The countdown to Christmas starts this week and you've still got time to bag yourself one of the best chocolate advent calendars on the market.
Being Goodto's Food Editor for many years now I have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the best Christmas foods. Be it the best Christmas food hampers or the best food and drink advent calendars, I certainly know my stuff - and chocolate is no exception. I've tried a wide range of chocolate brands over the years to know which chocolate advent calendar is certainly worth the money - and which ones are not.
This year I've chosen brands that either myself or my family have had advent calendars from in the past and have loved - so yes, I have eaten every single chocolate in this roundup at some point or another. Any that I have reviewed this year, including Love Cocoa, Cadbury, Thorntons, and H!P Oat Milk I have tested with the quality and taste of chocolate, as well as value for money in mind. The packaging is also an important part of this year’s range - keeping in with the festive theme as well as being environmentally friendly and easy to recycle at home.
This article was updated on 29th November. We checked the prices of all the products featured in the article and updated some of the deals for accuracy.
Where to buy the best chocolate advent calendars 2023
- Amazon: Think Kinder, Galaxy, Ferrero Rocher, and more delivered straight to your door
- John Lewis: Hotel Chocolat, Montezuma, Monty Bojangles and more
- Ocado: Disney Princesses, Reese’s Pieces, Milkybar, Marvel and much more
- Lindt: Luxury chocolate advent calendars that you certainly won’t want to share
- Cadbury: Cadbury has both kids and adults sorted this year with 3D advent calendars and more
- Hotel Chocolat: Milk, dark, white, caramel - Hotel Chocolat hasn’t held back this year
Best chocolate advent calendars 2023
RRP: £9 | Delivery: Next day/Standard | Available: Now | Weight: 235g
If you're a massive truffle fan and have never tried Monty Bojangles chocolate before - where have you been?! These melt-in-the-mouth truffles will leave you wanting to open the next door and the next door on your advent calendar. You may even have to look at purchasing yourself a box when the countdown to Christmas is all over! This festive calendar features an array of different flavoured truffles; from orange to cookie, from plain to popcorn. It's certainly a treat for the taste buds and top of my list for this year.
RRP: £12.75 | Delivery: Next day/Standard | Available: Now | Weight: 271g
I am a massive Ferrero Rocher fan - a go-to after Christmas Dinner chocolate when I'm done with the chocolate mints. This Ferrero Rocher Premium Advent Calendar, which was a popular buy last year, is a must-have for any fans of the brand and will certainly get you into the festive spirit. Behind each of these 24 doors, you'll find one delicious nutty Ferrero Collection praline - including the classic Rocher as well as Raffaello (coconut and white almond) and Rondnoir (wafer and dark chocolate). A true chocolate masterpiece that never gets old.
RRP: £11.05| Delivery: Next day/Standard | Available: Now | Weight: 125g
Hotel Chocolat knows a thing or two when it comes to quality chocolate, especially at Christmas time. This generous chocolate advent calendar priced at just £13 is packed with some of Hotel Chocolat's finest festive treats. Feast on milk chocolate reindeer, Santa, Christmas tree, snowman, and more throughout December. Each piece of chocolate is a pretty good size - the bigger, the better I say. And another good thing to know is that Hotel Chocolat has made this calendar in different flavours too including a white chocolate advent calendar, dark chocolate advent calendar- and even a caramel chocolate advent calendar.
RRP: £13 | Delivery: Next day/Standard | Available: Now | Weight: 296g
Christmas is a time for indulging and Lindt chocolate is pure indulgence. The type of chocolate you eat and just close your eyes as it slowly melts in your mouth. Now this calendar is the best of the best this year as it contains a whole array of Lindt's finest - from Lindor truffles to mini Lindt Reindeer, Santa and Teddy, milk chocolate snowdrops and so much more. You've also got a good selection of chocolate types covered too - milk, dark, hazelnut milk - I mean my mouth is watering as I type. As this calendar has so much variety, I think it's a great one for sharing with your partner or loved one if you don't want to go too mad on calendars this year.
RRP: £13 | Delivery: Nominated day/Standard | Available: Now | Weight: 225g
The first ever Tony's Christmas countdown calendar landed in 2021 to much demand and praise and I can't help but compare this advent to something straight out of Willy Wonka's factory, thanks to a rainbow of flavours including White Chocolate Raspberry Popping Candy, Dark Milk Chocolate Pretzel Toffee, plus Milk Chocolate Caramel Sea Salt - and much much more. Now I do love a bar of Tony's chocolate - it's unbelievably moreish and you have to have some serious willpower to not eat the whole bar in one sitting, so indulging in a small version, plus the head-turning flavours on a daily basis in the run-up to Christmas sounds like a dream come true. Gimme...
