Advent calendar season is upon us once again, but with so many options to choose from, it can be hard to know which one to add to your trolley. Never fear – our panel of advent aficionados have sorted the duds from the dazzling.

There is nothing quite like a cardboard box divided into 24 petite compartments, each with a perforated door ready to reveal some kind of daily festive treat. If you’ve yet to procure an advent calendar, just a few days out from December 1, I’m pleased to tell you that this is in fact an ideal moment to do so: the shelves are still stocked, the discounts have begun, and, should you need guidance, what follows will tell you which boxes are worth buying – and which are best left behind.

The advent calendar, apparently, began in the 19th century among German Lutherans as a Christmas countdown marked by candles, chalk or pinned-up pictures. Most of us, however, will have grown up with rather interchangeable variations of chocolate-stuffed cardboard – which have now morphed into a kaleidoscopic range of options from the most bare-bones budget to boutique indulgence, capable of containing all manner of edible and non-edible items.

In the interest of the public good, we sampled our way through some of the most unpretentious offerings to be found. Our tasting panel consisted of The Spinoff’s resident advent calendar connoisseurs: Tina Tiller, Alice Neville, Madeleine Chapman, Gemma Spring, Veronica Schmidt, Ben Fagan, Joel MacManus, Calum Henderson, Emma Gleason and Jin Fellet. 

Though we’re aware that far more luxurious (and probably delicious) calendars exist in the world, our sample was procured independently from the local Woolworths, the sort of place where most shoppers, realistically, buy these things. Eight calendars in total made it to the judging table. 

Because the pleasure of advent calendars is as much about the box as what hides within it, and because today’s calendars often mix confections in ways that defy attempts at comparison, we couldn’t conduct the tasting in an ordinary, blind manner. Instead, our panel judged first the exterior of each box – its design, its feel, its ability to elicit anticipation. Then, we opened the tiny doors and assessed taste, variety, value and the sense of surprise. 

This is to say, there are a number of variables that define an advent calendar, so our judgment was largely underscored by how excited we would be to return to the calendar for 24 days in a row. Some promised a daily moment of joy, while others, even after a single sample, felt like an unfortunate obligation. Here, then, are the advent calendars of Aotearoa’s supermarkets, ranked from worst to best. 

8. Park Avenue Advent Calendar Paw Patrol

$4.50 for 50g

2.5/10

Obviously, the design of this one would spark a lot of joy for the hordes of pint-sized Paw Patrol loyalists who inhabit this country. And that, in itself, is a good enough reason to buy an advent calendar. 

The panel, however, was derailed by the description of the sweets, which were advertised as “cocoa milk figures” rather than chocolate – presumably because the cocoa solids content isn’t high enough to meet the legal requirement, at least in some countries. The resulting confection, whatever it was, was grainy, oddly flavoured and faintly stale, even by the standards of budget advent calendars. Still, Tina offered reassurance to the distressed panel: “The kids will be fine.” And they probably will be. 

7. Ma Baker Mallow Advent Calendar

$6 for 135g

3/10

“It’s either posh or it’s really budget,” said Gemma upon catching a glimpse of this comparatively large and comparatively minimalist advent calendar box with a sort of faux artisanal feel to it. Joel, meanwhile, felt that it belonged in a “new-build townhouse painted millennial grey with a silver Christmas tree”.

Any illusions of poshness vanished upon encountering the contents: individually wrapped marshmallows encasing undefinable variants of goo. Reflecting on the disappointment of it all, Tina summed up the betrayal succinctly: “You think you’re gonna be so set with this calendar and then you open it…” Emma, inspecting the box, concluded that the calendar might actively worsen the countdown to Christmas.“If you buy this you’ll be suffering to make your way through to the end.”

6. Park Avenue Advent Calendar Elf On The Shelf

$4.50 for 40g

5/10

Here the panel encountered a snowy tableau design of strangely proportioned elves engaged in what appeared to be a festive photo shoot. Tina critiqued the box’s “cheapness” but felt positive things about its “whimsy”, while Jin applauded the “diversity” of the elves, one of whom, she noted approvingly, appeared “sassy”.

Extracting the petite chocolates moulded in classical shapes like bears, bells and holly was joyfully reminiscent of Christmases past for much of the panel. And despite shared unease about the calibre of the chocolate, around half of the panel was pleasantly surprised by what they tasted. Perhaps most concerned of the bunch was Alice, who followed her first bite with modest praise: “Yeah, I’m not minding it.” In the realm of advent calendar chocolate, that’s worth celebrating.

5. Chupa Chups & Mentos Minis Advent Calendar

$9 for 192g

5.5/10

Departing from tradition is always a risky move. Particularly at this time of year, and particularly when you find yourself face to face with a judging panel as heavily orthodox as this one. 

The good news is that the treats here, consisting of a generous assortment of shrunken-down Mentos and Chupa Chups, were broadly admired for their playfulness and novelty. But the majority of the panel was highly unsettled by the discordant aesthetic of its exterior. “It’s not very traditional, is it?” remarked Veronica while glaring at the cardboard front covered, diabolically, in a bedraggled Santa, bamboozled elves, and, inexplicably, a pair of stray underpants. “It’s sacrilegious!” Joel declared. “The reindeer is stinky,” cried Jin. “I don’t like his shiny teeth,” said Alice, pointing at the illustrated Santa. “This is the type of thing you do not buy your own child,” Veronica proclaimed, before conceding that “this is what kids actually want”. 

