Why I’m counting down to Christmas with an advent calendar from a Scottish chocolatier

But it’s just over seven weeks until the big day, and with two more pay days, time really is of the essence.

To ease into the festive period, there’s a couple of things I do every year. The first is to start reading Nigel Slater’s Christmas Chronicles, and the other is to buy myself an advent calendar.

I’m far too old for this, but it really reminds me of being at school, the excitement of getting chocolate at breakfast time and the general fun of Christmas - back when it was the most magical time of the year.

This year, after years of Dairy Milk or, if I am feeling fancy, Lindt calendars, I’ve treated myself to an advent calendar from an independent Scottish chocolatier.

I’ve just bought myself the 12 days of Christmas calendar from Chloe Oswald, who runs Chocolatia, based in Forfar. Ms Oswald’s chocolates are all handmade, packed full of flavour and look beautiful.

She was the in-house chocolatier for Gleneagles before Covid and used her furlough time to start up on her own. Ms Oswald has gone on to win multiple awards, including two of her chocolates - a coconut and lime bonbon and a toasted coconut bonbon - both winning medals at the Academy of Chocolate Awards last year.

While I’ve bought my mother Chloe’s Halloween chocolates - now rebranded as the autumn collection - I’ve never treated myself and was persuaded this year as Ms Oswald has been very honest on social media about the huge rise in the cost of cocoa and how this is affecting her business.

Prices have risen, but I’d rather support a small Scottish business than a huge multinational and I know this countdown to Christmas is going to be utterly wonderful.

If you’re also keen to support independent chocolatiers this Christmas, Fetcha chocolates in Campbeltown has a ‘free from’ vegan, gluten-free 24-piece advent calendar.

Don’t let the ‘free from’ tag put you off. These handmade chocolates are superb and I’m already eyeing this one up as a gift for my partner’s mother.

There’s also ARD Bakery in Glasgow, whose colourful calendar has 24 handmade chocolates to countdown to Christmas. A little further away, Chocolates of Glensiel have released their advent calendar.

Chocolates of Glenshiel was founded by Finlay Macdonald when he was 16, after he realised he loved cooking when he used to bake scones with his granny. Then there’s Linlithgow-based chocolatier and pastry chef Sebastian Kobelt’s ‘Scottish Santa’ calendar, which is back for 2024. The Highland Chocolatier might not have a calendar, but there’s plenty of seasonal sweet treats on offer online and in the Grandtully shop.

These days I might not be having chocolate after my cereal before school, but I am looking forward to a beautiful, handmade treat with my coffee before work and, if budget allows, you could too.