RRP: £25 | Delivery: Next day/Standard | Available: Now | Weight: 300g
Love Cocoa has certainly had a delicious array of festive chocolates over the past few years and this year is no exception. This huge, and I mean huge, advent calendar was far bigger than I thought when it turned up at the door (I am not complaining!) and the vibrant packaging and design are just wonderful. Behind each number is an individually wrapped truffle - from hazelnut praline crunch, spiced gingerbread to salted caramel. And door no.24 is a mini honeycomb chocolate bar which I admittedly did not share despite it being much bigger than all the truffles. The truffles in this calendar are just heavenly, not to mention, palm oil-free, and foregoing plastic packaging, this is one that takes the environment into account.
RRP: £10 | Delivery: Book a slot | Available: Now | Weight: 340g
New for 2023, this generous milk chocolate advent calendar is a Cadbury special perfect for the grown-ups who don't want to miss out on the Christmas countdown fun. It includes a great selection of Cadbury favourites; from Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel Chunks, Cadbury Dairy Milk Jingly Bells Hazelnut Creme, Cadbury Dairy Milk Little Robins, and a very generous Cadbury Dairy Milk Winter Wonderland bar for day 24 - which you may want to hide so you don't have to share it. This is a great chocolate advent calendar option not just for adults, but a good one for older kids/teens too as it has a great variety, good sized choc behind each door, and if your kids love Cadbury anyway - it's a win, win all round I'd say.
RRP: £54 | Delivery: 48 hour Mon-Fri | Available: Now | Weight: 155g
Countdown to Christmas in true style with this luxurious chocolate advent calendar by Belgium chocolatier, Pierre Marcolini. This calendar swaps the traditional calendar doors or windows (whatever you like to call them?!) for individually numbered boxes instead which certainly look the part. Plus the advent calendar itself opens up either side to reveal the boxes hidden inside. Parcelled in each box is a carefully selected chocolate with flavours inspired by the traditional tastes of Christmas. Think hazelnut praline, salted caramel, gingerbread truffles, cashew nut praline and so much more.
RRP: £18 | Delivery: Next day/Standard | Available: Now | Weight: 310g
Cartwright & Butler is another one of my favourite brands come the festive season, they have one of the best Christmas cakes not to mention Christmas hampers and now they've even got your chocolate advent calendar sorted. This year's calendar contains a selection of deliciously sweet Belgian chocolates including 12 different flavours behind 24 doors. It's a small advent calendar at first glance, however they do say good things come in small packages and this calendar certainly didn't disappoint. Choosing from milk, dark, and white chocolate each day really is a surprise, as other than the ingredients list at the back of the calendar, there is no list of flavours or types of chocolate, so expect the unexpected.
RRP: £26.25 | Delivery: Next day/Standard | Available: Now | Weight: 250g
I've always had a soft spot for Fortnum & Mason as they have, in my eyes, some of the best quality produce I've tasted. Since then, when Christmas rolls around I have waited in awe to see what Fortnum has to offer and this year they have certainly not disappointed. This truffle chocolate advent calendar is full of some of Fortnum's finest including a personal favourite, milk chocolate Marc de Champagne truffles which are booze-tastic and on point if you're a chocolate liqueur fan. Other flavours include maple and pecan praline, Christmas pudding, and dark chocolate orange truffles. A really decadent freestanding advent calendar I would happily have sitting on my kitchen side this December.
RRP: £6 | Delivery: Next day/Standard | Available: Now | Weight: 247g
Every year a Reese's chocolate advent calendar pops up in our best chocolate advent calendars roundup and do you know why? Because Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are just heavenly. Perfect for the peanut butter lover in your life, this advent calendar is jam-packed with mini cups, not just milk chocolate, but dark and white too so you can really make the most of it. We feel this has got a teenage son or daughter written all over it this year. The out-there, vibrant design of 'cool Santa' on the front of this chocolate advent calendar certainly makes this calendar stand out in the crowd, not to mention the iconic neon orange associated with Reese's Pieces.
RRP: £75 | Delivery: Next day/Standard | Available: Now
Now THIS is an advent calendar. I was lucky enough to enjoy this indulgent advent calendar last year and would recommend it again this year as it was just fantastic - and there's so much more than chocolate in it too. This advent calendar is gigantic so make sure you've got plenty of space to store it in the run-up to Christmas as it opens like a giant book and even the advent calendar doors are huge. Think Hotel Chocolat's finest chocolates like Jolly Penguin Selector, Simple Milk Baubles, and Caramel Supernova. And then think Honey Chocolat Lip Balm, Velvetised Chocolate Cream booze, and Hotel Chocolat Hot Chocolate.
