This year, I decided to fill our own advent calendar. We have a beautiful leather, hanging calendar after all (this Gathre one) but last year it served predominately as decorative.
There are countless posts and pins with DIY advent calendars as well as lists for fillers by theme, age, interest etc. but I decided to still go ahead and share what I'm filling ours with. I opted to go for a mix of treats, functional items, activities, and give back prompts to get a feel for what worked or what they liked most for future Christmas seasons. I can't wait to see them make their way through the month and start celebrating the holiday this way.
Christmas themed jammies
New ornament, tradition
Kinder Surprise
Baby Jesus, Giving Manger
Nutcrackers + charcuterie prompt
Tooth fairy box (6 y/o) + nail polish (2 y/o)
Wooden spin tops, small business
Magic trick cards, small business (also here)
Letter to Santa supplies (cute Santa seal)
Jar of cloves, holiday oranges
Christmas lights "pass"
Twinkle lights for bedroom
Holiday cookie cutters
Kinder mini bars, saved from Halloween
Jingle bells
Kindness cards, by Mini Mioche
Donation money, to pay-it-forward
19th: Card game (gifted courtesy of, Djeco)
Christmas socks
Twine, for garland making
Scavenger prompt, new Little People Big Dreams books
Candy canes + toothbrushes, small business
Scavenger prompt, clues to find Christmas Eve jammies
I made sure to mark out weekend pockets with fillings that were activities or experiences. Some of those things included the "Christmas Lights Passes" for an evening drive, functional nutcrackers for a little holiday charcuterie, cloves for Christmas pomander orange making, a Christmas movie marathon "pass", and money to donate towards a pay-it-forward eatery we like to support.
I tried to support small business and local shops where it made sense but for budget sake, many of the items like index cards with activities, twinkle lights, Kinder Eggs, jingle bells, cookie cutters (and more) are easily acquired at a dollar store as well.
For a couple items we decided to include in the calendar, that didn't fit (or two wouldn't fit together) in the pocket, we left an envelope with a riddle/clue to find where that day's surprise is hidden.
Example: "candy canes are white and red, today's surprise is under your bed".
Kol Kid and Citizen Kid are my two go-to toy stores any time (also Dilly Dally but we've since moved too far for in-store visits) but they also offer a great selection of small items like the wooden spin tops, trick cards, and tooth fairy box. Small thrifted finds world be cute as well or following a theme like books, Christmas town building, small treats.
I will definitely make note of which pockets were a bigger hit than others and possibly consider a different theme or approach next year but in the meanwhile, it's been a real treat to do this December.
x, OM
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