Hotel Chocolat Luxury Chocolate Advent calendar

Every year, usually about now, my 6yo starts dropping hints about chocolate advent calendars.

Every year, I dutifully dig out our fabric advent calendar and try *not* to fill it with chocolate, but fill it with boxes of raisins and nuts and and and ...ok, a few chocolate sneak in there if we run out of homemade gingerbread stars & angels.

Every year, the 6yo laments the lack of a fully branded chocolate advent calendar. But what does Ben 10 have to do with Christmas I ask him? But Soandso has one comes the reply. I don't care. You're not Soandso (this is where I realise I've turned into my father).

So you can imagine the 6yo delight when this little beauty landed in our postbox:

I'm pretty sure the squeals of delight were audible some miles away...


I have to admit, I'm pretty taken with it myself.

It's beautifully illustrated with snowflakes and partridges in (pear?) trees.

There's even the essential Rhudolf, with his shiny red nose.

And as for the chocolates inside...well, i couldn't possibly comment seeing as we haven't opened door number 1 yet (ahem..slight fabrication). Ok, I admit it. I tasted one. In the name of research of course, you understand?

It was everything I have come to expect from Hotel Chocolat. Decent chocolate. Grown-up chocolate. In a lovely bite size festive shape too (but shhh, don't tell the children). And not a Ben 10 in sight.

Disclosure: We were kindly sent this Hotel Chocolate Advent Calendar to review, free of charge, but all views are my own.