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

[MoChan]

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.

People who say "we have them in the evening. No chocolate for breakfast", why do you think chocolate is healthier at night?

And, you know... sorry.

(giggles uncontrollably). right, day's long enough. off to bed.

I used to have a pic one when I was a kid, and I found it unbelievably exciting just as it was, without any chocolate. So I can sort of understand why the OP might be puzzled by the chocolate ones which are totally unseasonal... but.

FWIW I'm an atheist, christmas is a secular winter festival which is nevertheless important to me because it's part of my tradition. Traditions are very malleable I think - you can invent your own. I suppose not if you are a committed Christian, in which case advent calendars have a totally different significance. If I did chose a non-chocolate one for my DD, it would be because I didn't want her to have chocolate in the mornings and not because I thought it was a bad thing in itself.

I bought her a chocolate In the Night Garden one this year because she is only 2, loves upsy daisy and chocolate, and doesn't understand that it's christmas soon. PS I brush her teeth regularly, don't be too horrified .

We have a picture one for ds (8). He still enjoys it.

I think the chocolate ones are just wrong somehow, wrong to have chocolate in the morning for a start and it takes away from a simple enjoyment.

I think he was disappointed for a day (one of his mates has a choc one) but he's enjoying this one now.

It's hard not to be a sheep sometimes but often worth it if you can resist isn't it?

Baaaa [humbug]

It is a tiny piece of chocolate

They are not compulsary

They can be opened in the evening if you prefer

FFS

yikes, where have you been for the last three decades? chocolate advent calendars have been the norm in our house my entire life!
I am planning to get a playmobil one for next year, my dc are newly obsessed with the stuff. Won't stop their Grandmother from buying the choccie ones as well though.

Anyone would think there was a kingsized mars bar behind every door (I wish)

The spirit of Scrooge is alive and well. I still can't see the problem with a child getting some pleasure and fun from a little piece of chocolate,even if it is, shock horror,consumed in the morning.

Me and my DS (14 months) both have one Terrible mother aint I??!!

Positively satanic Melted.

If this is the most satanic thing i have done in my life, I am happy

And depite me feeding my kids choc during advent the buggers still insist on eating slow cooked jumbo oats porridge and homemade granola - they refuse to eat processed cereal because it tastes bloody horrible. Chocolate is not the food of the devil - open your eyes & look at the ingredients on your cereal box. Nestle & Kelloggs and making fools of you! Double standards gallore!

I think there are many more things about the state of modern Christmas to be in angst about than chocolate advent calendars.

DD2 is allergic to milk so cant have milk chocolate but last year i discovered that Divine do a plain chocolate advent calendar. I was so delighted to find something special for her that I don't care when she eats the chocolate! She is always being told 'sorry pet you can't have that' so it's lovely for her to have something that makes her feel included. It is also a very nice one - it has a gradual telling of the Christmas story on the inside of each door.

DD1 however has an HSM one this year

They also have a beautiful hanging padded felt nativity scene with all the characters in pockets below, and they take it in turn to put a sheep/ wise man/ mary/ baby Jesus etc on the nativity scene each day. DD1 works out which characters she wants to put up and makes sure they are in the right pockets for her turns! They also have to take turns year about to put baby Jesus on.

So just because they have a bit of chocolate every morning doesn't mean they will never understand what christmas is all about!

I'm 28 and have always had a chocolate advent calendar. I think you're getting worked up over nothing; it's one TINY piece of chocolate per day, it's cheap and cheerful and if you can't have chocolate for breakfast at christmas, when can you?!

My kids opened their choc calendars yesterday and wondered why the choc was in the shape of "poo in a potty"? It was supposed to be an iced xmas pud!

Yanbu.

I wasn't allowed a chocolate one when I was little and my DC's don't have them either. Too much packaging (don't think you can even re-cycle the plastic part), there's no way I'm letting them have chocolate every day either.
They have a paper nativity scene advent calendar.

It's fun, fun, fun here in meglet towers .

i always had a choccy calendar when younger. me and dh have one this year dd1 has a playmobile one as she is obssessed with choccy only has to have a small bit and wants more more more.
she luvs her playmobile calender gets a figure each day and doesnt notice our choccy ones we are discreet with them

I thought I was anal PFB with DD at times but I am amazed at the chocolate advent outrage on this thread.

It has really tickled me.

Bet the winter evenings just fly by in some houses

They don't worry me, we don't have them, but I don't mind if other people do. There will always be things that other children get that yours don't, if you start getting upset over everything, you'll spend a lot of time worrying. If you don't like them, don't buy them.

We have 2 advent calenders, one I put little toys etc. in and one with pictures - no chocolate here.

I've been doing this for years - mind you ds is only 7.5 months old, we're big kids at heart.

Mind you the 25th use to be a huge picture and I can't find ANY that have a 25th anymore

AbsolutelyNoChocolateAdventCalendersInMyHouseTiggaxx

YABU

Somehow this sort of thread makes me want to take my kids out McD´s, don´t know why

....contrarian, moi?

Then again, I am a snob too, nut not about "simple pleasures" but about the quality of the chocolate, it has to be Lindt, as English chcocolate isn´t quite up to scratch I´d say.

I don't really care what other people do, but I do like a nice old fashioned Advent calender with pictures depicting a nativity scene. After all, I am Catholic and Advent for us is about preparing for Christmas in a spiritual way (as well as the cooking and shopping aspect)

I don't care..don't even know why i'm responding to such a boring post..lol!

Oh, it isn't the choclate that I object to!

Chocolate Schmoclate!, they can have as much of that as they want (I do )

It's the fact that the choclate ones tend to come in Bratz/Simpsons/Barbie/Transformers type manifestations and that just won't do!!

We must be simple folk in our house because we get so much pleasure from opening the doors on a traditional advent calender, even my rather sophisticated 14 year old DD gets excited over the robin/snowflake/nativity scene pictures.

She can eat as much bloody chocolate as she likes while she is opening the doors

Is the OP objecting to the presence of choclate I wonder, or rather the awful tackiness of the calenders?