Gone are the good ol’ days when chocolate or toys were the only things to be found in advent calendars. Beauty products and booze are now common adult-only alternatives to the traditional chocolate calendar. But a few adventurous ideas are capturing widespread attention this year, for good or ill.
Zoella advent calendar
A U.K. video blogger touched off a wave of social media backlash with her review of fellow vlogger Zoella’s “lifestyle” calendar, a £50 ($84) kit with 12 items inside. The calendar was found to contain a variety of dollar store-level items such as a bag of confetti, a star-shaped cookie cutter and stickers.
Angry Brits vented their frustration at Zoella on Twitter, complaining that her calendar was a cash grab filled with garbage.
For £50 I could get 100 pairs of socks from Poundland and that would be a better use of my money than a 12 door advent calendar 👍🏼#zoellaisoverparty
— Its_sophies_choice🎃 (@sophieschoice97) November 15, 2017
Wow so @zoella downright lied about boots setting the price of the £50 advent calendar and Boots confirmed it. She's playing us all. 😂 pic.twitter.com/RQLRP2bxvZ
— 🐇 (@AlissaIsABaddie) November 15, 2017
The calendar’s distributor, Boots, slashed the price by 50 per cent in the wake of the outcry.
Nativity scene with sausage
U.K. bakery chain Greggs sparked outrage among Christians this year with its advent calendar featuring a photo of a sausage roll in place of the baby Jesus.
The image depicted the Three Wise Men kneeling and praying around a half-eaten sausage roll in a manger.
The company apologized for the image after it triggered strong backlash from religious Brits, and a wave of derision on Twitter.
Once in royal David's city
— Sean (@csi_bletchley) November 15, 2017
Stood a lowly cattle shed
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for his bed
Mary was that mother mild
Sausage Roll, her little child#Greggs pic.twitter.com/6qgw8pDgP8
How flimsy is your religious belief if it's rocked by a sausage roll? #Greggs
— Hugh Jazz (@ThurstanStHouse) November 15, 2017
Greggs replaced Jesus with a Sausage Roll.
— JP OHFUCKITSNANOWRIMO (@TheJPBradley) November 15, 2017
Nothing but respect for my lord and savoury.
Greggs Marketing HQ
— Balderdash (@notDcfcBoss) November 15, 2017
exec 1: OK. So we've got the 3 wise men but no baby Jesus.
exec 2: Just put a sausage roll in. No-one will notice. pic.twitter.com/QI1C7AMtx0
Cheese calendar
Yes, there’s a cheese calendar. And it’s extremely hard to find.
A U.K. blogger has launched her own cheese calendar this year in partnership with ASDA grocery stores, much to the delight of British cheese connoisseurs.
However, the product is proving to be more popular than anticipated, with many on social media complaining that they can’t get their hands on one of the coveted calendars.
“Your lack of cheese advent calendars is a joke!” one angry user tweeted at ASDA on Wednesday.
@AsdaServiceTeam fed up! My bestie wanted 2 cheese advent calendars, our nearest store said they had only received a total of 9 and didnt think they would get more. Wasted trip.
— Tall&Firey (@TallAndFirey) November 15, 2017
Fantastic cheese advent calendars @asda shame I can’t find one anywhere 🙁Tried for a week now!
— Jessica Gadsden (@jessica_gadsden) November 15, 2017
@AsdaServiceTeam so aswell as advertising the wrong date for your cheese advent calendars, and having a manager advise they would ring us when they were in stock, we’ve now been told “they haven’t unpacked them yet” despite numerous people already asking about them today!!!! 😡
— Olivia Trezise (@OliviaPortia) November 9, 2017
Went to @asda yesterday to get a cheese advent calendar was told that you got 80 in they sold by 7:30 and you won't be getting anymore. It's bit silly it has been advertised soo much ,says available from the 9th not only the morning of the 9th then no more, not even December yet
— kimberly herbert (@XXpurplerainXX6) November 10, 2017
Those who get their hands on a cheese calendar are advised to keep it in the fridge.
Marijuana advent calendar
Many marijuana lovers are already counting down the days until pot is legalized in Canada, but a B.C. company is offering customers the chance to count down to a green Christmas with its new cannabis calendar.
The $200-$230 calendar from Coast to Coast Medicinals contains a variety of medicinal marijuana products including flowers and edibles.
“Enjoy this adult version of a classic Christmas advent calendar filled with cannabis products,” the item’s description reads on its website.
Many Twitter users were high on the idea.
A #Vancouver company is selling marijuana advent calendars for between $200-$300. You may want to have a second advent calendar, on the side, that offers daily snacks too. @LG1043
— Kelly Latremouille (@KLatremouille) November 16, 2017
