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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think world's gone mad RE advent calendars

127 replies

bourbonbiccy · 01/12/2018 10:05

So I caught a little bit of a breakfast show and they were discussing how chocolate advent calendars should be banned as its not good for children !!!!

Am I the only one that thinks this is just crazy. A little bit of chocolate each day for the run up to Christmas is not going to have a negative affect on your child if they have a balanced diet the rest of the time.

OP posts:
Ravenesque · 02/12/2018 18:26

Like most people I thought this was going to be about gin and beauty Advent calendars! A tiny bit of chocolate a day for children is hardly excessive and banning it would be pure mental!

Gin and beauty Advent calendars are ridiculous, but I would love to have one! That said I looked at some gin ones, one in Wilkos the other in Waitrose (only a £5 difference in price) and realised that I could buy a fancy bottle of rhubarb gin for less than the calendars and not have to have tiny bottles of gin that might not be up my street. N.b. This was all fantasy thoughts in my head as I was not going to buy either the calendars or a fancy bottle of gin.

I've seen the tools advent calendars as well, I think they were doing one in Lidl last month. I think you can get craft beer ones as well. It's all a little over the top, but not as ott as banning chocolate calendars would be!

ToftyAC · 02/12/2018 18:26

FGS, advent calendars have been a thing since I was a kid (and I’m in my mid 40s). I really don’t see a problem, unless a kid quaffs the whole thing in one sitting. Wish kids could just be allowed to be. YA so NBU.

IsSpringSprangedYet · 02/12/2018 19:33

We couldn't afford 5 advent calendars when we were little so mum and dad bought one, and would initial each door so we took it in turns (so I'd have the 1st, 6th, 11th etc). It was always Cadbury and we used to get just as excited seeing what little picture was behind your chocolate.

Mine have a Aldi chocolate one and that's it. No toy ones here.

redexpat · 02/12/2018 19:45

Anything that gets the DC out of bed in the cold dark December mornings is fine by me.

RidingMyBike · 02/12/2018 20:21

We’ve just got the cardboard one with little pics behind each door! DD loves it (she’s three). Hoping she won’t find out there are chocolate ones for a while yet - feels like they miss the point of Advent?!

spina · 02/12/2018 20:35

Surely one of the points of an Advent Calendar is realising ( with obvious pride) that your 3 year old has figured out how to remove the insert and covertly eat ALL the chocolate in one sitting. He’s 15 now and has amazing muscles so no harm done!

squeekums · 02/12/2018 20:48

To the PP who thought I was being scornful or looking for an argument with atheists - no, of course not! I’m simply genuinely puzzled by why an atheist has any interest in marking Advent at all, let alone with a daily chocolate.
After all, you all ignore Lent and simply eat your chocolate on Easter - why is Advent any different?
Cos dd likes to countdown to the man in reds arrival. It holds no religious significance for us and ive got no issue with dd and chocolate
Truth be told, we actually have no religion in our Christmas, its all elves, santa, reindeer, presents, tinsel and fun

ferrier · 02/12/2018 21:08

I'm a traditionalist. We had a paper one between us as kids. My kids have a fabric one between them. They've always seemed quite happy about it. They get it out every year and rehang it with all the pieces in their pockets. It just doesn't seem necessary to me to add more chocolate into what is already an indulgent time of year.

cherish123 · 02/12/2018 21:16

Most kids have chocolate advent calendars nowadays or small toy ones. We always had cardboard ones. Then when I was about 10 , we started to get a small gift or chocolate. I think the adult ones are a bit OTT and v expensive. However, I do quite like the idea of some of them! 😀

Mermaid67 · 02/12/2018 21:42

My children(grown up now) had a felt nativity one with pockets which I would fill with chocolates(one day at a time when young). On the 24th they each had a clue leading them to a Christmas eve present, these clues began for young children as pictures and got increasingly difficult year by year(one year in French, one year as cryptic clues.)

mumsastudent · 02/12/2018 21:45

(showing off & not that I am an addict &my friends know) I was given a tea advent calendar!

