1. Cheap socks or rip off?

If you’re someone who expresses their fun personality with socks in crazy colours and patterns, don’t be surprised of you’re given a Happy Socks Advent calendar. And if you’re the buying it, don’t be surprised if it leaves a hole in your budget –

My verdict: bargain or rip-off?

The Advent calendar itself isn’t the problem. Considering the variety of designs, the 24 pairs of socks aren’t overpriced; you tend to pay more when you buy them individually. But why are people with smaller feet systematically made to overpay? Is the demand higher? What are people with small feet compensating for with colourful socks? This question goes beyond the scope of this article, so I’ll leave it to the psychologists in the comments section.

2. Because you’re worth it?

Of course, calendars filled with beauty products are very popular. This one from L’Occitane was available for 96.90 francs when I first looked at it and costs 106 francs now. That’s an average of 4.40 francs per product.

My verdict: bargain or rip-off?

This beauty calendar doesn’t look like a rip-off. But it might be the manufacturer’s attempt to showcase trial versions of half their range to potential customers and get them hooked on their products. A clear case of a gateway drug.

3. Children as cash cows?

If you have young kids, a Lego Advent calendar’s bound to find its way into your pre-Christmas home at some point. Here’s what it looks like on the value-for-money front: 186 parts for just under 40, no, now 69 francs from a third-party supplier! That means your child will get about 8 parts a day to assemble.

My verdict: bargain or rip-off?

I’ll leave that up to you. Here’s my tip: If your child prefers building actual Lego sets rather than putting antlers on reindeer figures, you’re better off dividing a regular Lego set into 24 bags. This will take some prep time, but your little one will end up with a daily building task and, in my opinion, you get more for your money.

4. Bottoms up?

The more liquid the calendar contains, the more unreasonable suppliers seem to be. Not all calendars are supplied directly from Galaxus. On the marketplace, retailers set their own prices. Just like at a real marketplace, they and we have to live with the occasional burst of outrage.

My verdict: bargain or rip-off?

I wouldn’t recommend 24 cans of Red Bull to anyone, even if they were cheaper. When it comes to this Advent calendar, the bull’s given the prices such massive wings that it makes other liquids in 24 cardboard doors seem cheap. But trust me, they’re not. Looks like luxury foods are a real price trap. Let’s cheers to that with a ginger shot for 7.45 francs!

5. Trick or treat?

I don’t get the concept of chocolate Advent calendars. In the past, they often contained poor quality products that nobody would have bought if they hadn’t been hidden behind cute doors. Today, they usually contain branded goods and are so boring that the little treat can be shoved straight into your yawning mouth (unless it turns out to be that one variety you don’t like).

My verdict: bargain or rip-off?

Of course, we’re being seduced and overcharged. But somehow the chocolate industry manages to hit the sweet spot. Their calendars have been selling wonderfully for decades because the prices don’t look that outrageous and chocolate treats have become an Advent staple. But the alternative would be so simple. Just buy sweets yourself and put them in tiny bags. Even if you’re going with one brand, the result’s sure to be better value than buying a calendar.

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  Guide

  Advent calendar fillers for kids

  by Ann-Kathrin Schäfer