The lead up to Christmas has begun, and it won't be long until people all over the UK are tucking into their first piece of advent calendar chocolate. Whether you have dietary requirements, are looking for a vegan option, or are simply a fan of white chocolate, you're guaranteed to find something you'll love here in our buying guide.
Our favourites include offerings by renowned chocolatiers Lindt and Green & Black's. Best of all, they're all delivered straight to your door from online stores such as Amazon and ASDA. Moreover, we have partnered with Nutritionist Tara Corbett for reviewing and fact-checking the article so that we can deliver the best information to our users.
Quick List - Top Chocolate Advent Calendars
Cadbury
Cadbury Delivers All Your Favourite Heroes With an Accompanying App and a Selfie Filter a Day
Green & Black's
A Sumptuous Selection of Green & Black’s Finest, High-Quality Chocolate Flavours
Abtey Chocolatier
A Sumptuous Selection of Green & Black’s Finest, High-Quality Chocolate Flavours
mybest UK specialist Tara is a nutritionist and energy coach who helps clients lose weight, improve their eating habits, and get their energy back through their nutrition. Tara specialises in helping busy parents specifically improve their eating with ease and without overwhelm, and get back on track so the whole family can benefit.
A recommendation service that carefully researches each product and consults with experts across many disciplines. We are constantly creating new content to provide the best shopping experience from choosing ‘cosmetics’ to ‘food and drink’, ‘home appliances’ to ‘kids and baby’ products, reaching users all across the United Kingdom.
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Table of Contents
Tara is a nutritionist and energy coach who helps clients lose weight, improve their eating habits, and get their energy back through their nutrition. Tara specialises in helping busy parents specifically improve their eating with ease and without overwhelm, and get back on track so the whole family can benefit.
The amount of cocoa in dark chocolate can be anywhere from 50-100%, with the sweet spot being around 70% for most choc lovers. This percentage refers to the combination of both cocoa beans and butter combined, although dark chocolate typically contains more beans than other types of chocolate.
Generally speaking, a higher percentage of cocoa equates to higher quality chocolate, as there's less room for additives like sugar or milk derivatives. This also means that the darker the chocolate, the fewer calories it contains.
Dark chocolate fanatics, check out the best Dark Chocolates!
Here in the UK, chocolate has to contain at least 20% cocoa solids to be classed as milk chocolate. To give you an example of what this tastes like, Cadbury's Dairy Milk bars have 26% and Galaxy milk chocolate contains 25%.
Bars of milk chocolate with a higher percentage of cocoa (usually up to 40%) are also available but they tend to be less sweet, more pure-tasting, and consequently more expensive.
Milk chocolate therefore has a lot of scope for quality, with some companies adding sugar and fat to make up for the lack of cocoa. These extra ingredients do help to make milk chocolate taste lovely and creamy though!
Looking for chocolate you can enjoy all year round? Check out the Best Chocolate Bars!
White chocolate actually gets a hard time in the chocolate world, with many people arguing over whether it can even be classed as chocolate. That's because it's made using the by-product cocoa butter rather than beans.
In the UK, white chocolate isn't white chocolate unless it has over 20% cocoa butter in it, with very pure varieties containing up to 38% cocoa butter. It's a lot like milk chocolate in terms of its sweetness and creaminess, but watch out for added fat and artificial flavour enhancers!
Want to make a white chocolate fan smile? Take a look at the best White Chocolates!
Advent calendars are meant to be displayed front and centre stage, right? Either on the mantlepiece, a prominent shelf in your bedroom, or just propped up on the kitchen table. With this in mind, you'll obviously want yours to look the part and bring some festive cheer into your home.
Most adults will love chocolate advent calendars with cheerful colours and classic Christmas imagery like Santa, reindeer, and snowy landscapes. These will match your holiday décor and give you something to smile about each morning.
Children, on the other hand, will want something fun and eye-catching. Picking one with cute teddy bears or their favourite cartoon character like Peppa Pig will really get the kids overflowing with enthusiasm, even before they've eaten any chocolate!
Looking for some delicious chocolate that you can gift on the big day? Check out the best Chocolate Gift Boxes!
You must check the ingredients if you or the person you're buying for has any allergies, intolerances or special dietary requirements. Dark chocolate is usually a safe bet if you're vegan or lactose-intolerant, but some brands add milk-derived ingredients to enhance the flavour and cut production costs. Therefore, it's best to go with a vegan brand like Moo Free, which specialises in dairy-free chocolate.
Those with gluten, soy, and nut allergies should also check the packaging before buying. Companies like Kinnerton make their products in a completely nut-free factory, but many other chocolate products are likely to contain traces of nuts. To help you choose a suitable product, we'll mention any allergens present in the specification tables below each review.
