No chocolate festive advent calendars

Becles

Has anyone seen any advent calendars with no chocolates in and either a festive or religious scene on the front?

I don't like the ones with Harry Potter etc., on the front - they're just not Christmassy! I just like ones where you just open the door and get a picture each day. I'm not keen on the ones with pockets where children get a gift each day either.

I can't find any festive no-treat calendars, so if anyone spots any, then please let me know!

liz.._4

Thank goodness someone else feel like this!

I have refused for years to buy advent calendars with cartoon et al characters on them for the same reasons. I go for ones with a nativity scene and dropped lucky last year at a discount shop as they were 10p each! No chocs though but they get enough anyway, plus I don't want them eating chocolate every morning before school. The choc is of poor quality anyway, so you are probably better off making your own and putting some lidl 70% cocoa solid choc at 99p per bar in the pockets (cut into squares).

You could make one out of leftover material or even knit one, should be straightforward enough...:)

earthmother

I got some like that off of eBay last year - and a week after they arrived, WHSmiths (I think) had them in (typical, lol)

I've not started looking this year yet, but I'd imagine they'd be two places to look again.

muz

I stopped buying chocolate calendars a few years ago, but have found that traditional ones were hard to find, and still quite expensive for a nice one, so I bought one similar to this last year, and it is absolutely fab!! I know it seems expensive, but it will last a lifetime, and it so much nicer than a cheap card one.
Alternatively, if you can cross stitch, there are magazines out now with advent calendar patterns in for you to stitch.

hilstep2000

Is there a Christian bookshop near you? We have one in Hastings, and they have no-chocolate, real nativity ones. Last year they were only 75p each too!

earthmother

Try the charity shops too - just remembered my local children's hospice shop had them in last year too.

ShockingPink

How about something like this... http://www.urchin.co.uk/catalog/family-living/family-christmas/p_40203.html

Expensive, but will also last a lifetime and maybe become a nice family heirloom...

PS - hello to a fellow "Office" member:beer:

JulieBarlow

I get them from our local Post Office. They are traditional scenes - nativity or snow-scapes and simple open-the-door-get-a-festive-picture type. They aren't normally expensive either. We then close the doors after New Year and save them for the next year so we now have a big collection that get dotted round the house and the kids love going to find them all and opening the doors to see if any of the pictures match!

Just remembered we did also get a few of them from Tesco one year so they have stocked them in the past.

pavlovs_dog

i will second the charity/christian suggestion.


my best friend is from a very religious family, and it was only in the later teenage years that my friend had a chocolate advent calendar (as she was old enough to buy one herself!)

freebie_fairy

they have some at the British Heart foundation
http://www.bhfcatalogue.co.uk

firespire

http://www.goodcauses.co.uk/
Shop Online>Advent Calendars>1959 Group of Charities

The "where to buy" link gives your local outlets to avoid the postage.