‘Delicious, classy and festive’: the best (and worst) chocolate Advent calendars, tasted and rated | The food filter

Advent enthusiast Georgina Hayden rounds up her whole family to determine which chocolate calendars hold festive joy behind every door

• The best advent calendars for 2025, tested

When it comes to Christmas, I unashamedly go all out. I love to kickstart December with Advent calendars for all the family, so it seemed only fair to taste test this lot with them in tow. And, despite an age range spanning 60-plus years, we were all pretty much on the same page with our expectations: we were looking for a bit of variety behind the doors, some Christmas sparkle and a hint of nostalgia. Packaging that looked the part when displayed on our mantelpiece was also an important consideration.

Despite the obvious biases (the kids being attracted to the calendars aimed at them v the adults preferring the slightly more elegant offerings), the results were pretty consistent. We all loved the calendars where there was something extra: a picture behind a door or a foil barrier to break through, a variation in the chocolates and so forth. Ultimately, that just goes to show that we’re all big kids at heart – and that every day should start with a miniature chocolate treat.