Blueblueyellow · 02/12/2018 21:50

Missingstreetlife I remember those! You are bringing back memories Smile

perfectstorm · 02/12/2018 21:52

I’m simply genuinely puzzled by why an atheist has any interest in marking Advent at all, let alone with a daily chocolate.

Only Christians understand the true meaning of chocolate. Halo

RidingMyBike · 02/12/2018 22:39

I think we're quite traditional about it. I'm Christian so I'd prefer DD to have cardboard Advent calendar with pictures of Nativity scene and each window takes you further into the story. DH is atheist but hates all the consumerism stuff about Christmas so prefers the simple Advent calendars he remembers from childhood - he actually bought it for DD the last two years!

Shewhomustbeobeyed1 · 02/12/2018 22:43

One chocolate a day? Wouldn’t sustain me. What a bunch of snowflakes everyone has become

ferrier · 02/12/2018 23:06

Why's it considered snowflakey to not want to give your children chocolate every day?

Friendlylynn · 03/12/2018 01:06

The nicest one I have seen so far was made up of plain brown basic envelopes that were numbered in one corner. ( if the numbers were small enough and unobtrusive, the envelopes could be reused later).

Inside each one was no treats, just a request to do something for someone else during that day and show others that you care.

Juanbablo · 03/12/2018 03:16

I remember taking my youngest to a toddler group just before Christmas. He must have been about 20/21 months old and I also had a 5 year old and a 7 year old so of course all 3 had an advent calendar each. On hearing that my toddler had one another parent was SO judgemental and sneery. I was really shocked.

HoppingPavlova · 03/12/2018 03:59

We always did LEGO, that worked.

Catsinthecupboard · 03/12/2018 04:13

I have a wooden one with little doors that i bought before we had dc. I used my Christmas money to buy it after one year. Each cubby is about 1.5x2.5 so doesn't hold much. But i would put in 2 (2 dc) small candies/chocolates or a note to do something fun like make gingerbread houses or go play at the park or instructions (Grin)to find an inexpensive toy.

Christmas time is exciting for parents and dc. For a few years, until they were teens, it was a fun way to keep them busy and happy leading up to Christmas.

A chocolate/day isn't going to hurt them. People are snobs and too judgemental. The ones who never get sweets are the ones who are terrible trouble when they do.

Notevenmyrealname · 03/12/2018 04:28

Why would anyone think of banning them? I make one for my DCs each year and am not keen on them having chocolate every day so put in activities for them to do instead (family day out, decorate the tree, baking, etc.). I put a few sweets in but not every day, but that’s because I personally don’t want them having them every day plus I’m a SAHM and have a bit more time to do different things with them. People’s answer to anything they don’t like these days seems to be “ban it”.

PeachyPeachTrees · 03/12/2018 09:58

My kids have wooden trains with little drawers in. They are from Germany and popular over there. I pop a choc or chewy sweet or little wrapped fudge in each night. My youngest doesn't like chocolate! It works well for younger kids as they can't eat 24 chocs on 1st Dec if you fill up daily.

SeamstressfromTreacleMineRoad · 03/12/2018 14:31

I've bought one for my elder DGC from when he was allowed chocolate (18 months) but this year I bought one for my younger DGC (who's now old enough for chocolate) and it was handed back to me as 'Daddy doesn't approve of them'... 🙄
I had to run round to find a non-chocolate one, so that the excitement of opening the doors can happen..! I kept my mouth shut and took the chocolate one to the food bank...Hmm

Mirkobaba · 03/12/2018 16:05

We have a long standing tradition of special, treasure hunt advent calendars. (even before DS was born I made this for my DH) This year my DS gets 6-8 special Magic the Gathering cards if he can figure out the clues. My DH gets small whiskey/gin bottles, again, after deciphering my cryptic clues.
They wake up every morning and find the Clues on the kitchen table :)
I bought myself a Lindt choc calendar :)
Downside is it's every midnight/1am that I have to come up with creative places to hide these and write a funny/not so easy clue. I was so tired yesterday that today morning's was marked 4 instead of 3....

kateandme · 03/12/2018 16:12

soon they wont feed kids school lunches because what the hell we're all fat bastard anyway

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