Lastly, some chocolate advent calendars contain alcohol, like liqueurs. While this boozy addition might help to kickstart your day, this type of product is, of course, unsuitable for children. Those who avoid alcohol for religious reasons or who are teetotal will also want to steer clear!
Love chocolate but want to keep it vegan? Check out the best Vegan Chocolates!
The organic food and drink industry is on the rise in the UK with a steady growth of over 5% per year for the last 10 years, making it worth almost £2.5 billion annually. This has resulted in more and more companies switching over to the organic side.
Cocoa that's produced organically is free from chemical fertilisers or pesticides. It doesn't pollute the local environment and it's generally higher quality. So, not only is organic chocolate better for the world, it tastes amazing too!
The Soil Association is the main organic certifier here in the UK - if you see their logo on the packaging then you know that your chocolate advent calendar will be completely 100% organic from farm to plate.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lindt Teddy Advent Calendar | ![]() | An Impressive Selection of Lindt Classics Loved by Adults and Children | |
2 | Cadbury Heroes Christmas Advent-ure Calendar | ![]() | Cadbury Delivers All Your Favourite Heroes With an Accompanying App and a Selfie Filter a Day | |
3 | Green & Black's Organic Advent Calendar | ![]() | A Sumptuous Selection of Green & Black’s Finest, High-Quality Chocolate Flavours | |
4 | Abtey Chocolatier Royal des Lys Calendrier de L'Avent | ![]() | A Sumptuous Selection of Green & Black’s Finest, High-Quality Chocolate Flavours | |
5 | Divine Chocolate Deliciously Rich Dark Chocolate Advent Calendar | ![]() | An Affordable Advent Calendar With 70% Cocoa Pieces, Perfect for Dark Chocolate Addicts | |
6 | Moo Free Dairy-Free Original Advent | ![]() | A Festive Calendar That’s Free From Dairy, Gluten and Soy and Is 100% Organic |
Lindt's Teddy advent calendar unquestionably deserves the number 1 spot on our list, as adults and children all over the globe love it. The bright red packaging with hints of gold and snowy motifs make it pretty much synonymous with Christmas!
Inside, you'll find an assortment of Lindt favourites: reindeer-shaped milk chocolate, white chocolate snowdrops, and mini Lindor truffles, to name but a few. Then, behind the 24th door, there's a big edible teddy that's guaranteed to put a smile on your face - what more could you want from an advent calendar?
This snazzy advent calendar from Cadbury features an assortment of Heroes as well as mini Santa figures made from Dairy Milk. It also includes 24 days of interactive fun, with a different selfie filter every day and an app to share your pics with friends and family - perfect for teenagers who might otherwise consider themselves too cool for an advent calendar!
We reckon this clever, modern twist on the advent tradition will have everyone feeling the Christmas spirit right up the big day. Plus, the chocolate is obviously delish!
Green and Black's has a well-deserved reputation for producing high-quality organic chocolate. Their advent calendar is no exception, featuring 5 of their most popular flavours including delicate milk butterscotch and Madagascan vanilla infused dark chocolate.
Each miniature piece is individually wrapped in the brand's classic packaging, making every morning in December a real treat! The only downside to this calendar is the incredibly high price, but folks who are serious about their chocolate will likely still covet it.
This vegan-friendly calendar by French chocolatiers Abtey comes highly recommended on Amazon by all the liqueur lovers out there. It includes 24 decadent dark chocolate pieces that are infused with alcohol - so this is obviously not one for kids or teetotallers, but everyone else will want it!
The show-stopping selection of 6 different liqueurs from the likes of Cointreau, Remy Martin, and Grand Marnier make this a tantalising purchase that'll leave you feeling merrier than Santa on his sleigh!
With a rich 70% dark chocolate piece behind every door, this calendar is a must-buy for those who love intense flavour. Each chocolate comes in the shape of a woodland creature and there's an interesting animal fact on the inside of the daily doors.
According to Divine, this chocolate is vegan, but it may contain traces of milk so those with allergies may want to avoid it. All things considered though, it's a tempting advent calendar that's very affordable!
This calendar from Moo Free will suit most people's dietary requirements as it's totally free from dairy, gluten, and soy. The only hitch is it's made in a factory that handles hazelnuts, so we don't recommend it for those with nut allergies.
The 100% organic chocolate tastes absolutely delicious and we love the fun, festive packaging. At less than a tenner, this is a great inexpensive option for vegans or those simply looking for a healthier choccy option.
Written and researched by Connor Macanally
No. 1: Lindt|Teddy Advent Calendar
No. 2: Cadbury|Heroes Christmas Advent-ure Calendar
No. 3: Green & Black's|Organic Advent Calendar
No. 4: Abtey Chocolatier|Royal des Lys Calendrier de L'Avent
No. 5: Divine Chocolate|Deliciously Rich Dark Chocolate Advent Calendar
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