead of chocolate. Never did quite get over the disappointment.

[CiderwithBuda]

I have a picture one.
DS hasa chocolate one. He is 13 and not bothered but it felt wrong not to get him one!

And I'm doing a whiskey one for DH! It's his birthday tomorrow so it's his birthday present.

[SmileAndNod]

I like picture ones and have so far resisted the chocolate calendars for the children. But this year, ds and dd have a Lego calendar each, and dd2 a picture one (she's only 16 mo).

I'm also doing a pocket advent calendar which I'm going to fill with little chocolates as well as activities such as making paper chains, going to see Santa, making a gingerbread house. All things we would do anyway, but spread out over December.

I think I have the same Phoenix trading calendar which I bought on DS first Christmas. I might let him use it one day

[Mama1980]

Playmobil here and a beauty one for my 17 year old dd

[bobs123]

So at the risk of repeating myself...where do you get a (non chic) picture one??? I'm poking for something classic - for me - and have only seen them in WH Smith so far

[ShatnersBassoon]

Both here. Plus a reusable one that I never bother remember to get out of the loft.

[ShatnersBassoon]

I got my nice glittery picture one from a little gift/card shop, but I've seen them in a few shops like Clintons.

[CiderwithBuda]

Bobs - I got mine in a little gift and card shop.

I think it was £5.99

[JohnCusacksWife]

Picture ones only in this house. We open ours first thing in the morning and I don't want them eating chocolate at that time each day and I haven't got the energy to referee the inevitable niggles about who's turn it is to get the chocolate! Although to be fair my DDs have e never asked fr a chocolate one....they seem to love the surprise element of not knowing what picture they get.

We get our non-chocolate ones in a calendar shop which pops up in our local shopping centre each year around this time. Or from amazon, eBay etc. they're not hard to find.

[bobs123]

There seems to be a good selection on Amazon

[erin99]

I didn't reply re: where to buy because it's too local to help you, but our local newsagent has loads to choose from. It's one of those traditional/old fashioned ones that sells pick and mix, pocket money toys, cake decorations, sellotape... Everything you'll ever need basically!

A cheap stationery/bookshop up the road also has them.

[erin99]

And the post office, now I think of it. Not the main one in town but the little local one that looks more like a small business.

[addictedtosugar]

amazon or traditional calendars

No chocolate here. We have got a lego one to share for the first time, having had pictures every other year. Its a sad state of affairs when chocolate is cheaper than pictures.

[GratefulHead]

I love the picture ones but DS is having none of it

I ink the choc ones and a quiz sounds like a reLly great idea and I might actually pinch it.