GB2381333A

GB2381333A - Advent calendar

Info

Publication number: GB2381333A
Application number: GB0301172A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Townsend
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-03-05
Filing date: 1999-10-07
Publication date: 2003-04-30
Also published as: GB0301172D0

Abstract

An advent calendar for counting the days from a first date to a second date is disclosed comprising a plurality of mutually spaced doors, each door being identified as associated with a particular day and adapted to reveal, upon opening, a respective treat. At least one door 2 is further identified by an additional indicium 4,5 which could be either a particular time, a particular person or, where each door is adapted to reveal, upon opening, an edible treat of one of at least two types, the type of edible treat revealed upon opening the or each door identified by that additional indicium.

Description

ADVENT CALENDAR This invention relates to an advent calendar.

For the avoidance of any doubt, reference to an"advent calendar"hereafter means a calendar suitable far counting off the days from a first date to a second date, especially where the second date represents a special day. It is not intended to be limited to the Christian period of Advent.

Conventionally, advent calendars are most often used by persons for counting off the days before Christmas, and normally from the beginning of December of the same year. Such advent calendars comprise a plurality of mutually spaced doors, each door being identified as associated with a particular day and adapted to reveal, upon opening, a respective treat such as a picture, a chocolate, a sweet or a toy.

In households possessing an advent calendar and more than one person, it is desirable that the treats are shared equally. However, this is an ideal which in practice is difficult to obtain, especially when the treats comprise chocolate. The problem often arises in a situation where occupants of such a household rise from bed at different times each morning. A person with a propensity to rise early has the opportunity to open the next door on the advent calendar and indulge in the treat before any other person in the household-this being possible because the new day "permits"the next door in the advent calendar to be opened. As a result, an inequitable distribution of the treats arises and, occasionally, this can lead to disharmony. This situation can also arise if a person consistently goes to bed in the early hours, i. e. the next day.

Thus, it is an object of the invention to solve or at least mitigate the aforementioned problems.

Accordingly, an advent calendar of the type described above is provided comprising at least one door is further identified by an additional indicium.

The additional indicium may be a particular time in which case at least two doors may be further identified by different times The additional indicium may be to a particular person in which case at least two doors may be further identified by different persons.

If each door is adapted to reveal, upon opening, an edible treat of one of at least two types, the additional indicium may be to the type of edible treat revealed upon opening the or each door identified by that additional indicium.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows an portion of an advent calendar according to the present invention.

Figure 2 shows an open door on the advent calendar of figure 1.

In figure 1, a portion of a calendar for counting down the period from the 1 st to the 25th of December is i ! ! ustrsted having a frame 1 supporting fifty doors 2 (on ! y twe ! ve shown). Two doors are identified as associated with each day from the 1st to the 25th of December, the identification 3 relating to the day of the month and positioned in the bottom left hand corner of each door. For example" 1" refers to the 1 st of December. Each pair of doors is further identified as associated with either female 4 or male 5 although the associations need not be limited to"his and hers" ; for gay and lesbian couples,"his (a) and his (b)"and"hers (a) and hers (b)"respectively would be appropriate. For family members, one might use"brother and sister"or"mother and daughter"etc.

Figure 2 illustrates an open door 6 revealing a teddy bear treat 7. The door is the one identified as associated with the 1 st of December and a male.

The calendar of figure 1 has an advantage over two separate conventional advent calendars being one for"him"and one"her"in that manufacturing costs are reduced.

This is particularly so as conventional advent calendars having chocolate treats are often manufactured using a plastic mould and liquid chocolate is poured into the recesses of the mould into form the treats. The mould is then placed in a cardboard box comprising the frame and the doors. A calendar according to the present invention requires only mould and thus one moulding process during manufacture.

Claims

1. An advent calendar for counting the days from a first date to a second date comprising a plurality of mutually spaced doors, each door being Identified as associated with a particular day and adapted to reveal, upon opening, a respective treat characterised in that at least one door is further identified by an additional indicium.

2. An advent calendar according to claim 1 wherein the additional indicium is to a particular time.

3. An advent calendar as claimed in claim 2 wherein at least two doors are further identified by different times.

4. An advent calendar according to claim 1 wherein the additional indicium is to a particular person.

5. An advent calendar as claimed in claim 4 wherein at least two doors are further identified by different persons.

6. An advent calendar according to claim 1 wherein each door is adapted to reveal, upon opening, an edible treat of one of at least two types; and wherein the additional indicium is to the type of edible treat revealed upon opening the or each door identified by that additional indicium.