For years I’ve thought that dark chocolate lovers have been under-served when it comes to Advent Calendars, and this year seems no different than any previous. Divine aren’t doing this year for some strange reason (I’ve asked their PR team) so that basically leaves Hotel Chocolat, Montezuma’s and Green & Blacks – none of which are doing anything that will engender the requisite woops of joy. But what of this £17 calendar from Hotel Chocolat?

Of course you’re going to get something that looks good, but for almost £17 I’m sure most of us would appreciate excellent tasting chocolate to go with those good looks. But, to be perfectly honest, I don’t think you get that with this year’s offering. The chocolates behind each door are, in all intents and purposes, double what you’ll find in most advent calendars, but I just feel the chocolate isn’t actually all that special.

There’s a strange, almond-like quality to the chocolate which makes it taste like it’s got artificial sweetener in it, but of course it’s not adulterated by any such thing. Perhaps my taste buds have been abused by so much chocolate recently? There’s also a dry, brittle quality to the texture of the chocolate. At this stage I’d much prefer some of their Purist range which is excellent – but that’s no fun compared to opening up the doors of an advent calendar every morning.

And that brings me on to the ease of opening the doors. Perhaps I’m a little too excited and fumbled about a bit too much like a boy with his hands trying to undo a bra for the first time, but I did find it difficult prizing open the door in the first place and then piercing the metal foil afterward.

Behind those doors I found two rectangles for doors one and two and then a penguin behind the others. I expect there would be reindeers and Santas behind the other doors.

Overall I think £17 is a bit too steep for this advent calendar. But if you really want to get someone a dark chocolate variety and want it to look good, really you don’t have much choice.

If money is no option you can get the same calendars for £12.99 including delivery from Mokoko Chocolates - which, I suppose is ok if you’re buying from them anyway … but still!

You can also get them from Amazon for £6.84.

» Cheapest Shop – Chocolate Buttons – £5.95 «

If you prefer something a bit more unusual then you could consider the Advent Selection Box by the great people at Chococo in Dorset which you can get on pre-order. They contain such delights as chocolates with mulled wine, some with sea salted caramels. At between £25.95 and £27.95 it might also be a bit too expensive for some.

You might also like to consider the wonderful people at Cocoa Black who make exquisite chocolates. They do an advent calendar that resembles a book and contains 24 Christmas themed chocolates inside. You can take a peek at that here.

If you’re looking for a really expensive advent calendar, then give this one from Fortnum & Mason a go. It’ll only cost you £60 each! It does look incredibly cute though as its got 25 toy-shaped chocolates inside! But £60? Ouch!

Also you could get the Chocolate on chocolate advent calendar from John Lewis which costs £20 is a nice simple affair. Whilst House of Dorchester also do one at John Lewis which is a long strip of chocolates.

If 70% is your thing its important to also remember its not necessarily the percentage of cocoa solids that leads to the bitterness of the chocolate, but also the conch time (part of the process of chocolate making that gives chocolate its smoothness but also takes out much of the natural acidity in chocolate.

If you’re looking for a mild 70% advent calendar then try the Hotel Chocolat Ultimate Dark which doesn’t have the bitterness that can be present at that level – but it does cost £17.99.

For a more bitter taste have a go at the Montezuma’s dark chocolate advent calendar which is made with organic chocolate and is much more substantial than the Hotel Chocolat version – plus it only costs £9.99.

Divine normally do a dark chocolate advent calendar, but I can only see a milk chocolate one this year!

It just seems that us dark chocolate fans don’t have much choice this year!

It may be £2.69 but it does weight 499 so it should be substantial enough for even the most food-obsessed pooch.

» Amazon «

There are also some alternatives such as this Advent Calendar For Your Dog which is really cute, and this one featuring a golden Labrador. I’ve also got a black lab but I can’t find one for her.

They also do Christmas stocking for dogs too and includes chocolate drops!

