Chocolate advent calendars - am I being scrooge?

[Hadeda]

DDs love those chocolate advent calendars. I'm not so keen...

1. Not keen on them having a chocolate a day for 24 days, and overloaded with sweet stuff at that time of year anyway.
   

1. Advent calendars are meant to be a count down to the "big day" - i.e. day Jesus was born. So the message is not really "chocolate sweets chocolate" (we are a religious family, this fits in with family views anyway so doesn't surprise the DC).
   

I prefer to get advent calendars with a picture behind each door, and you can find really lovely ones.

BUT.... am I being scrooge? Should I just get the chocolate one since they really do love that, and see if I can find one with a vaguely relevant picture (i.e. not Frozen!). Or stick to my guns and hope they grow up with lovely memories of pretty calendars rather than vowing their own children will get the chocolate calendar cos their mum was mean and never bought it...!!

[Wolfiefan]

I don't think one small chocolate a day will do any lasting damage. It's still a countdown. Surely you do lots of specific religious things to mark this special time!
If you want to mark the countdown then maybe let them have their chocolate calendar and also buy an advent candle to light. Or get a calendar you add treats to. You can then choose to put in chocolate or a line from the bible!

[Nicknamegrief]

I have four children ages 2-11 and we have never had a chocolate advent calendar. We have a reusable one that builds up to a nativity scene and they all get excited about that. I never thought I would get away with it, but we have.
Occasionally one has mentioned that they have a friend with a chocolate one and I just reply, 'How lovely.' I am sure they may have even asked for one but I am positive that my answer and their response was manageable as it has been forgotten.
We also lived in Germany which appeared to be the land of the toy advent calendar...

[megletthesecond]

Never have them here. Always have traditional paper advent calendars.

The dc's always have choc cereal on work & school days anyway (gets them moving quicker) and I'm not giving them more crap on top of that.

[scarlets]

I agree with you 100 percent OP .......but I capitulated in 2013.

[BornToFolk]

I do think you're being a little OTT with regards to the chocolate. It's a tiny amount, even if it is every day.

Have you seen the Real Advent Calendars? They are chocolate but with a Christian philosophy.

[BondJayneBond]

I'm going to get the DC traditional paper advent calendars this year.

I figure there'll be enough sweet treats around at Christmas without adding in an extra chocolate a day in advent.

[zipzap]

You could try to satisfy both sides - somebody (Green and Black? It's one of the more organic/naice choc brands you can get in a supermarket anyhow) used to do a chocolate advent calendar with a nice traditional religious picture on, albeit it quite stylised - think more tasteful christmas card of the 3 kings on their camel or a stable scene rather than a full blown oil painting. Still nice to look at though - and has the benefit of being a proper christmas scene. Some years they have 2 designs - one for milk chocolate and one for dark chocolate versions which is how I know about them

You've just reminded me I haven't been out looking for them yet this year!

It's not as cheap as the Cadbury's / Frozen ones that are just a pound or two, but it used to be less than a fiver and much nicer.

But go and hunt on the supermarket shelves - they might be up higher but you can usually find something that will make both of you happy!

[RB68]

The amount of chocolate in them is probably around about a normal sized bar of chocolate - or two or three choccie buttons each day over 24 days, really - its too much?? You don't have to open them int he morning - cld do after tea or after school snack time

It was always one of the joys for us but we did sometimes get picture ones too and liked them just not quite as much as chocolate ones. I like the build an advent idea one - if you had your own pockets for advent you could do part of the nativity some days and choccies for them others to reduce it if you need to.

[FlopIsMyParentingGuru]

Last year we had a nativity themed picture one with chocolates in.
It came from m&s and felt like a good compromise

[Epilepsyhelp]

I think in an age where children's lives are saturated with images and colour it's unsurprising that they are not excited to open the door to a picture. Could you either stitch or buy one of the little pocket ones and then put small items in - you could even theme them so that they lead to a discussion of an aspect of the nativity (miniature wise man gifts or stables animals etc)

[HermanHedgehog]

If it helps, a friend of my mum's gets DS and I each a religious calendar from her church each year, it contains chocolate and tells the story of the nativity in the pictures behind the doors. We are not religious ourselves but I think its a nice way to teach DS where Christmas came from.

