Trader Joe’s Advent Calendars Are Back (But Their Chocolate Misses The Mark)

Have you got your advent calendar yet? I haven’t – but food businesses really want you to start thinking about it. Advent calendar announcements have been coming thick and fast recently, and this year, we’ve seen a lot of non-traditional ones (and by non-traditional, I mean advent calendars that don’t just have chocolate in them). Fishwife has a tinned fish calendar, Fly by Jing has a calendar stuffed full of chili crisp, sauces, and noodles, and Tillamook is offering one filled with cheeses. There’s plenty of selection out there, people. 

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But what about…normal advent calendars? Ones you can get for a few bucks? Ones filled with candy? Trader Joe’s has you covered – but some people have already taken issue with what’s inside.

Trader Joe’s Advent Calendars

According to @traderjoesobsessed, Trader Joe’s has brought back its advent calendars for another year, and they’re now in stores. Budget-conscious customers will be very pleased to hear that they’re $1.49 apiece – and while that’s a little more than they were last year, it’s far from an extortionate price. They also come decorated with some funky new graphics.

So far so good, right? Now, here’s the problem: The chocolate inside isn’t great. Both @traderjoesobsessed and folks in their comment section have stated that the candy inside just doesn’t quite pass muster: “They are so bad. My family threw them away,” said one person. Uh-oh. 

So, Is It Worth It?

I mean…do you want to endure potentially subpar chocolate for 24 days straight? If so, then go for it, folks. With that said, though, there’s a slight element of “you get what you pay for” here. Even though it used to cost less, Trader Joe’s advent calendar is still one of the cheapest around, and regardless of the chocolate inside, it’s still got a cute look. And when you consider that brands like Oreo are selling advent calendars this year for $45 apiece (albeit limited-edition ones with hand-crafted cookies inside), $1.49 is definitely a price we’re not going to complain about too much. 

However, there’s definitely a middle ground to all this stuff. Personally, I’d veer more towards a slightly more expensive one where you know you’re going to get a good piece of chocolate behind every window: Something like Kinder’s 2026 advent calendar, for instance. Kinder hasn’t asked us to say that, just FYI. I just know a good choice when I see one.