To be nostalgic about picture advent calenders?

[malificent7]

The ones from my childhood. They were lovely and simple and non grabby.
We loved looking at the pictures.

Culture vulture have a wonderful alpine treehouse this year with cardboard animals to hang on each day.

My kids (19 and 17) always have their paper ones

and then we have German pockets ones that I set up each year
like this kathe-kruse.eurosourcellc.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/boot-mittens-advent-calendar.jpg
that I put a chocolate coin in each day for them.

I've never bought a sweetie one and never will

Ordered from these people yesterday, and they arrived this morning :Orchard Cards

Great service.

Has phoneix trading closed? They had some lovely (but expensive) stuff.

Saw traditional advent ones in whsmiths the other day and got all nostalgic.

They are lovely. I do remember feeling gutted though when I received one of these as a kid, all my friends had the little chocolate ones and I felt very hard done by!

Aw I feel the same OP. Opening the double window at the end to see Jesus in his manger. I really miss those ones!

We have refillable ones (little stockings/drawers/pockets - not a new one every year!) which I put little chocolate things in or on occasion a tiny gift (Playmobil figure or similar - plus the day we decorate the tree they get a new little tree decoration each). Some years we have one with pictures too.

The ones with a 'proper' gift for every day, particularly the adult ones, bemuse me. It is a bit 'Christmas gone mad'.

I was just saying this to the DD’s yesterday-about how excited my brother and I would be to see what picture it was that we would fight over who got to open the door every morning.
However the girls have a chocolate one and we also have a refillable one that I put nice thoughts for the day or little acts of kindness they should aim to do each day of advent in, so not sure we’ve room for another.
Sod it! I might get one just for me

I’ve just bought 2 picture ones for my 4 and 2 year olds. There are loads around.
Not sure why chocolate ones are ‘grabby’ though?

I don’t understand the alcoholic ones like the gin advent calendars I keep seeing. I love a good gin, but I wouldn’t want one every day. It doesn’t seem a sensible thing to produce.

I agree. So far I'm managed to find them each year for my two (6 and 3), but i'm sure it won't be long before they spot that their friends have chocolate ones! But for now, they love opening the doors to discover the pictures :)

I very much wanted a cheese advent calendar this year for myself. Asda had some (very limited), but they were all sold out when I tried to get one :(

I don't think it's so much that the chocolate ones are grabby, but most of them just aren't very Christmassy. I've seen Bart Simpson ones, Transformers ones, numerous Disney ones, all without a hint of Christmas about them, and it looks as if when the chocolates are removed, you're just left with an empty plastic space. It's also this 'thing' that you have to have something, you can't just have a picture to look at, you have to have a toy or a chocolate.

We always have a paper calendar (even though there are no small children in the house now!), and we've had some beautiful ones over the years, real works of art.

Yes, they’re great. Always get one but also chocolate ones as my teenagers would kill me!
Try Oxfam, WHSmith, John Lewis and also a lot of large churches, that have working offices, sell them.