German Christmas sweets come down to four things: an Advent calendar through December, a chocolate figure for Nikolaus on December 6, the baked classics - Lebkuchen, Spekulatius, Dominosteine, Stollen - and a Bunter Teller, the mixed plate of chocolate, pralines, marzipan and nuts that stays on the table until New Year. If you are ordering from overseas, plan on November, not December.
The season starts absurdly early: walk into a German supermarket in September and Lebkuchen is already on the shelves. Germans complain about this every single year and then buy it anyway. For anyone ordering from abroad that is good news - you have time.
What are the German Christmas traditions, in order?
The Advent calendar (December 1-24)
The Advent calendar is a German invention, originally a religious countdown with paper doors and pictures behind them. Somewhere in the 20th century the pictures were replaced with small chocolates, and that version took over the world.
In German households it is still mostly a children's thing, but plenty of adults get one too. The homemade version - 24 small bags or boxes filled by hand - is common, and it is genuinely the nicer gift, because you choose what goes in it. Something like the Ritter Sport Mini Bunter Mix is a practical base for that: small bars, several flavours, already portioned.
Nikolaus (the night of December 5)
This one confuses a lot of Americans, because it is separate from Christmas. On the evening of December 5, children clean a boot or shoe and put it outside the door. On the morning of the 6th, Saint Nicholas has filled it - traditionally with mandarins, walnuts, and a hollow chocolate Nikolaus figure.
It is a small ritual, not a present-giving occasion. The chocolate figure is the centre of it, and for German kids it is often the first chocolate of the season.
The Bunter Teller (mid-December onwards)
Literally "colourful plate." From around the third Advent weekend, most German households put out a plate of mixed sweets that stays on the table until the new year: homemade Christmas cookies, nuts in the shell, mandarins, chocolate, marzipan, and whatever pralines were given as gifts.
There is no correct recipe. The point is variety and the fact that it is simply there, refilled, for two weeks. If you want to recreate one outside Germany, an assortment box does most of the work - merci Finest Selection 400g is the classic German answer, and a broader German Family Box adds the biscuit and wafer side of the plate: it holds chocolate, biscuits and wafers rather than gummies.
Lebkuchen, Spekulatius, Dominosteine, Stollen
The famous four, and the reason German Christmas smells the way it does:
- Lebkuchen - soft spiced gingerbread, often with a chocolate or sugar glaze. The Nuremberg version is a protected regional specialty.
- Spekulatius - thin, crisp, spiced biscuits pressed with pictures. Eaten by the handful, usually with coffee.
- Dominosteine - small cubes of gingerbread layered with fruit jelly and marzipan, coated in chocolate. The most underrated item on this list.
- Stollen - a dense fruit bread with butter, raisins and often a marzipan core. Dresden has the protected version.
Straight answer: these are bakery goods and we do not currently carry them. They are heavy for their value, fragile in transit, and fresh Stollen in particular is at its best close to home. If you want proper Lebkuchen or Stollen, a German bakery near you or a specialist bakery shipper will serve you better than we would.
Marzipan - the Christmas flavour that actually travels
Marzipan is the German December flavour that works perfectly in a parcel. Almonds and sugar, dense, stable, and it does not need to be fresh out of an oven.
Ritter Sport Marzipan - dark chocolate over an almond marzipan filling - is the everyday version and a bar many Germans reach for in winter. Mozart Kugeln (marzipan, pistachio and hazelnut, wrapped in foil) are the gift-shaped version. The praline itself was invented in Salzburg, Austria; the version we carry is made by Lambertz in Germany. Either way, it turns up on German Christmas tables constantly.
How do you build a German Christmas plate outside Germany?
If you cannot get the bakery items, here is what actually gets you close:
- One assortment box as the base - see the Gift Candy collection.
- Something marzipan, because that is the flavour that reads as "Christmas" in Germany.
- Two or three bars people can pick at, from the chocolate collection.
- Something gummy for the kids - and if anyone at the table is vegetarian, vegan or avoids pork gelatin, take it from the gelatin-free range rather than the standard bags, and check the ingredient list on the pack.
- Nuts in the shell and mandarins, which you can buy locally.
For a whole household, the Bundles collection is cheaper per item than assembling it piece by piece, and the bestsellers are a reasonable shortcut if you are buying for people whose tastes you do not know.
When should you order?
In November. Orders are processed within 1-3 business days, standard delivery to the USA and Canada takes 7-14 business days after dispatch (7-18 for the Gulf countries), and customs processing can add a few days on top. Everything ships from Germany with DHL and full tracking.
| Date | Tradition | Typical sweet | Order by |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 1-24 | Advent calendar | Small bars, mini chocolates | Early November |
| December 5-6 | Nikolaus boot | Chocolate figure, mandarins, nuts | Early November |
| Mid-December onwards | Bunter Teller | Assortment box, pralines, marzipan | Late November |
| December 24 | Christmas Eve, presents | Gift box, marzipan, pralines | Late November |
Ordering on December 10 and hoping is how people end up with a Christmas parcel arriving in January.
One thing to budget for: international orders may be subject to customs duties, taxes or import fees. Those are charged by the authorities in the destination country and are paid by the customer, not included in the price at checkout.
FAQ
What candy do Germans eat at Christmas?
Mostly Lebkuchen (spiced gingerbread), Spekulatius biscuits, Dominosteine, Stollen, marzipan in various forms, chocolate Nikolaus and Santa figures, and a mixed "Bunter Teller" of chocolate, pralines, nuts and homemade cookies that sits on the table through the whole holiday period.
What is the difference between Nikolaus and Christmas in Germany?
They are two separate days. Nikolaus is December 6: children leave a boot outside on the evening of the 5th and find sweets, mandarins and nuts in it the next morning. Presents proper are exchanged on Christmas Eve, December 24.
When should I order German Christmas candy to the USA?
Early November for Nikolaus on December 6, late November for Christmas. Processing takes 1-3 business days and delivery to the USA takes 7-14 business days after dispatch, plus possible customs time - so December orders are a gamble.
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