Would you read a book every day before Christmas?

Ms Walford said that for some people chocolate was no good, as once eaten "it's gone forever"

The build-up to Christmas has long been associated with tiny chocolates behind cardboard doors.

But a woman in Leicestershire says books can be a “life-changing” stand-in for sweet treats in the festive tradition.

Tina Walford runs a bookshop in Hathern, and since last year has been creating personalised advent calendars using books, which have been sent all over the UK.

“Perfume companies are doing them, cosmetic companies are doing them, so I thought why not have a book advent calendar?” Ms Walford said.

Ms Walford said there was no pressure to read the books immediately on the day and they could last someone a year depending on how fast they read.

"For book people, it's no good having a chocolate, because once you've eaten it, it's gone forever.

"But a book advent calendar is 24 books. You don't need to read them all at once, but the pleasure is in opening them and deciding when you're going to read them.

"And of course, it lasts much longer than than the 24 days it can last you all year if you read one a month and you've got them forever."

The books for the advent calendar are curated by Ms Walford depending on their age, gender, hobbies and preferences.

Some of the requests she has had so far included science fiction books, and Galactic Wars advent calendars.

“People that take stories from watching films miss an awful lot, you only get the things that can happen visually in action," Ms Walford said.

“All the background information, the history, the thinking, the planning, the plotting, all of that... they can’t rely on a film [to show them that]."

There were also mental benefits according to Ms Walford, because reading could “challenge the brain”.

'Overwhelmed in chocolate'

A spokesperson from Tesco confirmed there had been a “growing trend” for non-chocolate advent calendars.

Dr Grant Ingrams, a GP in Glenfield, said he welcomed the swap for non-chocolate advent calendars, despite the risk of coming across like a bit of a Grinch.

“You know what it can be like once every aunt and uncle, and Tom, Dick, and Harry have brought [kids] an advent calendar, they can be overwhelmed in chocolate.”

The reading of books would also “improve their mind, their memory, and their cognitive skills,” he said.

Ms Walford said that people who do not usually read should consider giving it a go, especially for the memories it can create.

“It could teach you something or give you a piece of information that you don't otherwise have.”

“That could cause you to completely change the whole rest of your life, and chocolate can’t do that, sorry,” she said.