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Original poster

chocolate advent calenders V normal picture ones

40 replies

poppiesinaline · 03/10/2006 13:39

What do you go for?

I prefer the normal ones. No tantrums about having chocolate before breakfast

But all their friends have chocolate ones and I feel mean so I always give in and buy chocolate ones.

And normal ones are more difficult to find in the shops

So, whats the MN verdict??

OP posts:
dmo · 03/10/2006 13:46

i buy chocolate but am so mean that they cant open it till after school

SoupDragon · 03/10/2006 13:46

Chocolate. And in the Dragon house, anyone not dressed and ready for school by 8:20am doesn't get their chocolate

foxtrottingtotransylvania · 03/10/2006 13:48

My only objection to the choc ones is that they aren't very christmassy - thomas tank, barbie etc - and why the new year countdown?
We also have a big felt xmas tree one with an ornament to hang up each day, pretty & christmassy and finishes on xmas eve like it should.

bobsmum · 03/10/2006 13:48

wE"ve got a gorgeous fabric one with pockets which comes out every year. I spose I could put non chocky cracker type toys on the pockets, but chocolate coins and Celebrations fit sooo nicely .

bobsmum · 03/10/2006 13:49

It's a nativity one btw. You take a gold star out of the pocket and hang it in the sky. Ahhhhh.

oliveoil · 03/10/2006 13:50

Chocolate ones, a small piece is not going to harm them before breakfast.

Anything pink is required so usually something hideous with Barbie on it.

TooTickyTheAppleMuncher · 03/10/2006 13:50

The chocolate ones are too gimmicky and completely dispense with the magic of finding a Christmassy picture. German advent calenders are the nicest IME.

foxtrottingtotransylvania · 03/10/2006 13:52

bobsmum do you put the choccy in the pocket with the star and whoever hangs it gets the choccy that day?

southeastastralplain · 03/10/2006 13:53

the chocolate ones are overtaking the normal ones aren't they! my sons just usually leave the chocolate

foxtrottingtotransylvania · 03/10/2006 13:57

your sons have good taste - it's not really chocolate is it, usually 'choc flavoured candy' ugh! I have a hankering for a nice oldfashioned calender now, anyone know who sells them?

portonovo · 03/10/2006 13:58

Hate the commercial ones, usually they have nothing to do with Christmas.

We have a couple of old-fashioned picture ones, with really lovely pictures. We also have a fabric one with pockets to put a small treat in. I have 3 children so they each open one every day - 2 days out of 3 they do a picture one, the 3rd they do the pocket one. I put small gifts in - stickers, very small trinkets, occasionally a chocolate, sometimes a note saying they can choose what film the family will watch that weekend or whatever, or saying they can stay up 15 mins later.

JackieNoHeadJustABloodyStump · 03/10/2006 14:01

Spotted this posh chocolate one in a catalogue the other day - looks like nice chocolate, unlike the usual ones.

bobsmum · 03/10/2006 14:03

foxtrottingtotransylvania ( hurrah for copy and paste!) - that's the idea. IT was just ds last year, but dd is 16 months now and might just cotton on that she's missing out

BudaBeast · 03/10/2006 14:03

Chocolate! It IS Christmas!

And Playmobile.

And I bought a nice tastefull Phoenix one for me!

JackieNoHeadJustABloodyStump · 03/10/2006 14:04

Oh look - a whole website for advent calendars.

Original poster
poppiesinaline · 03/10/2006 14:07

Wow, these ideas a great

I think thats why I dislike the normal 'chocolate' ones. The chocolate is cheap and horrible and the themes are not Christmasy at all

OP posts:
Bozza · 03/10/2006 14:08

I always buy picture ones but MIL always supplies chocolate ones. The chocolate is not nice and they look really scruffy with the empty slots.

joelallie · 03/10/2006 14:13

Picture ones. No objection to chocolate but the pictures are so rubbish on them and so commercial.

foxtrottingtotransylvania · 03/10/2006 14:29

bozza lol at 'scruffy' advent calender!!

Tommy · 03/10/2006 14:33

We always have the Fairtrade chocolate ones - made by Divine chocolate I think.
They have a nativity picture on and chocolate

nikkie · 04/10/2006 19:38

I spend ages looking for proper christmas scene calenders (no choc either, mades dd2 slimey!) but they also have a fabric one with pockets and sweets in.

tassis · 04/10/2006 19:51

Last year marks and spencers had a nice nativity one without chocolate that I contemplated buying ds...

then I decided that as he was only 2 i'd leave off advent calendars until this year...

cupcakes · 04/10/2006 19:54

foxtrot - I think we have the same calender as you. Green felt tree with red and white striped wall behind and velcro decorations like trumpets and dolls and drums. We always save the star for the 24th to top the tree.
But I also tend to get:
Matthew Rice advent (for me)
chocolate ones or lego one for ds and dd.
It's exhausting opening every one.

foxtrottingtotransylvania · 04/10/2006 20:22

matthew rice- that's posh (i do have his wife's pinny though ) off to website for a sneaky peek.

janeite · 04/10/2006 20:41

Always choclate, as my mum started that ritual off at birth almost! BUT always decent choc, either Thorntons or Divine Fair Trade and they're only allowed choc after breakfast.

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