4. Park Avenue Advent Calendar Mickey & Minnie

$4.50 for 40g

6/10

In many ways, this calendar is indistinguishable from its supermarket stablemates – the same mass-produced chocolate of rather dismal quality, cast in the same lineup of seasonal shapes (bears, bells, holly). It’s essentially the same product as the aforementioned Elf on a Shelf model produced by the same company, but with a different cover. And the panel found themselves unexpectedly charmed by its faintly washed-out palette, glittery font and two-dimensional Minnie and Mickey. “It’s retro but it’s not trying too hard,” said Emma, applauding the box’s gentle, authentically 90s sensibility, which the panel felt would be appreciated by both gen X and millennial parents. The tic tac toe game on the back also earned praise, though Gemma warned with grim foresight that “somebody is definitely going to lose the pieces”. 

3. Warheads Advent Calendar 

$5 for 108g

6.5/10

Initial reactions to this calendar were mixed. “I hate this as a concept,” grumbled Joel, referring both to the mash-up of sour Warheads lollies with a 19th-century advent tradition and to the unruly branding. Tina defended it, arguing that the Christmassy twist on Warheads, while “full on in its branding”, was actually “super clever” in the way that it integrated festive elements into the Warheads aesthetic. “I reckon what we’ve got here is a product for an older child,” suggested Veronica. 

Though the front of the box was impressively busy, upon flipping it around the panel felt like whoever designed it must have used up all their creative gas on the first half of the job. “Oh laaaame,” said Jin upon realising that there were no activities or extras on the back of the box. “They could have at least listed the flavours.” Tina summed it up: “This was doing all too much on the front and not enough on the back.” 

Inside, each door revealed an individually wrapped sour gummy – or “chewy Wallys” as the company calls them. The excess plastic wasn’t popular, but the lollies themselves won the panel over with their well-balanced sourness and unexpectedly broad (if not mostly unidentifiable) range of flavours. “DELICIOUS,” declared Alice. “I like it, I love that it’s chewy and not too sour,” added Gemma. Tina dissented on the textural makeup, saying, “I wanted bounce, not just waxiness.” Notably, this was one of only two calendars in the lineup that offered something special for the grand finale – and its reveal was met with a jolly “WOOOOW” from the judging panel.

2. Cadbury Advent Calendar Assorted

$5 for 90g

7/10

The panel appreciated the nostalgic charm of this box design, which transported several judges straight back to childhood. “It’s got good shake value,” said Tina of the rattle of the box, while Gemma praised “the comforting purple of Cadbury” – though Joel pointed out that the colour may feel a little less comforting if you’re from Dunedin. 

Although the individual chocolates were slightly more generous than others in the bunch, this wasn’t necessarily a good thing, because the chocolate itself was among the worst. “Yeah, the chocolate’s not very good,” noted Alice after taking her first bite. “If I didn’t know it was Cadbury, I’d guess it was the cheapest,” added Joel. 

The real joy of this calendar, then, was in the details: the thoughtful box design, the satisfying synchronicity between all the elements, the foil you had to burst through after opening each door – adding a wonderfully tactile drama to the experience. Other than the rather unlovely chocolate, every other element of this calendar – from the chocolate shapes matching the images underneath to the sweet final message for the 24th – felt as if it had been made with care and a sense of story. This calendar proved that the magic can be in the opening of the treats, not necessarily in the treats themselves. Tina summed it up best: “Kids care most about the whimsical fun.”

1. Kinder Advent Calendar Chocolate Mix Pop Up

$11 for 123g

8/10

When we opened this calendar, the panel let out a collective “oooooh”. The entire front unfolded like a book, and the initial reaction involved cries of “classic!”, “it’s giving European!” and “whimsical fun!” The panel especially loved that the box opened like an oversized Christmas card to reveal what panelist Jin dubbed the “flippy-uppy” elements (pop-up pieces that created a cute 3D scene of reindeer, elves and ice-skating penguins). We’re pretty confident most kids would be delighted to watch this scene slowly build over the month. 

Behind each little door you’ll find foil-wrapped chocolates in a variety of shapes and flavours. “The penguin is really adorable,” gasped Emma. There’s no grand finale on the last day, but the assortment of shapes, colours and fillings is generous enough to keep things interesting (Kinder understands a surprise). Opinions on the chocolate varied among the judges, with Alice confessing she found her sample “kinda nice but kinda gross”.

A good advent calendar should make use of the back of the box for some sort of activity, and this one offered a modern take on tradition: a QR code linking to a personalised video message from Santa. This sparked some spirited debate. Madeleine protested that “QR codes aren’t Christmas”, arguing that “Santa Claus is like the oldest thing in the world”. Jin and Tina, meanwhile, felt Santa needed to evolve to stay relevant – and that “tech-expert kids” would love it. Ben investigated the link and found the video process unnecessarily complicated (at a time of year when no one needs extra admin) and, worryingly, requiring personal details. Marks down for that. 

Beyond the QR-code controversy, this was the panel’s most universally loved calendar. It’s the priciest of the lot, but also proof that sometimes money really does buy quality. Of all the calendars, this is the one whose contents we’d be genuinely excited to return to every day.