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AIBU?

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Original poster

To be mildly vexed that chocolate advent calendars are the norm these days?

212 replies

MoChan · 04/12/2009 13:34

I used to be so excited by my picture one and didn't need chocolate to make it interesting. My step daughter can barely believe they ever existed and clearly can't see the point if there's no chocolate.

OP posts:
halfcut · 04/12/2009 17:38

I would like an advent calender with miniature bottles of alcohol behind each door....

georgiemum · 04/12/2009 17:40

I got a nice picture one from the church card shop. A friend got DS one with choccy... but the little love doesn't like chocolate (I know - weird huh?) so I get woken up with "the picture today is a stocking!!!... and here's some chocolate for you, mummy".

Most acceptable..

MarionCrane · 04/12/2009 17:41

I've never understood why someone has to be rewarded with chocolate just for opening a paper door.

Ekka · 04/12/2009 17:50

What about this. We were given something like it, so I now use it as an excuse not to buy an advent calendar (however the dcs are 1 & 2 so I've hardly had much pestering yet

Mind you, its a rather an expensive way of avoiding the chocolate ones

MsDoctor · 04/12/2009 17:51

Good gracious I reward myself with chocolate just for putting petrol in the car!!

cloelia · 04/12/2009 17:56

No, I agree with the OP.
Have always hated the chocolate ones but guess what, my mother buys them for my two. When they first came, I took all the chocolates out , put them in a bowl, and we ate them all at once. It is the excitement about a little piece of chocolate which makes me cross. Now, ten years on, I have weakened and Granny's calendars stay in one piece, but guess what? the kids are not that bothered any more. Old fashioned stationers shops always have a good choice of non chocolate ones.

Blu · 04/12/2009 18:08

PMSL at NinthWave.

What has Ben 10 to do with christmas? you ask! WEll, I can tell you on good authority that the M&S Ben 10 chocolate advent calendar has, behind all those alien doorways, choc shapes of a donkey, bell, star, reindeer etc.

Whereas the terribly PC (pious christmas) Oxfam Shop Fair Trade one has a choc heart inside every wondow, What on earth do hearts have to do with Christmas?

DS opens the Oxfam one in the morning, and eats the chic, and the Ben 10 on when he comes home and eats another choc.

I WISH advent calendars had had chocs in when I was little!

Blu · 04/12/2009 18:10

"When they first came, I took all the chocolates out , put them in a bowl, and we ate them all at once. It is the excitement about a little piece of chocolate which makes me cross." That's so miserable! If my mother had done that when I was a child I would certainly be moaning about her on MN as an adult!

CheerfulYank · 04/12/2009 18:27

My DS (aged 2) loves his choc calendar. I tell him we can open it every day if he walks home like a nice boy from daycare. Now, offering bribes for good behavior...what's more Christmassy than that?

hohoholepew · 04/12/2009 18:31

Am I the only person who has a child that eats chocolate every morning? Surely DD isn't the only child that eats Coco Pops .

DwayneDibbley · 04/12/2009 18:34

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chickbean · 04/12/2009 18:54

We won't have a chocolate one, because DH and I would miss our annual game of advent calendar bingo too much. Every year we each choose twelve things and get a point whenever one of them appears behind a door. So far I'm winning 2-1 (donkey and bell versus parcel). I know we sound really sad/mad, but I love being a person who is so easily pleased Looking forward to the children being old enough to join in.

pagwatch · 04/12/2009 18:58

Coco pops
stuff of the devil....

[grumpy bugger]

gerontius · 04/12/2009 19:00

To whoever said that there are 24 days in Advent, there are not. Advent actually starts on Advent Sunday which was the 29th November.
Also, when buying an advent calendar, I always buy M&S or Cadbury's ones. They taste so much better.....

golgi · 04/12/2009 19:04

We have Cadbury ones which obviously contain chocolate but are very Christmassy.
And don't open them until after supper - mornings too busy plus gets round the chocolate for breakfast thing.

My mum always used to buy me a picture one. One year I got one which had a different bird behind each window. Not very exciting.

Slightly mad elderly relative has also "bought the boys an advent calendar" but we are not going to see her until nearly christmas. Think I might just have to eat those ones.

nickytwotimes · 04/12/2009 19:09

Yanbu.
I love the picture ones and ds doesn't know about chocolate ones yet. Ssshhh!

Having said that, I covet a playmobil one.

BettySuarez · 04/12/2009 19:26

chocolate advent calenders are an abomination, tis normally shite choc anyway and a 'bratz' themed calender is just so nasty.

get them a proper advent calender plus a separate box of nice chocs that they can dip into each day

bah humbug!

WillowFae · 04/12/2009 19:27

Ekka, playmobil do similar ones to that with each day being some item that makes up a Christmassy scene.

ScreaminEagle · 04/12/2009 19:30

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MamaGoblin · 04/12/2009 19:44

YANBU. I hate the things with a huge loathing. MIL buys DH a Cadbury one each year and he and I have the annual argument about whether chocolate calendars are tacky and un-Christmassy or not.

There'll be none of that there chocolate rubbish in this house when DS is older!

(wonders if Hotel Chocolat do an advent calendar. I could be swayed.)

mowcop · 04/12/2009 19:48

We have a lego city advent calendar and one with little pockets. The pockets are stuffed this year as my youngest is joining in the chocolate fun. I have to put 3 choccy santas in pocket! The lego calendar has little men, snowmen, sledges etc to build.
TBH we are church goers and the Christian message is improtant to me, but so is a bit of fun for a 2, 4 and 6 year old.

LetThereBeRock · 04/12/2009 19:52

You're a miserable lot. How can anyone get so worked up about a piece of chocolate the size of a postage stamp?
And why is it so bad for children to get excited about it? It's a fun treat.

SleightiesChick · 04/12/2009 19:58

YANBU. It's always really poor chocolate. I like the picture ones and intend to make my DS suffer with those

ChickandDuck · 04/12/2009 20:10

YANBU - We were doing really well this year, sock garland filled with finger puppets for DS2 and for DS1 a pop-up nativity calender from my mum and a lego one for me but then SMIL dropped round a chocolate Thomas one round for DS1 the day before, there was no way he was forgetting that and no way I'm arguing in the morning so it's chocolate for breakfast for a month, can't wait for January

SofaQueen · 04/12/2009 20:10

I wonder if the people who "hate" ( about feeling so strongly!) chocolate advent calendars with the rationale that Christmas is not about chocolate, actually celebrate Christmas for what it is -which is NOT about father Santa Clause, Christmas trees, turkey, Christmas crackers, cards, presents..., but about a religious festival celebrating the birth of the saviour of Man?

I'm an agnostic and feel that my meaning of Christmas is about fun, family, cheer, happiness, giving, and celebrating and chocolate has its place in my Christmas. I don't like the chocolate advent calendars because they have yucky chocolate, and I prefer to have hand picked surprises every morning.

There are many options for advent calendars - just buy the one that suits your tastes and ignore the rest. Really not worth getting so upset over!

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