Best kids chocolate advent calendars
RRP: £9 | Delivery: Standard/Next day| Available: Now | Weight: 308g
Cadbury's has upped their game with this 3D advent calendar containing some favourite mini Cadbury chocolates such as Cadbury's Chocolate Buttons, Chomp, Fudge, Freddo, and more. My kids are obsessed with Cadbury's chocolate - Fudge bars and Freddo's in particular, so seeing this Cadbury advent calendar, in 3D form certainly put a big smile on their faces. A great free-standing choice that is sure to keep the kids happy in the run-up to Christmas this December thanks to a simple change in advent calendar design.
RRP: £7.20 | Delivery: Next day/Standard | Available: Now | Weight: 83g
Make the Christmas countdown even more special with a personalised chocolate advent calendar for the kids. This Thornton's calendar is great for siblings who always want the same thing but will squabble over whose is whose as at the bottom of each calendar, handwritten in edible chocolate writing is your child's name - which should be the squabbles to rest once and for all (we can hope!). This milk chocolate calendar includes a selection of festive shapes from classic presents to stockings to Santa's face. Priced at just £7.20 it is a popular choice from Thornton's this year and I can see why.
RRP: £10.95 | Delivery: Next day/Standard | Available: Now | Weight: 234g
Now this Kinder chocolate advent calendar takes the Christmas countdown to a whole new level and the kids are going to love it. My two are obsessed with Kinder Surprise eggs - not just because of the toys - but because of the sweet, creamy chocolate too. This advent calendar doesn't just include a Kinder Surprise egg, but a selection of other Kinder chocolate products too; Kinder bars, Kinder mini eggs, and Kinder Schoko-Bons - to name a few. A fun, 3D calendar that my little ones have not stopped talking about. And to make it even more worth it, you do actually get a classic DIY Kinder toy at the end. Result!
Best vegan chocolate advent calendars
RRP: £10 | Delivery: Next day/Standard | Available: Now | Weight: 120g
If you're on a dairy-free diet or looking for a vegan option for Christmas, this is one of my top picks for 2023. Why I hear you ask? Well, simple because the chocolate actually tastes like chocolate. Flavours included in this £10 calendar include Gingerbread Oat M!lk Chocolate, Orange Oat M!lk Chocolate, and my favourite Creamy & Smooth M!lk Chocolate. Behind each door, is a dairy-free chocolate square which is individually wrapped and dare I say 'cute' (can you call chocolate cute? Well, these mini bars are 'cute') foil wrapped and with a branded sleeve. Other than the delicious chocolate, and environmentally friendly recyclable, plastic-free packaging I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the jokes and Christmas trivia on the back of each numbered door.
RRP: £11 | Delivery: Next day/Standard | Available: Now | Weight: 235g
A few years back I got sent a Christmas hamper with a whole range of delicious festive treats but the main product that stood out and I have been obsessed with ever since was Monty Bojangles. These chocolate truffles are some of the best I've ever tasted - melting in the mouth with a light dusting of cocoa powder on top. The packaging is vibrant and puts a smile on your face. This calendar brings all of my favourite elements of Monty Bojangles truffles - plus Christmas - into one delicious advent calendar you will find hard to share. Truffles hiding behind each window include Cocoa Nib Nights, Cocoberry Blush, and a personal favourite, Caramel Haze.
RRP: £15 | Delivery: Book a slot | Available: Now | Weight: 125g
You wouldn't even know that this advent calendar by Ombar is vegan, dairy-free chocolate it is that tasty. A vibrant, colourful calendar that opens just like a book and hides 25 different flavoured oat milk chocolates behind each door. Highlights for me included the fruit and nut bar, smooth and creamy, and the best of the best, the hazelnut chocolate bar. Chocolate bars in this calendar are bite-sized, and each is individually wrapped for freshness. A great choice for kids and adults alike. Plus the packaging can all be recycled, which certainly gives you peace of mind.
Tried and tested chocolate advent calendars - my top 3 picks
Certainly one of the big head-turners for me this year, Love Cocoa Luxury Chocolate Truffle Advent Calendar stood out among the crowd for a variety of reasons and size was certainly one of them.
Behind each door I found an individually wrapped truffle - be it gingerbread flavour, salted caramel, hazelnut praline, or hazelnut rocher. Not a big selection in terms of flavours, however the generous size and taste of the chocolates made up for it. The giant hazelnut rocher was actually large compared to the average-sized piece of chocolate you tend to get in a chocolate advent calendar. It was so big in fact that I found it hard to get it out of the calendar door but after a bit of a wiggle, it was free and ready to be devoured with a cuppa.