I don't think a tiny chocolate once a day will do any lasting damage and this might be a good way to do both chocolate and keep things traditional?

[Woolleymammoth]

Totally up to you if you feel that strongly about it then don't have them.

I would explain exactly why not to the dc if they ask/pester, depending on their age.

But yes I would lay money they will be buying chocolate calendars for their dc!!

[elQuintoConyo]

DS is 4yo next month. I'll making another big picture of FC on cardboard with a huge white beard covered in circles numbered fir December. Every morning, DS takes a cotton wool ball and pritt sticks it to the corresponding day and we countdown that way.

We also have a Knitivity he loves playing with and rearranging. And a Catalan Caga Tio that poos sweets on Christmas Eve.

We like to mix it up

[peggyundercrackers]

hope they grow up with lovely memories of pretty calendars you really think they will do this? erm... it wont happen like that. they wont remember what calendars they got each year.

the amount of chocolate in the calendars is absolutely tiny, probably 2 or 3 buttons if that, behind each door - its definitely not going to overload them with chocolate - your being a wee bit dramatic there.

[Jw35]

I don't do them. I use a calendar with boxes in and hide something small in the right number box each night! It's great fun. Sometime it's a small chocolate but not all the days

[vvviola]

I hate them. But part of that is because DD2 is allergic to dairy and it seems impossible to get a dairy free one when I realise it's two days to Advent and I haven't bought them

My DC also seem to get over excited by the chocolate/sweets idea and lose the fact that it's a countdown (even ignoring the religious aspect).

We have a lovely wooden one which I use for DD2 sometimes (I put jellies in it) but maybe I might put something else in there this year. (I was also tempted by the lego ones...)

[MistressMerryWeather]

Yup.

Scoorgey McScroogder.

She loves them, it's a tiny piece of chocolate and it's only once a year.

[Thebookswereherfriends]

I dont even remember choclate calendars being a thing when I was little (i'm mid 30s) and we always had a cardboard one, it was quite often recycled for 2 or 3 years because my Dad was a little on the tight-fisted side, but I always enjoyed opening the little door and seeing the picture. It was the countdown that I enjoyed. It's harder if everyone else has a chocloate one, but IME children can be pretty accepting if you explain this is the way you do it in your family.

[InMySpareTime]

We don't have chocolate advent calendars, we have ones with pockets. Each day they get something small -from the charity shop- and an advent task such as "wear a piece of tinsel", "donate to the food bank" or "make a Christmas decoration" or "wish someone a merry Christmas".
The DCs like the tasks, and it helps them build up to Christmas by getting them to help others.

[zipzap]

Can I also add that I spotted some paper advent calendars walking through John Lewis the other day - and they were all SOOOO expensive - like £10+.

Some were religious, others weren't. None had chocolate or anything else in - it was just the old fashioned sort with pictures. Which seemed hugely exploitative and very OTT given how much the other advent calendars with things in cost!

[Tomboyinatutu]

We are getting the ones with pockets this year and putting little gifts in each one instead of chocolate. I think it's a good build up to christmas. I used to love having a chocolate calandar each year but i rarely ate the chocolate

[Hufflepuffin]

My dm used to get us pretty advent calendars and we were allowed a small piece of chocolate when we opened it each day.

[VulcanWoman]

Zipzap I was looking for a Green and Black's advent calendar but they don't seem to do them unfortunately, not seen any organic type ones. Might have a look in the health food shop maybe.

[pigsinmud]

Chocolate here. As others have said the amount of chocolate is tiny. They will just remember that their mum refused to buy them a chocolate advent calendar, not the pretty pictures in the paper ones.

[seasidesally]

get the chocolate one's

my nearly adult sons still look forward to theirs