IS it seeing the Coca Cola truck on telly? Or hearing Mariah on the radio? Or maybe it’s getting the decorations up.
Whatever makes you feel that Christmas has officially started, it’s traditionally marked by the opening of advent calendars.
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If you’re planning to get a chocolate one ready for December 1, we’ve put them to the test to see which are best.
We took a look at 11 different ones from a range of shops and brands, dividing them into two categories: those under £10 and those over.
So whether you’re looking for a cheap and cheerful countdown, or want a more luxurious treat to look forward to, here’s how they faired.
We rated them on price, looks and the chocolates themselves out of five.
But we also awarded bonus points if there were any extra treats at the end – either a window on December 25 or a surprise behind door 24.
Spoiler alert: we do reveal what’s behind the doors so look away now if you don’t want to ruin the surprise.
And don’t forget that you might find some of these available for cheaper with Christmas sales and discounts, so check first.
UNDER £10
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Our line-up of chocolate advent calendars costing under £10 includes some classic chocolate brands.
Unfortunately fans of Celebrations advent calendars won’t be getting their hands on one as Mars is not making them this year.
Here are the scores, and out favourite of the bunch.
Dairy Milk £2 – buy now
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At just £2 and with actual Dairy Milk chocolates in classic shapes behind each door, you can’t go wrong for a cheap treat for the kids.
But don’t expect anything extra – there’s no door for the 25th or different chocolate on Christmas Eve.
This is a basic chocolate advent calendar with no extra frills.
- Price: 5
- Looks: 3
- Chocs: 3
- Extras: 0
- Total: 11
Maltesers £2 – buy now
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Another at the cheaper end, this Maltesers advent calendar has generic tasting chocolate behind almost every door.
It’s not until you reach Christmas Eve that you get a proper Maltesers – a larger reindeer choc with a malted centre.
While it got points for the extra treat, it lost some for taste as I’d expect a calendar branded Maltesers to have them throughout.
- Price: 5
- Looks: 3
- Chocs: 2
- Extras: 1
- Total: 11
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Unfortunately Galaxy’s advent calendar suffered the same problem – no Galaxy chocolate until the final day.
So despite the extra treat of a larger piece of Galaxy on December 24, we had to mark it down for the generic chocs through the rest of the month.
- Price: 5
- Looks: 3
- Chocs: 2
- Extras: 1
- Total: 11
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If you can’t wait until Christmas Day to crack open your tin of Heroes, the advent calendar could be for you.
Behind each door is one mini version of the nine different Heroes chocs: Creme Egg Twisted, Wispa, Twirl, Dairy Milk Caramel, Dairy Milk, Fudge, Crunchie Bits, Dinky Decker and Cadbury chocolate Eclairs.
This is pricier than the others, but you do get a better range of chocs and they are all individually wrapped.
But there’s no December 25 treat or surprise on Christmas Eve, so it missed out on bonus points.
- Price: 4
- Looks: 3
- Chocs: 4
- Extras: 0
- Total: 11
WINNERS – UNDER £10
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Kit Kat’s chocolate advent calendar delivered just what it promised and had a cute little cutout at the top that made it more interesting than just a square box.
You get a Kit Kat chocolate individually wrapped behind every door and in a selection of festive shapes.
On Christmas Eve there’s also a full-size Santa that if you bought separately would cost 65p.
You do pay slightly more than the others with generic chocs, but you get better chocs in return, so we think it’s worth it, and that’s why it scored joint highest.
- Price: 4
- Looks: 4
- Chocs: 3
- Extras: 1
- Total: 12
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Lindt’s advent calendar has the biggest variety of chocs behind each window, including mini Lindor truffle, milk chocolate snowdrops and chocolate Napolitans.
There’s even the classic gold bunny behind one of the doors, but the best is saved for last. Behind door number 24 is a mini – but fairly substantial – chocolate Santa figure.
It’s by far the best extra and getting the Lindt chocolate every day is again worth paying a little bit more for, scoring it top points too.
- Price: 3
- Looks: 3
- Chocs: 4
- Extras: 2
- Total: 12
OVER £10
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Our range of calendars over £10 offer a little extra compared to the basics above, but won’t cost a fortune if you’re after a little luxurious treat.
Hotel Chocolat The Everything advent calendar £26 – buy now
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Hotel Chocolat is known for its fancy chocolates and this advent calendar doesn’t disappoint on that front.
You get one of 15 different chocs each day, ranging from Eton Mess to Salted Espresso Martini, and the design folds out and looks very sophisticated.
But it’s the priciest of the bunch by far at £26 and for that you don’t get a December 25 or anything extra special.
- Price: 2
- Looks: 4
- Chocs: 5
- Extras: 0
- Total: 11
Tony’s Chocolonely £12 – buy now
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Tony’s advent calendar is by far the most impressive to look at. It’s large with loud colours and is made from incredibly thick cardboard – I needed two hands to to tear open the doors.
Behind each one is less spectacular though, as the chocolates are rather tiny in comparison.
You do get a good selection of unusual flavours like Dark Milk Pretzel Toffee and Almond Sea Salt, and when you get to door 24, there are two chocs.
Unfortunately our Tony’s advent calendar was missing a chocolate for December 8, it must have got lost in the post.
- Price: 4
- Looks: 5
- Chocs: 4
- Extras: 0
- Total: 13
Thorntons Continental £12 – buy now
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Thorntons may have closed all its shops on the high street but you can still get hold of their goodies online and in supermarkets.
Fans of the choc shop’s Continental range can get one of nine flavours behind each door, including Salted Caramel and Amaretti Crisp.
This is far cheaper for a still tasty range of chocolates, plus you get an extra door on December 25: not far off full-sized Alpine Praline chocolate bar.
- Price: 4
- Looks: 3
- Chocs: 5
- Extras: 2
- Total: 14
M&S Colin the Caterpillar £12 – buy now
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Marks and Spencer has take inspiration from its classic Colin the Caterpillar cartoon character for this advent calendar.
Shaped just like the cake until you open it up into two halves, it’s a creative shape and stands out compared to the rest.
Behind each door is a white chocolate Colin face, though nothing extra special for the last day.
- Price: 5
- Looks: 5
- Chocs: 4
- Extras: 0
- Total: 14
WINNER – OVER £10
M&S Hogwarts Express £12 – buy now
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Marks and Spencer’s Harry Potter advent calendar also wows before you even open it thanks to its fun and unusual shape
The Hogwarts Express delivers several tasty types of chocolates, including golden snitches (choc balls) and Hedwigs (chocolate caramels).
On day 25 you get an extra treat too – a chocolate ticket for the service leaving platform 9 and 3/4.
The only disappointment is that it says what’s inside so you lose the surprise.
- Price: 4
- Looks: 5
- Chocs: 5
- Extras: 1
- Total: 15
VERDICT
Under £10
I personally think that you might feel a bit cheated if you expected Galaxy or Malteaser chocolate behind those doors.
The £2 advents from Dairy milk, Maltesers and Galaxy are bargains of course, and great if you just want something simple to countdown the days to Christmas.
But we think it’s worth spending a little more on the Kit Kat or Lindt calendar to get the better flavoured chocolates and a little extra magic on the last window.
Over £10
We loved the magical M&S Harry Potter advent calendar and it hit the spot across the board.
Although not quite as fancy chocs as some of the other calendars, they were delicious.
And for this price any kid (or adult) would look forward to opening a door each day come December.
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