In recent times, I've tried not to buy Pringles any more, and it's got nothing to do with my enjoyment of them (which, for the record, is very high). As I've gotten older my financial prospects have slightly improved, but one thing which remains exactly the same is what would happen when I went shopping for Pringles at the supermarket.
I'd have faint memories of picking up however many tubes; receipts say I definitely paid for them. But without fail, I'd always black out for several minutes at a time, and when I came to, I'd be in my bed in a cold sweat, surrounded by little more than potato dust, empty cardboard tubes, and darkness.
This is another way of saying that I take the Pringles slogan of "once you pop you can't stop" to its logical and extreme conclusion. After school and college, I would spend so many evenings and nights nibbling away at Pringles while working on homework and projects, I'd often forget to eat properly, and eventually, I had to kick the habit.
But this Christmas, I might struggle to do so for much longer, after Pringles have seen fit to throw me such a temptation this holiday season. You may have heard of advent calendars filled with chocolate, cheese or wine, but have you ever seen one filled with Pringles?
Okay, guys, you know the drill by now. It's late October, and while some are preparing their Halloween costumes and carving up pumpkins, others are already looking forward to Christmas. I'm not here to judge you (unless you're one of those people who love that earworm of a Mariah Carey Christmas song), but for me, the official countdown to Christmas begins in earnest with the advent calendar.
I'm not going to explain to you the concept of an advent calendar - even if I'm well below the recommended word count for this article. You know advent. But until you've had Pringles in your advent, do you really know advent? I'm telling you now: the answer's no.
While you might have balked at the idea of a 'Merry Pringles' calendar at this time 12 months ago (I still can't believe the open goal they missed by not calling the calendar 'Merry Chipmas'), then maybe this year's the year you'll finally take the plunge.
While you've only got 12 doors to open instead of the customary 24, you'll get a mini pack of Pringles each time, and the opportunity to sing each verse of 12 Days of Christmas as you chew through some Texas BBQ or Sour Cream and Onion chips. What's not to like?
Unfortunately, this amazing invention is only available in the UK (where it retails for a not-too-shabby £27.99), but I'm sure you've got some British pals you can call upon, or at least the patience to pay for international shipping. That might sound like a long time to wait, but Pringles calendar, you guys! Come on. It's worth it.