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Picture Advent Calendars in the 1980s

87 replies

FurForksSake · 23/12/2025 22:19

DH and I have just had a festive discussion : disagreement.

AIBU to ask you - if you had a picture advent calendar as a child, we are mid 40s so perhaps in that era or before or after, did you get a new picture advent calendar every year, or reused the one you were given for years (decades..)

if you remember - what was the scene in your advent calendar / favourite calendar?

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Notoironing · 29/12/2025 00:36

We still have these and love them. No one ever asks for chocolate.

Longtimelurkerfinallyposts · 29/12/2025 00:34

ours was a glittery one with pictures behind every window, reused every year (through the 80s) - we never ever had chocolate advent calendars.

page17 · 28/12/2025 15:29

Reused. Then a shared chocolate one between four of us. One chocolate every four days.

FraterculaArctica · 28/12/2025 15:29

Born 1978 and generally had a new one every year I think, though we sometimes reused them. My absolute favourite was one where you removed each square door and carefully turned it over and there was a numbered sheet above the calendar to stick each square to gradually build up a nativity picture. I had this one at least 2 years running in the mid 80s.

My two younger DBs pleaded strongly for chocolate ones when they became mainstream (? Late 80s?) and I was pretty horrified that DM allowed this. I was a very moralistic child, despite not being religious, and felt strongly that these detracted from the meaning of Christmas and lowered the tone, as well as encouraging excessive chocolate consumption.

Toddlerteaplease · 28/12/2025 15:24

triggers34 · 23/12/2025 22:22

We had a New one every year and my fave was the 24th as it was a double door.

This!

PhantomOfAllKnowledge · 28/12/2025 15:20

AllPlayedOut · 28/12/2025 13:57

Why on earth does it ruin advent calendars? No one is forcing you to buy a chocolate one. They aren’t that new either. I’m 41 and most of my advent calendars contained chocolate.

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I'm in my 50s and they weren't around in my childhood. It's ruined them because picture ones are almost impossible to find nowadays. Chocolate ones have taken over.

Original poster
FurForksSake · 28/12/2025 13:58

Gosh Webb Ivory! They went on to be studio j think. I completely forgot about that. Much excitement, we also had a Christian book fair where I’d buy lots of stickers and Christmas bits. Very nostalgic!

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AllPlayedOut · 28/12/2025 13:57

PhantomOfAllKnowledge · 28/12/2025 11:00

I got a new one every year. The one I remember most had glitter on it over a picture of the Nativity with stars in the dark blue sky above. The pictures were always different 'festive' things.

I used to genuinely look forward to opening it every morning, it seemed to make the days go quicker as you'd be surprisingly far through advent before you knew it.

I don't really understand why chocolate ones have taken over - they're so ugly - I can understand children wanting chocolate but why not buy a box of chocolates and have one every morning? Why ruin advent calendars?

Why on earth does it ruin advent calendars? No one is forcing you to buy a chocolate one. They aren’t that new either. I’m 41 and most of my advent calendars contained chocolate.

RainbowConnection1 · 28/12/2025 13:52

I got a new one every year. Mum ordered it from the Webb Ivory catalogue I’d bring home from school.

muddyford · 28/12/2025 13:13

FurForksSake · 28/12/2025 13:10

@muddyford I’m sorry for your loss, I hope your first Christmas wasn’t too difficult. I’m considering buying myself a beautiful picture calendar that I can open every year. Merry Christmas.

Thank you so much. MN can be such a kind place. The weeks before were actually worse . But Advent calendars will always remind me of Mum.

Original poster
FurForksSake · 28/12/2025 13:10

@muddyford I’m sorry for your loss, I hope your first Christmas wasn’t too difficult. I’m considering buying myself a beautiful picture calendar that I can open every year. Merry Christmas.

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clamshell24 · 28/12/2025 13:10

Same one every year !

muddyford · 28/12/2025 12:44

I've always had a picture one. I had to buy my own this year as my mother died earlier in the year and always bought one for me (I'm 63).

UninitendedShark · 28/12/2025 12:16

We had a new one every year. And we were dirt poor. I used to like guessing mittens.

xAwaywiththefairiesx · 28/12/2025 12:13

39 here, not mid-forties and we had a picture advent calendar.

We had the same one year in, year out. My mum would put it under the carpet to flatten it back out. AND we shared it between 6 of us, taking it in turns to open the doors.

But I am not really the person to judge by, as my mum was/is famously stingy. She used to open packets of cereal, take the toys out that used to come in the cereal before we could get to them, save them all year, wrap them up and give them to us as Christmas presents.

DH on the other hand, is 41, didn't know that picture calendars were a thing and he and his four siblings always had a chocolate one each.

spiderlight · 28/12/2025 12:13

I had one, which was reused every year as far as I recall. The familiarity of it was a big part of the Christmas feeling, although I don't remember any of the specific pictures.

Ponoka7 · 28/12/2025 12:06

I had advent calendars in the 70's, I used to pull the doors off and make pictures out of them. They'd have stars, angels, robins etc on the back. My favourite inner picture was the jolly snowman with glitter. My calendars were picture only. I was lucky that my Dad was in the Merchant Navy and I'd have stuff from all over the world. Had my DD in 1989 and was a Step Mum. Woolworths had started to do an array of chocolate calendars. Cartoon and Disney themed. I used to do a Christmas Eve bag for my DD, which had the newly released Disney DVD in and the matching PJs from M&S.

PhantomOfAllKnowledge · 28/12/2025 11:00

I got a new one every year. The one I remember most had glitter on it over a picture of the Nativity with stars in the dark blue sky above. The pictures were always different 'festive' things.

I used to genuinely look forward to opening it every morning, it seemed to make the days go quicker as you'd be surprisingly far through advent before you knew it.

I don't really understand why chocolate ones have taken over - they're so ugly - I can understand children wanting chocolate but why not buy a box of chocolates and have one every morning? Why ruin advent calendars?

Girliefriendlikespuppies · 28/12/2025 10:43

I used to keep the little doors so they were definitely removed when I was a little girl 🙈😂

Thatcannotberight · 24/12/2025 09:18

DS now 14, has had picture only Advent calendars every year. I do throw his away and buy new every year.

Original poster
FurForksSake · 24/12/2025 09:11

It’s such an interesting split between reuse and new! I reused the same one for years and if it was still in my possession I would still.

DH chucked his every year, I was shocked!

And yes we were watched Josh Widdecomb that sparked the conversation!

I love the Bethlehem skies picture with the lit windows, that sounds gorgeous.

im very tempted to buy a pictures only one.

my children share a chocolate adventure calendar and have a handmade (by me) advert chimney with a matchbox a day with something in.

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Didimum · 24/12/2025 00:02

Yes! You’ve unlocked a memory! The pictures in ours were glow in the dark and it had a very glittery front. We had the same one every year and me and my sister shared it. We did have chocolate ones too when we were a bit older, but also still used the picture one.

Jijithecat · 23/12/2025 23:53

Reused and shared with my DB. We still managed to get excited about opening it years later.

PollyBell · 23/12/2025 23:52

New one

sparepantsandtoothbrush · 23/12/2025 23:50

Reused here but I have quite a few siblings so we rotated them. I remember the year I finally got the glittery one!