It’s become a bit of a tradition that every year my Father In Law buys us all an advent calendar. It used to be chocolate buttons for the girls and Hotel Chocolat for me (oooh fancy) but for the last few years he has got more extravagant with his choices. This started out because my husband decided that he wanted the Star Wars lego calendar, every year. It means my carefully arranged Christmas decorations are overtaken by little lego figures for the duration of December which I’m still not happy about!
They are almost like presents in their own rights and the the choices available are boggling. It was definitely easier when it was just a little chocolate each day. I also loved the beautiful picture calendars my Dad used to send over from Germany with their glittery Christmasy scenes and cute picture hiding behind each door. In a way it is probably an expense you don’t need before Christmas and the kids would be just as happy with a 99p chocolate calendar but it seemed only fair that I bought you a round up of my favourite non chocolate advent calendars for kids.
This year Alice is going to be one happy little girl as she is receiving the Play Doh advent calendar from her Grandad. She adores playdoh and requests to play it every day so will love all the cutters and shapes hidden inside.
The last few years the girls have had the Playmobil calendars and have adored finding out what is inside. The only thing I would say on these is that some of the pieces are pretty tiny so definitely one for the slightly older kids.
For Molly I think we may choose this utterly beautiful Nutcracker calendar from one of my favourite brands, Meri Meri. It is just perfect with it’s music box styling and a little charm each day to add to the bracelet.
For any of you with toddlers then I’m pretty confident that the Happyland Calendar would be a firm favourite. I think this one is great as it has a full figure hidden behind each door so definitely worth the pennies.
I am a big advocate of do it yourself calendars and the possibilities are endless. You can create something truly unique that is full of things your little ones will actually want. We have a beautiful felt garland with mini stockings that we fill each year. My Dad originally sent it from Germany and they had packaged it with wonderful Lindt chocolates, Schleich animals and cute christmassy treats.
It may be a bit pricey but this Ferm Living advent calendar at Cissy Wears is so lovely and can be reused year after year. The pockets are big enough to hold anything from chocolate coins to a little toy.
I am also loving the idea of rather than giving a gift you give a task or a voucher for a treat. This is especially good for the bigger kids. Put together 24 envelopes, place a note inside and seal with a cute sticker like these from This Modern Life. You could include anything from a hot chocolate treat at the local cafe to a family movie night snuggled watching Christmas films.
Have you chosen a calendar for your little ones yet? Any suggestions we really should know about?
Haha – my husband also demands the Star Wars Lego advent calendar! He gets one only in exchange for a hotel chocolat calendar for me!
I’m expecting my first baby at the beginning of December so no advent calendar for him this year but I do have eventual plans….
My colleague makes an advent calendar for his daughter each year (one of those where you put your own gifts in) but they contain not just tiny presents and chocs but adventures like ‘going for hot chocolate at the beach’, ‘going ice skating’ ‘going to see the Christmas lights’ etc.
It’s such a sweet way of making some special memories and means it’s not all about ‘getting stuff’!
What is it with men and the Star Wars lego?! Mind you, they’d probably say the same about us and chocolate! I love that idea of your colleagues. I may sneak a few in to then girls calendar this year as well x
It’s thanks to you Lottie that Happyland is so popular in our house! I might have to pick that one up.
Last year I bought a lovely White Company advent calendar which strings across the fireplace and can be used year after year… I’ll be refilling it with treats for the little one, but I’ve also got a couple of WC Winter night lights to pop in too. For me, there’s nothing more Christmassy than filling the room with candlelight. Roll on December! Xx
Sorry Karen! They do love it though. Oooh, the White Company one sound lovely and excellent idea on the treats for you too. We’ve been stocking up on Christmas candles so the house is already smelling all festive. Love it x
There are so many choices it’s hard to decide which one to pick! I keep swaying between the 99p Peppa Pig calendar or treating my 2 year old to something like the ones you have shared here. I know what the sensible option is, but who is sensible when it comes to Christmas!!
Last year we did manage to purchase 24 Christmassy books which I wrapped and piled up to look like a Christmas tree. Isabelle unwrapped one each evening for her bedtime story, the last one being ‘The Night Before Christmas’. I’ll definitely be wrapping these up again for her this year, I think she will appreciate them even more now she knows who Father Christmas is!!
We have a handmade pocket calendar. I think they are definitely worth the money. It was so exciting to find out what it was filled with each year. My brother and I happily took turns each day.
My parents are very kindly handing it down to me for their grandson’s 1st Christmas. Everything that’s small enough to go into the calendar is too dangerous for babies so I’m going to use a mini teddy bear and move him along each day.
I make a calendar every year for the pupils in my classroom. They loved it when I filled 24 balloons with jokes or treats for the class as they loved popping them each day. Last year they especially loved my lazy version of this… I bought 24 crackers, numbered them and put them up on a washing line. They read out their joke, shared playing with the toy and wore the hat all day. It was very cute when they were reading out the terrible jokes!
I’m a bit late to this, but for those more religiously-minded (or at least wanting to consciously teach children about the story behind Christmas!) but who still love an advent calendar, Meri Meri also do a nativity version where you open another part of the nativity story every day. I had a Pixie calendar when I was little, which relations of mine brought over from Norway. It was beautiful, a handmade calendar with a little ring for each day to which a gift magically appeared each morning. I loved it! Although I’m pretty sure it turns into a much more costly affair than a chocolate calendar! I also read this week about a giving back calendar, where you put an item into a box every day, and at the end take it to the local food bank. Something I will definitely do with my daughter when she is older…