22 Unusual Ideas for Kids Advent Calendars
This year I wanted to avoid the chocolates so I began looking around early to ensure it wasn't a disappointment to two expectant girls looking for their daily chocolate fix.
Are you looking for an alternative to the usual chocolate kids advent calendar this year?
I love Christmas and I love the countdown but I do feel as if the chocolate can get a bit much. Plus, though they love opening up the little windows, it’s just nice to shake it up a bit every couple of years and see how creative you can get.
Thus began my search to find out if there were decent kids advent calendar alternatives that were as exciting as chocolate for three expectant little girls looking for their chocolate fix.
Thankfully, I wasn’t struggling for inspiration. There are loads of alternative kids advent calendar ideas. From diy-ing it yourself to religious inspired pin ups, candle lighting, crafts and more.
Last year, I was so inspired in fact, I decided to do two. For the visual countdown that both my two year old and four year old could understand, I decided on a Santa’s beard calendar. Each day, they glued on a cotton ball to Santa’s beard marking one more sleep closer to Santa’s arrival. Click the photo below for an instant printable.
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Playmobil Christmas Nativity Stable with Manger
Advent Around the World
Here is another idea from Thirdculturemama which is about exploring advent globally and remembering others across the world.
“So, each day in December, we will locate the country on a map, the kids will get unwrap one small object (tiny items from around the house..surprise, that’s where your toy orange was!) and if we can get our act together, we’ll complete the activity and outreach as well as pray for people we know in that country. You can see how this thing took on a life of its own. Oh dear. Time to recenter on the advent season again.”
Playinchoc Kids Advent Calendar
This PLAYin CHOC advent calendar is sooo cute! The advent contains 24 drawers, each calendar drawer contains: 10g organic chocolate with coconut + 3D puzzle & fun facts card. A sweet little 3D puzzle that the kids can play with and put together makes this soo worth it! Once each drawer is removed, replace back to front to form a new picture which will be completed on Christmas Eve.
The Make Arcade Craftvent Calendar
Count down to Christmas with this fun and festive craftvent calendar from The Make Arcade.
This bumper box of craft has 24 individually packed felt kits each one containing the bits to make a cute christmas decoration. Most are full on Christmas, but a few are cute and kitsch designs including food/drinks, adorable animals and other fun stuff. The countdown to christmas will have never been so crafty!
We want to keep this as much as a surprise as possible and the kits will be in mini recycled paper envelopes with a numbered rainbow hued sticker so you can open one everyday of Craftvent! Each Box Contains: 24 individually packed felt sewing kits (each one containing, felt, glitter fabric, ribbon, trims and instructions), 1 x sewing kit (including coloured threads and needles), 1 x bag of stuffing to use in each kit. The box is a beautiful kraft box with branded wrapper and tied up like a lovely present with coloured twine.
Creative Kids GooZooKa Slime Advent Calendar – 24 Surprises
- Countdown to Christmas! Make this a magical month with our holiday GooZooKa Slime Advent Calendar!
- 🎄 Make endless combinations of beautiful slime with 18 Jars of Slime, 4 Jars of Glitter and 2 Jars of Sand!
- 🎅 The perfect gift for any child anxiously awaiting Santa!
- 🔔 Endless fun! Stretch it, squeeze it, poke it, squish it, swirl it, or let it drip and ooze!
LEGO City Advent Calendar Construction Toy
Paper House Advent Calendar
A wonderful way to celebrate the Christmas countdown.
House Paper Craft Advent Calendar
This advent calendar lets you furnish, day by day, a delightful house for a charming reindeer family. Open the box to reveal numbered trays with house furnishings and characters. The house has two bedrooms, a dining room and a lovely sitting room complete with a Christmas tree and gifts. A wonderful gift for hours of imaginative play.This fabulous house themed box, with a stylish ribbon fastening, opens to show numbered trays insideThe trays reveal delightful house furnishings & charactersLots of neon print and foil detail for added effectMade from eco-friendly paper
Coppenrath Unique Vintage Musical Gramophone Advent Calendar
- This delightful and alternative advent calendar is a minature working gramophone. It comes with 24 interchangeable vinyls, one for each day of advent, which can be swapped to play a different musical tune every single day. Simply move the stylus to the vinyl and it will begin playing! The whole family will love playing the mini vinyl to see which tune plays that day. Illustrated by Barbara Behr.
- This beautiful advent calendar is designed by the lovely German company Coppenrath, a traditional Christmas goods maker since 1768. Beautiful illustrations and festive designs will delight you and your family the entire advent season.
Plasticine Advent Calendar
- Make a Festive model every day!
- A fun and unique interactive Advent Calendar, ideal for the countdown to Christmas.
- Hidden behind each little window of this advent calendar is a set of easy-to-follow instructions to create a whole host of festive figures
- Festive figures including Santa, a snowman, holly and loads more festive decorations!
- A perfect festive gift, the Calendar includes 450g Plasticine in various colours, sculpting tool, and daily instructions behind each day’s window
- The Advent Calendar contains real Plasticine which never dries out, a childhood favourite with great nostalgic appeal for both children and adults.
