Advent calendars in Germany

I've always loved advent calendars.  Opening 24 little boxes to reveal hidden surprises as you count down to Christmas is just plain fun.

In the US, before we moved, there were generally a couple dozen candy advent calendars in grocery stores every year--nearly all filled with particularly cheap and low quality chocolate.  In the last few years there were also Playmobil and Lego calendars.  Most years there were even two or three different Playmobil options.  And there were the many "fill yourself" options.  Quilts with pockets were quite popular, and I loved the LL bean lighthouse and cabins:

Germany's love of all things Christmas extends to advent calendars and the stores fill with literally hundreds of options for about 2 weeks in early November (by the time I thought to take photos last week, most were already sold out).  Fill your own quilts, bunting style, baggies with clips, etc are only the beginning.

Of course there are the usual chocolate calendars.  Some with cheap chocolates, but also dozens of options with quality chocolates from Lindt, Kinder, Ritter Sport, etc.  Entire grocery store rows can be dedicated to the boxes of treats hidden behind windows.  

(this was one of 6 chocolate displays at one store)

The kids have outgrown Playmobil and chose Lindt chocolates this year

There are chocolate calendars with all kids of themes too, like these for sports fans:

If you are picking up a candy calendar for a child, it's good to be aware that many of the nicer brands have liquor filled truffles in them, so watch out for and avid those (or, if you are shopping for yourself, perhaps that is just what you want to look for!).  And, of course, you probably want to avoid these as well:

(yes, that blurry image is of the Playboy chocolate advent calendar--and yes these are on full display at the gas station--I slid it sideways to cover much of the photograph behind the shelf there on the left).

We have toys too.  14 different Playmobil versions that I counted this year, three Lego versions, Hotwheels, Barbie, magic sets, toy pets, little craft sets, Who Done It? mysteries that give a clue each day and many others.  I counted 73 different versions in the toy section of one department store last week.

All that chocolate might make you thirsty, so why not have a drink, every day?  The Coca-cola calendar seems aimed right for me (though, really where is the fun in getting the exact same thing every day?).  I missed getting photos of the beer a day (full sized, 24 different brews), herbal tea of the day, and mini bottle of schnapps per day calendars--they sold out fast at all the stores.

In Germany, Advent goodies go well beyond food, drinks and candy.  There are several calendars that provide a travel sized toiletry item per day, some aimed at women, some at men and even some for babies:

If you'd rather find make up or jewelry every day, there are several options for you as well:

Germans love their pets, and do not leave them out of the fun either.  There were several brand options out there for dogs, cats and other small pets as well:

All of these 24 day countdown calendars are in addition to the Advent wreaths and logs that are in just about every German home this time of year (so far as I can tell, anyway).  Each has four candles--one of which is lit for each Sunday of Advent (the four Sundays leading up to Christmas).  So, one candle will be lit today, two next week and so on.  

Add in several visits to Christmas Markets, shoes full of goodies on St Nick's Day (December 6), three days of celebrating Christmas itself (Christmas Eve on the 24th, Christmas Day on the 25th and "second Christmas Day" on the 26th), and roving bands of kids coming door to door singing and collecting for charity on Epiphany (January 6th) and you almost get a feel of just how important this holiday is in Germany (and I love every moment of it!).

--Hadley