Advent Calendars

[vindemiatrix]

Do Americans know what these are? I'm talking about the kind with a door or a pocket for every day leading up to Christmas, usually with a chocolate thingy or sweet behind it. You open one every day leading up to Christmas. You can buy cardboard ones for kids, and some kids I knew had ones their mums had made out of cloth and just refilled every year.

Those. Do Americans and Canadians know what these are? Do you have them over there?

[mcnicks]

Chocolate? Your family must be posh. Ours always used to have little pictures telling the story of Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem ..etc.

[vindemiatrix]

Chocolate? Your family must be posh. Ours always used to have little pictures telling the story of Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem ..etc.

That's awesome! When I was littler, Luke and I had ones with just generic Christmas pictures in (no STORY), but recently the only ones you can actually buy are the ones with chocolate in. And the chocolate's always vile, too...

[mcnicks]

Eww @ bad chocolate... Like that Kinder Surprise muck?

[vindemiatrix]

JUST like that, actually, but without the creepy green layer.

[mcnicks]

I think that's foil wrapping.

[vindemiatrix]

I think that's foil wrapping.

*sporfle*

Yeah, not that I'm the type to accidentally eat foil wrapping or anything...

[heartsease1872]

We had an extra-funky one with Bible verses behind each door. It was great.

Then the puppy got it.

Now I just have a Maltesers one every year.

[Thuriel]

I know what they are, certainly. I've only ever seen flat things behind the doors, though, like pictures or bible quotes or whatnot. But then, most of the ones I've seen have been the ones little kids made in their "art & crafts" time or whatever, so they're essentially one piece of construction paper over another piece of construction paper, with one piece cut so that there are a bunch of foldable squares. :D

(Oh, and I had a bout of wondering whether "construction paper" was a local term or not, and according to wikipedia "in the UK, it is usually called sugar paper." *shrug*)

[heartsease1872]

Sugar paper's great. You can do so much with it, although I remember that it always came in really crappy colours. Why do we call it sugar paper, though?

[vindemiatrix]

I didn't know Americans had a different term for sugar paper. Yours makes more SENSE, though.

Yeah, coming to the realisation now that you lot over the water have them too. And that some of you also know the horror that is advent calendar chocolate...

[Maulden]

I haven't seen one of those calendars since I was very little. @_@

[Sulis]

I'm qquite familiar with them, but I always encountered them first in Germany, when Dad was there in the army, and then in the US stores that specialize in German import stuff... Now, they're getting more popular, but they're still hard to find.

And I like the chocolate. It tastes like my childhood. :oops:

[Elski]

We have them here. They cost a few bucks and the chocolate is TERRIBLE but kids find them thrilling, my younger self not excepted.

[Tundra]

the chocolate was in cool shapes... :D
I quite liked the chocolate. They had good ones, by red tulip or cadburys or nestle..

[Ariella]

I know what they are, but I've never actually. You know. Seen one. (my local groceries are more likely to stock Hannukah gelt than Advent calendars, heh.)

[Kail]

We have them here. They cost a few bucks and the chocolate is TERRIBLE but kids find them thrilling, my younger self not excepted.

Also, in the spirit of political correctness, I've seen "non-denominational" versions of these here. There was a Spongebob Squarepants one floating around my cousin's house a while ago that had one door for every day in December (counting down to New Year's, I guess) with some presumably Spongebobian icon behind each door.

[cowmage]

I think it says a lot about humanity that we have non-denominational advent calendars. (Yes, I know they aren't advent calendars any more. That's part of the point.)

[Sulis]

We have them here. They cost a few bucks and the chocolate is TERRIBLE but kids find them thrilling, my younger self not excepted.

Also, in the spirit of political correctness, I've seen "non-denominational" versions of these here. There was a Spongebob Squarepants one floating around my cousin's house a while ago that had one door for every day in December (counting down to New Year's, I guess) with some presumably Spongebobian icon behind each door.

That's... That's just WRONG!

[Tundra]

^ why? I don't think they necessarily have to count down to the days before a religious event- kids want to count down to christmas secularly as well.

[Sulis]

Yeah, but if they're not counting down to Christmas at all, that just seems... Weird. The non-religious theme doesn't bother me, it's the fact that there doesn't seem to be much of a point.

[Tundra]

oh yeah. if it's just all of december that's just weird.

[mcnicks]

or nestle..

Note: Nestle are EVIL! I try not to be too shouty-political but those guys do everything from using government enforcement to promote breast-milk substitutes, vivisection and animal testing, terrible working conditions in third world countries, you name it. Plus they own a huge number of products... Boycott 'em and tell your friends.

[Akatari]

Those ghastly fake-chocolates in the calendars... >.<

Yep, Vindie, we have 'em too.

[merrihart]

I've seen a small version in Starbucks, constructed with drawers, inside are chocolate covered coffee beans. Probably the best advent calendar ever.

I first came across these as a count to Easter, not Christmas. But that was, hm, early 80's. EARLY 80's. Like 1981-82. And the person who introduced them to me had them in her childhood. But, there's a strong German prescense in my area.

They didn't have candy, though, just the dates and a picture or verse behind the date.

As for the count down of December ones...New Year's is a big deal here in the States. Or at least on the East Coast. So it could be for New Year's.

[adelaidejane]

...but Nestle produces Kit Kats, don't they mcnicks? *whimper*

*ahem*

I shall be strong. As soon as someone produces a non-peanut-drowned candy bar with decent chocolate in this country, at least.

[cat_lover_4113]

I remember those! But the ones I've seen and had are just one huge picture with little doors for the chocolate!

