Advent calendar ideas

Twenty-four small things is a lot to source in one go, which is why most reusable advent calendars end up half-filled with chocolate anyway.

The trick is to mix: eight treats, eight tiny objects, eight activity notes. The notes cost nothing and are usually the ones remembered.

Below are fillers by age, non-chocolate ideas, DIY calendars you can make in an evening, and a full kindness advent you can copy out.

Advent calendar fillers for children

• Stickers, temporary tattoos, hair bobbles.
• A single Lego minifigure, split from a set.
• Marbles, bouncy balls, a yo-yo.
• Pencils, rubbers, novelty erasers.
• A pin badge for the school bag.
• Hair clips or a friendship bracelet.
• A joke written on a slip of paper.
• A hot chocolate sachet for that evening.
• A tiny book or a comic.
• Sea creature grow-in-water capsules.
• A festive plaster pack - unglamorous, always used.
• A note saying 'today you choose tea'.

Non-chocolate advent ideas

• A book advent: twenty-four wrapped books, one read each night, library copies included.
• A jigsaw advent: split a 24-piece puzzle across the doors.
• A Lego or craft advent: one build per day.
• A joke or riddle advent, written on folded slips.
• A song advent: one Christmas song a day on a shared playlist.
• A card advent: one card to write and post each day, which clears the whole Christmas card list by the 24th.
• A decoration advent: one bauble or paper chain a day until the tree is done.
• A kindness advent (below).

Advent calendar ideas for teenagers and adults

• Skincare miniatures decanted into pots.
• Twenty-four teabags, all different.
• Hair ties, lip balms, nail varnishes.
• Gift card split into small denominations across four doors.
• Beer or gin advent, one miniature a day.
• Candle advent: one tealight per day, one bigger candle on the 24th.
• A memory advent: twenty-four notes about a shared year, brilliant for a partner.
• Twenty-four photographs, one per day, pegged onto a string.

DIY advent calendars

• Twenty-four brown paper bags, numbered and pegged to string across a wall.
• Toilet roll tubes wrapped in paper, stacked into a pyramid.
• Matchboxes glued into a grid and painted.
• Envelopes pinned to a corkboard, one activity note in each.
• A wooden crate with numbered jars.
• Wrapped books stacked into a tree shape.
• A washing line of numbered socks - fill with anything small.
• Numbered luggage tags on a branch in a vase.

24 days of a kindness advent

• 1. Write a card to someone who won't expect one.
• 2. Donate a toy you no longer play with.
• 3. Let someone else choose the film.
• 4. Put money in a charity tin.
• 5. Phone a grandparent.
• 6. Do a job nobody asked you to do.
• 7. Leave a nice note in a library book.
• 8. Buy an extra tin for the food bank.
• 9. Say thank you to someone at school or work.
• 10. Feed the birds.
• 11. Tidy a shared space without mentioning it.
• 12. Send a message to a friend you've lost touch with.
• 13. Make someone a hot drink.
• 14. Draw a picture for a neighbour.
• 15. Give a genuine compliment.
• 16. Bake something and give half away.
• 17. Pick up litter on the way home.
• 18. Write a thank you card for a teacher.
• 19. Let someone go ahead of you in a queue.
• 20. Read to someone younger.
• 21. Send a Christmas card to someone who lives alone.
• 22. Share your sweets.
• 23. Help with the Christmas Eve tidy-up.
• 24. Tell everyone in the house one thing you like about them.

Shop pin badges

Banners, toppers and confetti

Party bits designed in house and printed in the UK.

How to write it so it lands

• Fill it in one sitting in late November with the doors laid out in order - a door at a time never happens.
• Put the best things behind 12, 20 and 24 to keep interest through the middle.
• Keep a reusable calendar and a box of leftover fillers; year two costs half of year one.

Where to shop next

• Elf on the Shelf ideas
• Christmas Eve box ideas
• Advent calendar ideas
• Christmas quiz questions
• Christmas traditions in the UK
• World Book Day ideas
• Eid card messages
• Diwali card messages
• Chinese New Year card messages
• Christmas cards
• Secret Santa gift ideas
• Pin badges
• Buy party supplies
• Cake toppers
• Table confetti
• Celebration ideas
• Work Christmas party ideas
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas

Frequently asked questions

What can you put in an advent calendar instead of chocolate?

Stickers, badges, hair clips, Lego minifigures, jokes, teabags, activity notes and books all work. A mix of treats, tiny objects and notes is cheapest and most popular.

How much does filling an advent calendar cost?

At £1 to £2 a door you're looking at £24 to £48. Using activity notes for a third of the doors brings it under £20 without anyone noticing.

When does advent start?

Church advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, so the date moves. Shop-bought calendars almost always start on 1 December.