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.

Yes, YABU. An advent calendar is totally boring without the chocolate, I overheard in the charity shop last week a woman scorning the 'Thomas the Tank engine ones with chocolates in them' as she wanted ones with biblical sayings in the windows. Have to be honest, I thought that would be really boring, though I don't do the religious Xmas thing anyway. It's December 5 and my youngest has scoffed the whole of her advent calendar, imo, that's part of Xmas!

We've got a train and I fill the drawers with different things. Todays was a note saying that today's challenge was to buy chocolates to hang on the tree. Tomorrows will be a DVD to watch and we also have chocolate, raisins, dried apricots, or a note saying we'll have a cracker or christmassy book.

DD is 3 and DS 9m by the way, so I don't imagine they'll always be so excited!!

The only thing I object to is that the chocolate is generally that awful, soapy-tasting cheap rubbish that you only get in novelty gifts.

Bleargh.

I know kids aren't necessarily as discerning as adults when it comes to sweet stuff but does that mean we have to feed them THAT?!

You can buy advent calendars without choc you know!!

I left it a bit late, and for the first time got one without chocolate. there were quite a few to pick from (wh smith) son wasn't too bothered there was no chocolate. He still finds it exciting even if there is only a christmas pudding picture or whatever.

It's a free market, you aren't forced to buy chocolate or bratz ones.

Exactly babydalek!

I hate the chocolate ones -they are all wrong imo - ds has been given them in the past and that's been ok,I wouldn't not allow them if given by others, but for the past few years he has had a traditional one and seems perfectly happy to open the door and see the picture

No, Easter is a little different, you are not comparing like with like! Advent calendars were without choc for many years, the idea has been hijacked by comercialism now. However, it's a free market as Babydalek said!

All you lot who say 'they weren't around when I was little'... I hate to break this to you but they were.* Your parents were just hard-hearted!

*Applies to anyone who was little in the 70s or later.

I had one (very early 70s) and so did my cousins. And their mum was pretty mean, too. So there!
Of course we've all gone on to become gun-toting crack whores as a result of all that early morning choclate.

I'm 29 and always had a choc 1 and guess what, I'm still alive & not obese & don't kick old ladies!! Why don't you just stop giving your kids presents aswell and be done with it and the christmas tree - surely that's a bit too much fun for kids to be having at christmas time!!!
Life can be pretty grim,(obviously not so much for the people who's children 'board') it's one month out of the year, I don't care if they look tacky and I'm sure my DD will survive the trauma of havin a tiny piece of choc every day for a month.

OtterInaSkoda - LMAO!!!!!
Me too, must be 'the terrible quality of the chocolate' that's to blame.

Always had nice picture ones- never had chocolate. Why give your kids vile cheap chocolate every day for a month?
My eldest is 13 and loves opening the window each day- mind you, they only get chocolate once a week.

My husband objects to them because they do not correspond to advent so much as to the first 25 days of December. So we don't have one.

YANBU

but why does everyone allow there children to have them first thing, ds has one, he is 2.5, we open the door after dinner, I just cant bring myself to allow chocolate at breakfast.

He also really enjoys his picture one!

Why not at breakfast? Will they turn green and sprout horns if given a postage stamp sized piece of chocolate in the morning?

'Why give your kids cheap vile chocolate every day for a month?'

Because A it's fun,and I know that's a bad word to many, B they enjoy it, and C, most importantly, do you really want them to get a taste for the good stuff meaning that you'll be forced to share your Lindt bars or Green and Black's butterscotch with them?

I think I actually disagree with some of the people who are kind-of agreeing with me. I don't object to chocolate on the grounds that it's unhealthy. We all do the odd unhealthy thing and I'm okay with that. And my daughter has chocolate on a reasonably regular basis.

I just liked the picture ones, and wish they were more widely available. I loved the little pictures, of stars, and shepherds, and Christmas trees. And snowy scenes and glitter.

And no, I don't like all these branded, completely un-Christmassy ones.

And yes, I am mildly vexed by the fashion for all things chocolate. People were visibly disappointed by a birthday cake I made last year because it wasn't chocolate. As if a birthday cake ought to be chocolate. By LAW.

Slightly bemused by the "I got the one the recipient would have wanted" one I read a little further up. What if they'd wanted a Kalashnikov?

I absolutely don't plan to give my daughter anything and everything she wants. It wouldn't be healthy.

But she was given a chocolate advent calendar by her grandparents. I have not taken it away from her...

Oh sod it, the chocolate isn't a problem.

It is the lack of traditional pictutes that bug me everytime.

yanbu

Funnily enough I was in my priest's kitchen today

He has a Simpson's one. And apparently is nonplussed by the lack of correlation to the days of advent

But then what would he know- he is just a catholic priest ...

as i was brought up in a jehovahs witness household,calendars, trees, cards etc were a complete no-no.the religion /lifestyle thankfully wasnt put on to me, but now i have a family of my own i do christmas in our own style-we have advent calenders but rather than having a daily "treat", we have christmas based activities ie dress the tree, make mincepies, watch a christmas dvd, make paper chains, snowflakes etc.works for us, and selection boxes are enjoyed on christmas eve and christmas day!!

My first advent calendar was a religious one, with a tiny cheap plastic toy behind every door ie a donkey or a star. my brother and I would alternate opening the doors and I loved the little pictures.
We started having chocolate ones after that but they were always just christmassy ones, better quality than the ones about now; glittery festive colourful pictures on the front, colour pictures inside the doors AND a different picture (also in colour) behind the chocolate which was in the same shape.
When all the chocolate was gone, some days after Christmas I'd usually chop the whole thing up for the colourful pictures.
Can you even get chocolate Advent calendars these days that aren't branded? Even the festive ones are usually Cadbury's and not very inventive. Not a patch on my childhood ones, and my parents would not have spent much cash on them!