Expat festive expenses and those tastes of home

Something that my kids look forward to each December is a chocolate advent calendar. They were part of my husband's and my own childhood, and I guess for us it's a way of keeping some family Christmas traditions alive, even while living in Japan.

Unfortunately, though, what can often cost $5 Aussie dollars on sale back home routinely costs well in excess of double that here. I found discounted advent calendars at Kaldi Coffee Farm before December started, which were just under 1300 yen instead of their usual price which was basically 3000 yen. Even the sale price is probably more than I'd like to pay. 

Don't get me wrong, I know that advent calendars are typically going to be imported, but ooof they're expensive. I had a quick look at the Lindt Japan website, too, and theirs run from 2700 yen to 5400 yen! Yes, Lindt is good quality chocolate, but that's so expensive for the amount of chocolate actually behind those little doors.