Hotel Chocolat's advent calendar is the luxury treat I look forward to every year

When it comes to advent calendars, as much as I love treating myself to a beauty one (or two), there’s something about a chocolate-filled one that you just can’t beat. And for me, my absolute favourite is Hotel Chocolat’s The Grand Advent Calendar (£80).

It’s decadent, it’s luxurious, and it’s the epitome of treating yourself every morning in December. Rather than single chocolate chunks, it’s full of everything from chocolate-flavoured vodka-infused velvetised cream drinks, individual crackers, whole packets of truffles and so much more – and it’s finally available to shop.

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The Grand Advent Calendar is truly a showstopper, and this thing is huge. It comes in a giant sturdy box that’s roughly the same height as my sofa, so you know it’s going to be chock full of delicious treats.

Whilst your typical chocolate-filled advent calendars offer you a single chunk of chocolate each day, Hotel Chocolat’s Grand Advent Calendar is packed with all kinds of different sweet treats, and each door yields an impressive volume of chocolate too. For example, behind one is a whole packet of chocolate penguins, whilst another reveals one of Hotel Chocolat’s signature slabs.

Other doors feature a caramel-filled snowflake that is quite literally the size of my hand, as well as three 50ml bottles of velvetised creams and sachets of hot chocolates ready for a cosy evening in. The items are also so decadent you can either make it your first port of call in the morning, save it for an evening treat, or, frankly, have a little bit in the morning and still have some left over for evening too.

It’s rare an advent calendar makes me feel genuinely giddy, but the second this arrived through my door I was overjoyed. Not to mention, as a repeat-buyer of The Grand Advent Calendar, I already know how excited I get to see what’s behind each door every day of December, which makes it well worth the money in my opinion.

Whilst I know £80 is quite a splurge for a calendar that you’ll be essentially eating each day, in my opinion it’s completely worth it. The only downside I can find, is that the line up hasn’t changed dramatically from last year’s so you don’t get a huge change if you’d enjoyed last years – however considering how much I loved everything included in last year’s advent calendar, that’s not necessarily a bad thing!

You can pick up slightly less pricey luxury chocolate advent calendars elsewhere, including the Venchi Chocolate Advent Calendar for £57.99 at Selfridges with bite sized treats behind each door. Meanwhile at Fortnum & Mason, the Fortnum’s Favourites Truffle Advent Calendar is £40 with 25 different chocolates inside featuring delicious milk chocolate and fruity creams to silky smooth caramels.

For something a little more affordable Lindt Chocolate Factory Advent Calendar is just £22 and it contains some of the brand’s best-selling chocolate truffles and milk chocolate Christmas characters. However, a proper taste of luxury – and one thing I can’t countdown to Christmas without – is Hotel Chocolat’s The Grand Advent Calendar which you can buy online and in-store now.