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“What a joke!” Outrage over luxury chocolate advent calendar’s price tag

<p dir="ltr">Chocolate advent calendars are a staple in many households to countdown to Christmas in the most delicious way.</p> <p dir="ltr">However, one boutique chocolatier has taken this humble tradition to the next level. </p> <p dir="ltr">Haigh’s Chocolates recently announced their annual Luxury Advent Calendar, with one aspect of the edible countdown causing a stir online. </p> <p dir="ltr">The indulgent calendar comes with 24 doors, giving customers a chocolatey treat each day of December, but also boasts a ridiculously hefty price tag. </p> <p dir="ltr">The Luxury Advent Calendar is available now for <a href="https://www.haighschocolates.com.au/xm22-890-haigh-s-luxury-advent-calendar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pre-order</a> (until November 11th) for $1,190.</p> <p dir="ltr">Haigh's wants customers to "celebrate the magic of the festive season" and enjoy the countdown to Christmas in the "most delicious way" - but unfortunately, that will come at a huge cost for Aussies.</p> <p dir="ltr">Many Australians have been outraged over the cost, taking to online spaces to vent their frustrations, claiming why the huge price of the calendar is not sending the right Christmas spirit messaging. </p> <p dir="ltr">"We have homeless. We have people struggling to buy food. Kids going to school without breakfast. And then this extravagance. All on our doorstep. Just doesn't seem right. Sure, if you can afford it, buy it. Or you could buy 6 weeks of meals for someone struggling and really embrace the Christmas spirit," one customer fumed on social media. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Haha wow $1200 for chocolate? That's gotta be really good chocolate. I don't think so, better things to spend $1200 on," another outraged shopper added. </p> <p dir="ltr">Others accused the company of not reading the room at a time when Aussies were struggling with the rise in cost of living. </p> <p dir="ltr">"We can tee this up with a $70 Lobster roll from the pop-up food cart in Rundle Mall. Middle class is disappearing, the gap is widening, you are either in the minority and getting richer, or becoming more povvo like the majority," one person shared. </p> <p dir="ltr">Another agreed, saying, "What a joke! most Australians are doing it so tuff! Anyone who buys this needs their head read! Even if I was a millionaire I would not pay this for chocolate. If I had that spare for chocolate I would rather donate to someone who really needs it!"</p> <p dir="ltr">Meanwhile, there were a few people who were keen on the luxury chocolate, regardless of the cost. </p> <p dir="ltr">"I would like this advent calendar thanks," one person shared. </p> <p dir="ltr">"I’m worth it!" added another. </p> <p dir="ltr">"I'll be disappointed if I don’t wake up to this on the 1st of December."</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Haigh’s Chocolates</em></p>

Food & Wine

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Touching note from the Queen to a young Prince William goes viral

<p>A sweet letter from Queen Elizabeth to a young Prince William has gone viral online, with the touching note highlighting the relationship between the two. </p> <p>Posted on Twitter by the Real Royal Mail fan account of the royal family, the note was sent to the young prince by his grandmother along with an advent calendar. </p> <p>The hand-written letter reads, "William, I hope you enjoy opening this each day, Granny."</p> <p>The undated letter was written on official Buckingham Palace stationary, with the Twitter account saying the letter was purchased by a former employee of Princess Diana. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">"William, I hope you enjoy opening this each day, Granny"- A card written in the hand of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QueenElizabethII?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#QueenElizabethII</a> &amp; sent to the young <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrinceWilliam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PrinceWilliam</a> obviously along with an advent calendar. It was purchased from a former employee of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrincessDiana?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PrincessDiana</a>. <a href="https://t.co/qo6j882yUb">pic.twitter.com/qo6j882yUb</a></p> <p>— Royal Household Mail 🇬🇧 🇺🇦 (@RealRoyalMail) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealRoyalMail/status/1584756638099148803?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p>Fans of the royal family quickly went wild over the note online, with one writing, "Aww how lovely, beautiful, precious memory to treasure."</p> <p>Meanwhile another wrote, "Aww this is the sweetest thing."</p> <p>A third added, "I have never seen this! They had such a lovely relationship."</p> <p>The note originally went up for auction in December 2016, where it was expected to fetch up to £1,400 ($2,500 AUD).</p> <p>At the time, Robert Livingston, executive VP at Boston-based RR Auction, called the letter "a seldom-encountered piece of correspondence from within the royal family, enhanced by its fitting Christmas time association".</p> <p><em>Image credits: Twitter / Getty Images </em></p>

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Is this the world's most expensive advent calendar?

<p><em>Image: TikTok</em></p> <p>Chanel have released a luxury advent calendar that has received significant backlash from customers, who claim it is not worth the $1140 price tag.</p> <p>In a video posted on TikTok, influencer Elise Harmon filmed herself unboxing the pricey calendar and revealed the underwhelming contents.</p> <p>The Chanel website purports that each day of the calendar either “contains a full-size fragrance or makeup product, miniature, or other surprise marked with Gabrielle Chanel’s lucky number.”</p> <p>Those willing to fork out the cash for the calendar can purchase it from select Chanel Beauty Boutiques.</p> <p>Harmon can be seen inspecting the calendar to see if it's “worth the hype” but is significantly disappointed when she opens the first item to see a packet of stickers.</p> <p>As she continues to open the calendar, she seems to be somewhat satisfied with a small bottle of Chanel hand cream.</p> <p>The video went viral after racking up over 11 million views and more than 1.7 million likes.</p> <p>Users were quick to share their outrage at the overpriced calendar, with one user writing, “The audacity of the stickers.”</p> <p>Another wrote, “$825USD was spent on the packaging and $25USD for everything….”</p> <p>As the video gained more traction, users in the comments begged Harmon to do another unboxing video, with one user writing, “More please, this is a joke.”</p> <p>In a follow-up video, Harmon posted another clip of her unboxing day 8. She holds up the box and says, “Day 8 was really calling my name.”</p> <p>In a bitter twist, she reveals that the contents were just a tiny dust bag that says “Chanel” on it.</p> <p>“Chanel should be embarrassed” one user responded.</p>