Other than the delicious chocolate Love Cocoa is famous for, it was the packaging that won it for me. A vibrant festive design - almost like a piece of artwork - you can tell that a lot of time and effort went into the design of this calendar. Plus the festive jokes, facts, and anecdotes were a lovely touch. I also love the fact that the whole calendar can be recycled at home - even the individual wrappers for each chocolate can be recycled.
With its vibrant packaging, big bold flavours (if you could eat Christmas in chocolate form, the gingerbread truffle was exactly that!), and big size, this chocolate calendar from Love Cocoa gets a big thumbs up from me.
I think Lindt chocolate is pure indulgence and this chocolate advent calendar showcases some of Lindt's finest chocolates this Christmas. 'Variety' and 'quality' are two words that spring to mind when reviewing this calendar. There may only be nine different flavoured chocolates or variations of chocolate to choose from, but it feels like there is so much more.
Highlights for me included opening a door to find not just one Lindt Milk Snowdrop, but two, a mini reindeer chocolate and teddy bear chocolate as part of the regular countdown, and the cherry on the cake - the big guy himself, Santa behind the door no.24. It's certainly a generously filled advent calendar that I feel is reasonably priced for Lindt.
This chocolate advent calendar has a simple, elegant design which is Lindt to a tee. The only disappointment is that the calendar itself is delivered in plastic wrap which I didn't feel was necessary, and unfortunately can't be recycled at home, but the rest of the calendar can - from card and foil to plastic tray.
If you're looking for quality chocolate, that doesn't cost the earth - and that you could even share with a loved one (only if you want to share of course!) this is my choice for 2023.
They say that good things come in small packages and this chocolate advent calendar from Cartwright & Butler is exactly that. Now it may not have the most vibrant design or festive packaging but it does have a lovely historical story behind the design choice.
Over the years I have associated Cartwright & Butler with many things - gift boxes, hampers, buttery biscuits paired perfectly with a cuppa but I never had it pegged as a chocolatier. This advent calendar is a surprise from start to finish with some truly mouthwatering chocolates to indulge in.
It's great for sharing with a loved one - take me for example - I'm not keen on dark chocolate or anything with coffee in it, but my husband is the complete opposite, so this calendar was just great for us as we both got to enjoy what we like, swap what we didn't and still benefited from a range of different chocolates.
This subtle nod to Christmas includes some of the sweetest, creamiest array of chocolates which honestly took me by surprise. I will certainly be looking out for this calendar again next year, that's for sure.
How we tested the best chocolate advent calendars
Each chocolate advent calendar that I had the pleasure of reviewing was tried and tested keeping the following criteria in mind:
- How does the chocolate advent calendar look; is it vibrant, and festive, would you happily display it on your kitchen side in the run-up to Christmas or hide it away in the cupboard?
- How does the chocolate in each advent calendar taste; the quality of the chocolate, is it too sweet, does it taste exactly like the flavour it says it's supposed to be, what makes this specific chocolate stand out above the rest?
- The variety of chocolates included in the calendar; how many flavours are included, are they different shapes, sizes, festive or simple squares, what ingredients are used, would someone be disappointed to open or would they be satisfied?
- Value for money; how much does the chocolate advent calendar cost, is that a good price per gram, does the price reflect the brand, is it too expensive, too cheap, and why?
- Packaging; is the chocolate advent calendar made from recyclable packaging, is it all cardboard or mostly plastic, how can it be recycled, is this clearly marked on the calendar?
What are the most popular chocolate advent calendar brands?
Lindt is one of the most popular chocolate advent calendar brands known for their luxuriously creamy chocolate and ever-pleasing calendars - catering for both adults and children.
Alongside Lindt, brands such as Cadbury, Hotel Chocolat, Thorntons, and Galaxy have proven to be a popular choices among chocolate advent calendar shoppers over the past few years.
Where did chocolate advent calendars originate from?
Chocolate advent calendars have been around since the 1950s as a way to count down to Christmas Day. However, they only became popular in the 1970s in the UK when chocolate brands such as Cadbury's paved the way with their first chocolate advent calendar launch in 1971.
Traditionally chocolate advent calendars have been simple in design, with a solo chocolate square hidden behind paper doors. However, in recent years, they’ve been given an indulgent makeover with everything from truffles to pralines to vegan chocolates and even booze-infused chocolates.
Looking for more Christmas food inspiration? Have a browse through this year's festive taste tests tried, tasted, and reviewed by our Food Team. They've got you covered when it comes to the best mince pies, the best turkey, the best Christmas cake, the best Christmas pudding - and even the best Christmas desserts.
