Bloody advent calendars

[Silverswirl]

When I was little we had card advent calendars that had a picture from the nativity under each door or maybe angels, Holly, a bell, xmas tree etc.
Then when my kids first got advent calendars it was the chocolate ones where a small piece of chocolate was moulded into something. Fine. Cost around £1 Its something they really enjoy each morning and builds the excitement to Christmas Day.
For the last few years it’s been the hero / celebration ones as they saw them in the shop and really wanted one. Ok.. I was a bit 🤨 as they cost £5 each and I have 3 kids but knowing how much they enjoy them we’ve had those for the past few years.
I usually ask the kids if they have a preference on which one they like (ie heroes/ Reece’s / Malteasers etc) or if they want a surprise.
This year I asked my DD age 12. She said that 2 of her friends (I know one is wealthy) are getting the body shop one for £50! WTH? I said no, it’s a chocolate one as usual and does she have a preference and she said Heroes then but sounded disappointed.
So now the large chocolate ones are not good enough?
Why must things just get bigger and bigger all the time? I mean come on, who needs 24 tubes of plastic filled with a tiny bit of cream or similar. Really? Do we need to be having 24 samples of stuff?l and spending £50+ on an advent calendar?
Consumerism is on a runaway train and I just don’t think anything will stop it ever?

@TroysMammy
Oh, that's really sad. That was a lovely present, really thoughtful.

I think it depends how into beauty they are, I can't comment on the body shop one but I'd rather try samples than waste whole products.

I buy us a traditional card one - they take turns opening it. More recently, now they're a bit older, they've wanted chocolate or Lego ones - that's fine, but if they want one of those then they buy it themselves from pocket money.

@80sMum

YANBU, OP.

I find all the rampant consumerism around Christmas rather abhorrent, to be honest. I wish we could return to the way we used to celebrate Christmas when I was a child.

I agree with this too. I'm not a Luddite who wants to halt all progress but really, it's getting out of hand. And the plastic! I'm sure everyone who's on social media has seen the picture of the amount of plastic in a selection box compared with the amount of chocolate.

I whittle one out of fallen branches and behind each door is something prickly so the kids hurt themselves.

Do I win the 'I'm the stingiest' competition?

I have bought one - M&S for the first time this year, but only because the products that I know I’ll use come to a value of way more than I am paying for it. Also, many of the products are full size and products I buy and use anyway. Some of the more expensive ones (M&S is £40 with a £30 purchase of clothing that I had waited to make) are very beautiful, but crazy prices! I wouldn’t buy them myself and I notice some buy several of them when they intended to only purchase one. It’s like the advertising and the hype makes them buy more even when they can’t afford it.

@FrankButchersDickieBow

I whittle one out of fallen branches and behind each door is something prickly so the kids hurt themselves.

Do I win the 'I'm the stingiest' competition?

I agree. But I am getting my DC the pukka tea advent calendar for £10. They have daily herbal tea anyway so this is just making that a bit different for the month.

@FrankButchersDickieBow

I whittle one out of fallen branches and behind each door is something prickly so the kids hurt themselves.

Do I win the 'I'm the stingiest' competition?

If you were doing it properly you'd make the kids whittle their own

We have reusable wooden advent calendars. You can get them cheaply from Aldi or Hobbycraft starting at £12.99. It's more expensive the first year but it's a lot cheaper to refill in subsequent years than buying 3 chocolate advent calendars. You could put in free samples for your older DD or buy a mixed pack of bath fizzers instead of sweets.

People are suckers for this kind of thing.

So many people never say “no” to their DC and just keep buying bigger and better. It doesn’t make anyone happier though. It’s all really sad.

@FrankButchersDickieBow

I whittle one out of fallen branches and behind each door is something prickly so the kids hurt themselves.

Do I win the 'I'm the stingiest' competition?

At least you’re cutting your cloth accordingly.

I approve.

I can’t find any traditional card picture (no chocolate) ones in the shops despite looking, has anyone got one they’ve seen?

Smiths used to sell the picture ones

@IfIHadAHeart

I got an email from Tiffany last night about their advent calendar. £150,000.

Their marketing algorithms need work if they think I’d be interested, I’ve only ever bought one item from them at around £200 😂

Blimey, I hope my niece doesn't get to hear about that!

Her wanting the Charlotte Tilbury one for £150 was bad enough.

Hopefully still do but not checked

My kids don't know about chocolate ones yet, they still love the paper picture ones. I don't mind the cheapy choc ones as there's something I find lovely and comforting about those, but I'm pledging now that the most they'll get is a homemade one!
I get the m&s beauty ones some years but only if there's something I'd otherwise buy full price in there. If i want a random selection of gin/teabags etc I'll ask for it for Christmas...

@Moraxella

I can’t find any traditional card picture (no chocolate) ones in the shops despite looking, has anyone got one they’ve seen?

Try bookshops like Waterstones or your local Post Office...

The problem was upgrading from the £1 one to a £5 one, they know there’s room for negotiation!
My DC asked for the kinder ones this year. No way. It’s a £1 one or nada.

Aww that brings back memories. We had a 3d nativity advent calendar- like a shoe box- and despite the fact it was probably lost 35 years ago when I left home-I can still visualise it now. We did get a chocolate filled one though from a generous auntie about 1980 which was a real novelty.

We don't even do advent calendars 🤣🤣 they might have got chocolate ones when younger when I remembered. Was it last year or the year before there was a thread on here about advent calendars, this was when I learned about all that is out there. I was shocked to see the size of some of them, some were like dolls houses. Every day the people posted pics of what they received. There was food, cosmetics, everything and many cost a few hundred pounds. There were cheaper ones for under 100 but still expensive to me.

Every day I find myself looking at social media and the marketing shite that drops through my letter box and shake my head in despair at the gullible people who fall for all this marketing crap.
I'm definitely getting old!

I'm usually a bit an anti-consumerist virtue signalling, but I too think that Advent calendars (why does Advent appear to be losing its capital A?) are completely out of hand now. We have a fabric one - a rope with little bags dangling from it - that we've had for a good 6 or 7 years now, and I fill each bag with three little chocolates etc - one for each child. When my older two were late primary age I would sometimes get the Lego ones or ones which had a mystery to solve, but they were never that into them so I stopped it. I've bought one with small books by a favourite author for youngest this year. Dh gets me a nice chocolate one, even though I do despair a bit at the packaging, and we get one of those ones you can get from Ikea or Aldi where there are vouchers inside (never got a big one, alas). That's plenty.

I 100% agree. The small chocolate ones are fine. I'm surprised to hear about children getting a body shop advent calendar! Christmas is about spending time with those we love but sadly mindless consumerism is rife! It's breeding a me me me generation and absolute greed. I think Christmas has all gone a bit ott with Christmas Eve boxes and plates(!!) to put your treat out for Santa. It makes me very sad.

My 4 have their own fabric/wooden advent calendars which we get out each 30 November and fill with Miniature Heroes/Celebrations. It’s a family tradition now and I allocate the sweets 4 at a time so they all get the same and then at the end they barter with one another to swap favourites. My eldest sons calendar is worn now and when I offered to get a new one he was horrified and sewed the worn bits himself! To me Christmas traditions mean more and the expensive advent calendars are just the next step in consumerism.