Money & Banking

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ALDI fans go wild over “best advent calendar ever invented"

<p>ALDI fans are more than excited for the latest special buys range set to hit shelves on November 13. </p> <p>The German supermarket giant has just released details of a new advent calendar, with one of its biggest Australian fan pages giving a sneak peak of the soon to be sell-out item. </p> <p>“Who needs chocolate advent calendars when Aldi brings the goods with a wine advent calendar!” Tammy, from Aldi Lovers Australia wrote in a caption. </p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4cHlNKgoiN/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4cHlNKgoiN/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Tammy - Aldi Lovers Australia (@aldiloversau)</a> on Nov 4, 2019 at 1:59am PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>It seems the items have already caused a stir on social media, with another page labelling the calendar as the “best” ever invented. </p> <p>“The perfect accompaniment to our cheese advent calendar!” one excited fan wrote. </p> <p>“We need this!!!” said another shopper. </p> <p>“Our kind of advent calendar,” a third added.</p> <p>Just like traditional chocolate advent calendars, this particular variation will allow wine lovers to count down the days until christmas with a $79.99 calendar that includes 24 mini bottles of French wine - a mix of sparkling, red, rosé and white. </p> <p>“We sold the Wine Advent Calendar for the first time in Australia in 2018 and if the popularity from last year is anything to go by, we anticipate the calendar will be a hit with customers again this year,” Jason Bowyer, ALDI Wine and Champagne Buying director told<span> </span><a href="https://www.news.com.au/">news.com.au.</a></p> <p>Wine lovers are set to flock to stores when it goes on sale on Wednesday, November 13. </p> <p>However, the product will only be available in stores that sell liquor.</p>

Food & Wine

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Aldi to launch Christmas product just for adults

<p>Aldi is launching two special adults-only Advent calendars – one with a selection of wines and the other with a range of cheeses.</p> <p>For grown-ups wanting to celebrate the lead-up to Christmas in style, the $70 wine calendar includes 24 mini bottles of red, white, sparkling and rosé wines.</p> <p>Remember Aldi is known for their <strong><u><a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/money-banking/seven-dollar-aldi-shiraz-beats-350-dollar-bottle-of-wine-to-win-gold-medal">award-winning yet very affordable wines.</a></u></strong></p> <p><strong><u><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" class=" lazyloaded" src="https://vu7yglnm2s4hq-cdn-storage.azureedge.net/cache/5/3/f/4/8/5/53f48594ac69f1143dc803a6a097754b0a3b31d1.jpg" alt="Aldi wine advent calendar" data-src="https://vu7yglnm2s4hq-cdn-storage.azureedge.net/cache/5/3/f/4/8/5/53f48594ac69f1143dc803a6a097754b0a3b31d1.jpg" /></u></strong></p> <p><strong><u><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" class=" lazyloaded" src="https://vu7yglnm2s4hq-cdn-storage.azureedge.net/cache/0/d/d/e/c/b/0ddecbc7028dba073619f296095b1162c95b2ccb.jpg" alt="Aldi cheese Advent calendar" data-src="https://vu7yglnm2s4hq-cdn-storage.azureedge.net/cache/0/d/d/e/c/b/0ddecbc7028dba073619f296095b1162c95b2ccb.jpg" /></u></strong></p> <p>The cheese advent calendar features 24 delicious mini cheese, including edam, cheddar and gouda. And it will only set you back $12.99.</p> <p>It has not been confirmed yet if these advent calendars will be making their way to Australia, but US and UK stores will be stocking these from November. We can only hope they will arrive on our shores soon.</p>

Money & Banking

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Aldi confirms popular Christmas item not coming to Australia

<p>If you’ve been on Facebook in the last month, chances are you’ve seen Aldi’s latest, much-buzzed-about Christmas product, the adults-only Wine Advent Calendar.</p> <p><img width="498" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/43704/aldi-advent-calendar-inside_498x280.jpg" alt="Aldi -advent -calendar -inside" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>Retailing for around AU$85, the calendar is filled with 24 mini bottles of red, white, rose and sparkling vino to be consumed in the 24 days till Christmas. It’s every wine lover’s Yuletide wish come true – that is, if you live in the UK.</p> <p>Unfortunately, it has been revealed that the German supermarket giant will not be stocking the popular product down under. After being swamped by Aussie shoppers begging to know if the wine advent calendar will be coming to our shores, the retailer offered the following response:</p> <p>“We have stores in a number of different countries, and we offer different products in each depending on the demand locally. We will let the team know you would love to see the Wine Advent Calendar available in our stores for Christmas with Australian Wines. Thanks for posting.”</p> <p>Over the weekend, however, an Aldi Australia spokesperson told News Corp the answer was no. “ALDI operates in a number of countries, in which varying products are sold in each market. At this stage, the wine advent calendar will not be available in Australian ALDI stores.”</p> <p>Oh well, guess we’ll have to stick to full-sized bottles! Tell us in the comments below, would you like to see this product come to Australia?</p>

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