Disney Christmas Advent Book
If you are looking for something a bit different than chocolate to countdown to Christmas this year, then this Disney Christmas Advent Book is perfect! Great value and fun, this lovely advent gift features 24 different mini-books from the Disney storybook collection in a cased wallet. Great for children aged between 6-10 years, this will be sure to give them hours of fun this Christmas!
‘Christmas Reindeer Balloon Kids Advent Calendars
A fun and unique balloon advent calendar, the perfect way to count down to the big day! The advent calendar is made up of 24 5-inch balloons each pre-stuffed with a Christmas chocolate. The kit includes the gold cord, 24 red mini balloons pre-stuffed with Christmas chocolate and 24 gorgeous red nosed reindeer’s ready to be inflated to create this unique Christmas Advent Calendar with.
Mouttop Kids Advent Calendars ,24 Charms DIY Necklace Bracelet
Cheese Advent Calendar 2020 – 24 Wax Truckle Cheeses – Merry Cheesemas
- Beautifully presented advent calendar for cheese lovers!
- A fantastic treat for yourself or the cheese fan in your life.
- Put a cheesy spin on your Christmas countdown this year.
- Enjoy 24 mini cheese truckles across 8 unique flavours!
- All cheeses are individually wrapped in colourful wax.
The Colour In Christmas Kids Advent Calendars
Open the door to days of crafty Christmas fun, with this colour-in advent calendar with a difference. Inspire a crafty Christmas! Children will love the visual representation of this advent calendar. With each day of advent the calendar fills with colour and adds to the excitement of ‘how many more sleeps there is to go’! Choose the personalised option, making this advent extra special and a keepsake memory for years to come.
Joe & Seph’s Popcorn Advent Calendar 2018 (Contains 24 x 5g bags of popcorn)
Christmas Activity Kids Advent Calendars
A set of 24 Advent Activity Cards. A fun pack of high quality cards for toddlers and children to celebrate the countdown to Christmas. This unique set of cards is a lovely way to prepare for Christmas in a fun and thoughtful way. Each card states an activity for your child to do that day.
Advent Candle
A grown-up version of the traditional advent calendar – the advent candle is lit every day on the run up to Christmas and burnt down to the following date. A lovely tradition for those chilly winter evenings spent in front of the fire. Small red glass Candle holder also available.
VTech Toot-Toot Animals Kids Advent Calendars – Multi-Coloured
Crayola Christmas Kids Advent Calendars Kit
24Pcs Brain Teaser Puzzle Metal Wire Puzzles Wooden Luban Locks 3D Puzzles IQ Test Advent Calendar Fillers for Kids and Adults
- Made of high quality metal and wood, no sharp edges
- Perfect for leisure time, getting your kids away from gadgets and electronics
- Its a healthier way to practice focus and concentration. Can also be used for party games
- 24Pcs puzzle buckles are perfect fits for party favors goody bags, Christmas stockings. Provide hours of fun
And finally… I couldn’t leave this one out!
Multicultural Book Kids Advent Calendars: Books for STRONG Girls
First of all, If you haven’t done a Book Advent before, you have one book for each day of your countdown to the holiday of your choice. You can buy the books, check them out from your local library, or simply incorporate book titles already in your home library. If you want to add an element of surprise, wrap and date each book and let your child(ren) open one each day. These books are also critical for raising boys who believe in gender equality. Teachers and parents: we need to be explicitly teaching gender equality through reading aloud and the books we share with boys and girls. Every child needs to see everyday female role models, as well as on TV/movies. By doing this, we teach tolerance and empathy, while breaking down harmful stereotypes. This multicultural book advent list below is appropriate for ages 0-10.
50 Acts of Kindness by Kids for Advent
Finally, this year I want to incorporate more of the giving part of Christmas than the receiving. I found this list of 50 acts of kindness for kids at advent on pinterest which is great. It includes ideas like: bake goodies and give them to your neighbours; write a letter telling your brother/ sister how much you love them and; make a christmas card for your teacher. I intend to add a few of my own and make it personal to my child(ren)
The kindest advent calendar in the world, Advent of Change is a memorable and meaningful experience for the whole family.
With this one single purchase you will be making a donation to 24 amazing charities – from feeding the hungry to looking after animals from around the world. Each of the perforated doors represents a 50p donation and will tell you how your contribution could be used.
It is designed for everyone to enjoy and understand – each door features a coloured shape to help little ones find the right one, plus child-friendly language is used throughout, showing younger family members that they have the power to make a difference. There is also a mini-game to find hidden reindeer over the month.
Advent of Change Calendar
The kindest advent calendar in the world, Advent of Change is a memorable and meaningful experience for the whole family.
With this one single purchase you will be making a donation to 24 amazing charities – from feeding the hungry to looking after animals from around the world. Each of the perforated doors represents a 50p donation and will tell you how your contribution could be used.
It is designed for everyone to enjoy and understand – each door features a coloured shape to help little ones find the right one, plus child-friendly language is used throughout, showing younger family members that they have the power to make a difference. There is also a mini-game to find hidden reindeer over the month.
