Merry Pringles! 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar

Red-Haired Bristolian read about this crispy advent calendar in the Bristol news on her Facebook feed. I looked it up and found you can buy your Pringles advent calendar at a shop called B&M. I had never heard of B&M before (I live in the wrong place really), but by taking two buses I could acquire one of these.

And you can imagine I was really keen to try.

But. But it has only 12 days/doors. What kind of advent calendar is that? Usually they have 24 doors, sometimes 25. But 12? I didn't set out to write a blog on comparative religious practices but it does seem that someone has muddled the 12 days of Christmas ( you know: 🎶on the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me ... 🎶) with the tradition of the advent calendar. So not that impressed.

And extra not impressed: you only get 4 different flavours of Pringle. Apparently there are 34 flavours in America (although I read that on a website and it isn't clear whether America means the USA or includes Canada or South America or what), and I know that without even trying I have sampled 5 different European flavours, so why restrict the calendar to a mere 4 flavours?

Original, Sour Cream and Onion, Salt & Vinegar, and Texas BBQ Sauce. Hmmm. Not super Christmassy flavours. 40g tubs eh? Just like you can buy at your local petrol station or corner shop.

Last year the reluctant taste testers tried a Pigs in Blankets flavour Pringle (pigs in blankets in the UK means little cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon which people buy - or make - to go with their Christmas turkey). Which obviously qualifies this as a Christmassy flavour. But this is not included.

With 4 classic flavours, the countdown to Christmas has never been this exciting! 

What a shame Pringles couldn't be a little more imaginative. What a lot of kudos they would have got for including el weirdo flavours we don't usually get the opportunity to try here in the U.K. What a great Christmas present that would have been for us all.

I read online that these advent calendars are flying off the shelves. Which is great. Maybe Pringles will bring them back next year with more Christmassy flavours, and maybe more doors. That would be very exciting.

And if you're a fan of advent calendars you may like this article from The Guardian on the ridiculous rise of luxury advent calendars...  or perhaps 2017's best advent calendars? Get yours while you can!

Pringles Pigs in Blankets

🎄Merry Pringles🎄says the tube. I couldn't find a holly symbol so I used the Christmas tree instead. It's not the same I know, but we have to work with what we've got.

And Pigs in Blankets as a flavour for Pringles? Well, apparently, yes. And the Pringle on the tube is shown wearing a Christmas bobble hat, skiing on actual pigs in blankets (that's mini sausages wrapped around with bacon for those of you not in the know), and with a string of Christmas lights wrapped around its neck. It must be hard to ski with no arms or legs.... and no head either. Life is so tough when you're a Pringle.

Slightly oddly the tube also says Immagini a scopo dimostrativo (for illustrative purposes only - so they don't actually expect you to believe in a skiing Pringle). Which is Italian. Also Snack Salé au Goût Chipolata et Bacon. Which is French. I've got used to the fact that Bacon is apparently a French word, but Chipolata? Very strange.

I have the say the Chef is a bit horrified. "I thought it was real pigs in blankets" he said sadly. He doesn't like Pringles.

So let's find out what the reluctant taste testers have to say.

"Delicious".
"Lovely".
"Just like crackling".
"I could taste the bacon".
"These are really good". They said.
Except Tall taste tester who said, "Well, they just taste like Pringles don't they?" He doesn't really like Pringles either.

A success then. Not unqualified, but definitely a success.