An interesting thing about it is that it’s actually about 20% heavier than the Mars Advent Calendar I’ve reviewed recently. I doubt it’s actually due to the extra one chocolate though. It’s a strange thing when advent calendar companies create them with 25 days instead of the usual 24 – but I’m sure children wouldn’t complain.

I’ve tried a few seasonal treats from Kinnerton before and didn’t really like them, but I’m sure that young children would love them. But for parents who are interested, it does contain cow’s milk as well as vegetable fat and natural flavouring.

» Find Out More «

I suppose there aren’t many kids obsessed with Mars Bars these days when compared to, say, One Direction, but I do feel many parents may see chocolate advent calendars as a last minute thing at the end of November or shudder at the prices from companies such as Hotel Chocolate where you can easily pay £15 for a calendar. And that’s fair enough. But this Mars Advent Calendar will set you back £2 or if you buy two of them (or a Maltesers one) for £3 and I’m not sure they’re worth that much to be honest.

For starters the imagery isn’t all that imaginative, the chocolates are very small and that big window for day 24 – well the chocolate behind it is much smaller than it looks. The door is 9.5cm long but the “fun-sized” Mars Bar inside is about 1/3 that size! Trust me, there’s not much fun being duped liked this. Whilst the chocolates behind every other day are about 2.5cm by 1.5cm – talk about small!

If you’re buying a Mars advent calendar it’s probably because you know the person you’re buying for is a fan of that type of chocolate. You’re probably buying them for kids who like that sort of sweet milk chocolate. But I do feel they’ll be disappointed with the sheer paucity of chocolate behind each door. Christmas is about happy people, and if I was a child I certainly wouldn’t be happy with this.

The point is, I suppose, that if you’re on a budget then effectively £2 for a chocolate advent calendar may be good value. It looks like these advent calendars are an exclusive deal with Tesco, but if you visit My Supermarket, you should be able to see if they’re on sale elsewhere.

But would I generally recommend it? Well no.

These calendars are only £3.99 each but form part of their 3 for 2 offers so if you have three children that’s perfect, or you could use the spares for your parents or husband, wife or a friend. In terms of dietary requirements they don’t include any gluten, are suitable for vegetarians, obviously don’t contain any alcohol but may contains traces of nuts, but they are free from artificial colours or flavouring.

I’ve seen them in store. And although the large ones are certainly big, these are anything but small. You can get the little chocolate at the bottom personalised with white icing for no additional cost.

» Find Out More «

Again this one is a fair bit larger than the other and does cost £5.99. The three chocolates you see at the right-hand-side are actually bigger than the chocolates you get behind each door. But if big is your thing then this one has to be for you.

Just like the other one, it’s suitable for vegetarians, and has the same dietary characteristics. And it’s also in the 3 for 2. This might just be the tight side of me coming out, but I do think the smaller one is better value, but if your kids do prefer the larger look of this calendar then perhaps you should go for this one.

» Find Out More «

Other Personalised Calendars
You can get other advent calendars that are made out of material and have little chocolates placed in the pockets and Find Me A Gift offers those. I can see them being something that you could use over and over again as all you’d need to buy is the little chocolates next year.

Personalised Advent Calendars With No Chocolate

It’s much cheaper at £9.99, and although it doesn’t look quite as flash as the Hotel Chocolat one, it sill should do the trick. What’s more its has a fair amount of chocolate as its 240g compared to the 175g from Hotel Chocolat. And the bit I love most is when they say “This advent calendar is too large to fit our gift box therefore please do not select gift option at the check out. ” Which does make me think its a touch on the large side. This is good if you do have a good appetite for chocolate.

I have one in the post to me, well it will be when they start sending them out on October 10th. I’ll do a review when it arrives.

Moo Free are resent new-comers to the world of dairy free chocolate and this is the first time I’ve seen them do an advent calendar and this one is doubly good as its also organic! I know it’s a touch more expensive than you’ll find in the supermarkets, but I’ve reviewed some seasonal Moo Free chocolate in the past and found it very good.

If you wanted more allergy information you’l be good to know that it is also lactose free, wheat free, egg free, casein free and suitable for vegans.