[AXJ]

Yep, my wife actually has quite a thing for advent calendars. Her mom gets her one every year for her birthday (which happens to fall on Dec 1). This year she found one made by an upscale chocolate company, so the chocolate may actually be pretty good. :shock:

She also has an Advent christmas tree- it's a 1 foot christmas tree with a statue of santa standing next to it, and in santa's bag is 25 ornaments, each with a number on it. So each day you fish through the bag and find the appropriate ornament for the day. Sounds cheesy, but it's actually fairly classy/well done.

[heartsease1872]

I like really cheap chocolate... And I'm not alone! Johnny Depp does too, so it must be normal :)

[Sulis]

I like really cheap chocolate... And I'm not alone! Johnny Depp does too, so it must be normal :)

Umm... This is the same guy who was Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka, Captain Jack Sparrow, Ichabod Crane, THAT Johnny Depp? He's lovely don't get me wrong (boy, IS he!) but not really normal.

[Kaetlin]

My mother buys my brother and I a chocolate Advent calender every year. However, they're only cheap ones, so the chocolate isn't great. But chocolate is chocolate and I get some everyday this way. *lol*

Plus we have a couple of ones with a Bible verse and another step of the Christmas journey behind each door.

[Maulden]

I like really cheap chocolate... And I'm not alone! Johnny Depp does too, so it must be normal :)

Umm... This is the same guy who was Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka, Captain Jack Sparrow, Ichabod Crane, THAT Johnny Depp? He's lovely don't get me wrong (boy, IS he!) but not really normal.

Mr. Depp is eccentrically brilliant. ^_^

[Thuriel]

^ I am in awe of his talent with voices... Unless it's the chocolate that gives him that ability, though, that's neither here nor there.

...Well, okay, it's there. ^^

[Maulden]

Would large amounts of chocolate change one's voice? I think we should all go and find out! *heads towards the kitchen*

[Jenevieve]

We do a way cooler version of an advent calendar. We've got a homesewn cloth christmas tree (My aunt made it for us) that hangs on the wall with twenty-five little pockets on it that are all decorated with bells and ribbons and stuff, and we stick candy into each pocket at the beginning of advent in order to count down, so we get to put in GOOD candy as opposed the apparently crappy stuff from storebought advent calendars -- I wouldn't know since I've never had one of the storebought kind. And that was a rather long sentence, wasn't it.

[Sulis]

We had one of those, too, but since the Christmas decorations never came out until a week before Chrsitmas, it was pretty useless.

[redchina_rose]

(My aunt made it for us) that hangs on the wall with twenty-five little pockets on it that are all decorated with bells and ribbons and stuff, and we stick candy into each pocket at the beginning of advent in order to count down,

Oh I had one of them in the shape of Santa! It was a bought one though. I don';t know what's happened to it now...

[Tundra]

We had this thing that hung on the wall, it was a piece of fabric with a picture of a koala and kangaroo decorating a tree. In true 80s style, mum had made bits of it 'raised' with puff paint. Then once a day we'd put on a cloth decoration, many of them australian themed...

[mcnicks]

Slightly related...

This morning at work, I was heading down to the server room with my guys to do a build and show them some networking stuff. They stopped on the stairs and started going on about lighting and wiring, and about how they should do that first. I suggested that we really needed to get cracking with the server stuff but they were quite insistent until ...

"Wait! You're talking about the lights for the CHRISTMAS TREE? I THINK you can do that LATER!"

*glare*

[Rapunzel247]

Chocolate? Your family must be posh. Ours always used to have little pictures telling the story of Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem ..etc.

We always had ones like that until two or three years ago when my older sister got this fiber optic, spinning Christmas tree one with draws in the base for each day till Christmas (a lot more elegant that it sounds). And then this year my brother bought this awesome Lego one. And my dad got a 'Cars' themed one with chocolate. And yes, the chocolate is offensive.

R.

[cat_lover_4113]

[quote=mcnicks]We always had ones like that until two or three years ago when my older sister got this fiber optic, spinning Christmas tree one with draws in the base for each day till Christmas (a lot more elegant that it sounds).

My mum has one of those, and you wind it up it and plays 'Wish You A Merry Christmas' :D

[Maulden]

We always had ones like that until two or three years ago when my older sister got this fiber optic, spinning Christmas tree one with draws in the base for each day till Christmas (a lot more elegant that it sounds).

My mum has one of those, and you wind it up it and plays 'Wish You A Merry Christmas' :D

I saw a miniature version of that at a restaurant once. ^_^

[theNightingale]

Oh, we used to have an advent calendar every year, until last year, when things just got a little hectic and the month kind of slipped by. Same story this year. Tragic. :(

But yeah -- there are the ones you buy that are actually calendars on cardboard with pictures and you open little windows etc. in the picture and get chocolate, which are good, but my family's always had this long white string with 24 little soft white stockings/socks hanging off it, numbered, that our parents would put chocolate/something small in for each day leading up to Christmas. It was pretty much the high point of every December. :)

[cat_lover_4113]

my family's always had this long white string with 24 little soft white stockings/socks hanging off it, numbered, that our parents would put chocolate/something small in for each day leading up to Christmas. It was pretty much the high point of every December. :)

Now I feel like making one, and one for my children, (when I have them :D ).

[slatterly]

I would like to note that advent calendars do not always necessarily have horrible fake chocolate in them. My brother got one this year that was from Laura Secord. I have not actually tasted any of the chocolates myself, but I imagine they're pretty good.

[Elski]

Mmm, Laura Secord makes advent calenders? *wants*

[Akatari]

(sort-of)Off-topic, but I just got one of the cardboardy windowy calendars-with-chocolate. Yes.

...now, why did I think I needed to post this again...? :?

[Maulden]

...now, why did I think I needed to post this again...? :?

Because it's that cool. 8)