ADVENT CALENDARS (WITH THE FOODIE FOREMOST IN MIND)

Where has this year flown to? The TV is already packed with Christmas ads (a tad early in my opinion) and Advent (or Countdown to Christmas) calendars are in abundance and at all sorts of prices. To be honest there seems to be a calendar for almost anything you care to choose, but I’ve made the job a little easier for you by selecting some of my favourites:

Of course, Marks & Spencer has come up trumps again, especially in terms of value for money. They have a great selection to suit all ages. The range includes The M&S Chocolate Shop Advent Calendar, filled with 25 days of individual treats, including festive blond fudge bites, mini whips and giant caramel buttons. The Christmas Day treat’s a bag of gigantic chocolate buttons for an extra serving of festive cheer. £12 from M&S and Ocado. There’s also a Doggies & Moggies one (£10) which is rather cute, as well, of course, as the ubiquitous Colin the Caterpillar and Percy Pig (£7)

If chocolate isn’t your ‘thing’ I’d suggest a tea calendar. Bird & Blend Tea www.birdandblendtea.com has a great range. Bird & Blend created the very first tea advent in 2016, and since then it’s achieved cult status, selling out every year. Every day, open one of the 24 little cubes containing x2 tea bags and a range of flavours including a mix of Christmas teas and regular favourites. It’s 100% plastic free, and earth-friendly (one tree planted for each calendar sold). Regular and decaf versions available at £38 as well as a Matcha calendar for £52 (but with £80 worth of teas inside)

Back onto chocolate options: Tony’s Chocolonely is always a popular one and showcasing how things really work in the chocolate industry. New this year is Tony’s Small Countdown Calendar – a smaller Tony’s countdown calendar featuring 24 chocolates: 12 of caramel sea salt Tinys and 12 of the creamy milk Tinys. £12 from Sainsbury’s.

Serious chocolate aficionados will really appreciate the new Milk Chocolate Advent Shapes Tube from Chococo. 24 little festive shapes handcrafted from 47% Colombia origin milk chocolate (Great Taste Award winning too) and packaged in a reusable plastic-free tube. It’s higher in cocoa and lower in sugar, and if you want to send one as a gift you can include a personal message for free. It’s £12 and just one of a great range of ethically produced chocolate from chococo.co.uk. Also available is The Christmas Countdown Selection box, a highly sophisticated choice, at £29 for a gorgeous box containing 25 of the company’s delicious chocolates.

Any regular reader will know that I love liquorice, and the LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW range in particular. And this year the company has produced a lovely calendar for its 10 year anniversary. There is a selection of all-time favourites, including chocolate, liquorice and fruity flavours along with some new tastes, all in a beautifully packaged and fully recyclable box. Serves two, but one is rarely enough. £60 Sous Chef

Talking of Sous Chef, I’ve been astounded by the superb range of products on this uber-foodie website. It also has the most amazing selection of calendars, starting at £16 and going up to £220! I thought this Babbi Wafer Advent Calendar at £35 was really rather gorgeous. The calendar contains Babbi’s famous Viennesi in three delicious flavours. Each bite-sized Viennesi has layers of thin, crisp wafer sandwiched with cream. There’s classic vanilla, earthy pistachio and rich dark chocolate, plus Babbi’s CuBon pralines and Babbini in flavours like coffee and coconut. Babbi is a family-owned business based in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. Established in 1952, Babbi is one of Italy’s top confectionery producers. They are best known for their Viennesi, chocolate-covered wafers in various flavours. www.souschef.co.uk

Another company that has a superb selection is Fortnum & Mason, and here’s a lovely one for children that’s surprisingly reasonably priced at £26. Made for young ones on St. Nick’s nice list, this calendar contains 25 organic milk chocolates in a host of festive shapes, from perfectly wrapped presents and festive fir trees, to an edible version of the man himself. Available online here

And of course there are cheese Advent Calendars from companies like Ilchester at just £9 from Ocado and Asda. There are beer calendars, and rum and whisky too, but the Craft Gin Club calendar has got to take the non chocolate prize for me. A different gin to unwrap every day in Advent sounds heaven. You can spend 25 nights trying a taster of some of the world’s best craft gins and each 50ml gin will give any gin fan the ultimate adventure this December. Check out the website club.craftginclub.co.uk and you’ll find the company also has a rum version as well as a gin and tonic one.

And on a different note from food, but equally good, is the Beauty Advent Calendar from M&S. I was lucky enough to be given one last year and it made every day of December a real treat. Every morning I found myself excitedly opening each numbered box to discover what lovely beauty gift it contained. Spend £35 in Marks on beauty home or clothing and you can buy this for £50 (an enormous saving as the contents are worth £300 plus). It’s sold out online now, sadly, but you might be lucky enough to get your hands on one in store.