The Returning Aldi Advent Find That Customers Say Isn't Worth The Price

An advent calendar is a great way to bring in the upcoming holiday season with cheer and taste. But who says you need to do it traditionally, with chocolate? Aldi's creative response to counting down the days until Christmas includes two returning advent cheese calendars — but customers say the retailer's savory twist on the classic Christmas ritual isn't worth the price. Aldi's two cheesy advent calendars from the Emporium Selection brand include a 12 Days of Artisan Cheese Advent Calendar for $24.99, featuring 12 1-ounce bites of select cheeses like gouda, smoked cheddar, and pepper Jack, and a Winter Wonderland Advent Calendar for $16.99 offering 24 half-ounce pieces of imported cheeses (what the box describes as a "taste voyage"). 

However festive the marketing, customers aren't really having it. In a recent Reddit post on r/aldi, one user surveyed others about Aldi products they wouldn't buy, and a number of people agreed the cheese advent calendars weren't worth it due to underwhelming taste, quality issues, and a lack of variety. "Big waste of money just small pieces of cheap tasting grocery store cheese," one person wrote. Others cited repeating flavors and a lack of variety as reasons why they wouldn't be buying one of the cheese calendars. "Don't you enjoy the variety of 12 slightly different flavors of gouda?" someone joked (looking at you, mature gouda, mustard gouda, and black pepper gouda in the Winter Wonderland calendar). While cute conceptually, Aldi's cheese calendars tend to miss the mark on what really matters: taste.

While both advent calendars offer promising beginner-friendly artisanal cheeses, customers say even the French Mimolette included in the Winter Wonderland Calendar tasted like cheddar. With plenty of other cheddars — including smoky cheddar, sweet English cheddar, spiced apple cheddar, and cheddar flavored with Port wine or whiskey — true variety is lacking. Besides the underwhelming flavor delivery, Aldi customers have also expressed product quality issues, which won't have them coming back this holiday season. "The first year I got it there were several moldy ones in the first week so I threw the whole thing away," one person recalled on the aforementioned Reddit post. "Never again." Some people complained about the cheese pieces being hard to open, and someone else said they found one of their advent doors empty.

Aldi's cheese advent calendars are more affordable than other popular food and drink advent calendars, including 12 Days of Murray's Cheese for $90. However, customers' comments about the subpar quality, taste, and cheese variety leave us wondering if, for the price, this is something you're better off making yourself or in a different format altogether. After all, you can't go wrong with making a holiday cheese board with your favorite cheeses — and enjoying pieces larger than just an ounce. Plus, if you really want a creative advent calendar, Aldi offers other varieties that might be more satisfying, including those featuring coffee, hot sauces, and even little tasters of wine.