Advent has been taken over by consumerism, clergy warn, as sales of luxury calendars soar

Advent has been taken over by consumerism, a senior Church of England figure has warned, as sales of calendars costing hundreds of pounds soar. 

Where once opening an advent calendar window each day in December to find a festive image was enough to inspire Christmas spirit, versions with a gift behind each door are the new must have. 

Many are explicitly for adults, containing perfume or alcohol. The offering from Jo Malone costs £300, and an 'old and rare whisky' calendar from Master of Malt retails for £999.95 - with the 'very old and rare' version costing £9,999.95. 

But there are concerns that the ramped-up consumerism of advent calendars is at odds with the Christian celebration of Jesus's birth.

Ian Paul of the Archbishop's Council, described the new breed of luxury calendars as "deeply ironic". 

He said: "Christians use Advent as a time to remember two things. The first is Jesus’s own coming to us in poverty from the riches of his glory at the Father’s right hand. The second is God’s promised future coming in judgement - when he will hold all people to account for their greed and selfishness. So it is doubly ironic that people are using Advent to celebrate greed and wealth.

"The adaption of religious symbols for such secular ends appears to demonstrate the absolute power of consumerism. It appears that there is no limit to the ideas that can be trampled on and colonised."

Last month, hundreds of people queued outside Liberty to get their hands on the department store's luxury beauty advent calendar. 

Sold for £175, it includes 15 full sized products and 10 samples with a combined value of £500. Half the stock had sold out online before the store opened 8.30am, making it Liberty's fastest selling and most successful product. 

John Lewis said it is selling 48 per cent more advent calendars than it was at the same time last year, with the growth driven by demand from children and adults. 

The most popular of its 62-strong range of calendars is a Lego version which has small pieces behind each door, allowing children to gradually build a larger figure. 

There is also a Playmombil Thief Police Operation calendar set which works in a similar vein, but at £19.50 and £19.99 respectively these calendars are nearly ten times the price of a standard Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate calendar, which is on sale for as little as £2.

Also in John Lewis's range is a £100 Edinburgh gin calendar, which offers a swig-sized bottle behind each door. 

An £18 pork scratching calendar is also on offer, and a £63 version by nail varnish brand OPI.

Pets are not left out of the trend either - on offer for £4 are Fred and Ginger cat and dog calendars with pet treats behind each window. 

This year also sees the first 'breakfast' advent calendar, an offering from Kellogg's featuring 24 variety pack sized boxes of cereal for £4. 

However, while many of the deluxe calendars are seen as good value for money, last week YouTube star Zoella's offering was met with anger from parents who described the £50 item as being filled with "tat". 

The calendar contains a bauble, a small packet of confetti, a star-shaped cookie cutter, a packet of seven stickers, a small bag, a 130g "Festive Cookie" candle, a 30ml "Christmas Clementine" room spray, a pen, a fluffy key ring, a gingerbread man-shaped cookie cutter, a mini notepad and a 130g "Cozy Christmas" candle.

After reports emerged that the contents of the calendar could be bought for around £20 separately, Boots reduced the price to £25. 

Zoella - real name Zoe Suggs - said that she had not been responsible for the pricing of the calendar.