Advent calendars

[Phantom]

What advent calendars is everyone getting?

Normally I get toy Advent calendars. I was considering a science one for ds, hot wheels for my youngest and mini stuffies for dd1. But I'm torn this year because I wonder if getting a wooden one with drawers and filling it with different candies each night might be better in terms of less clutter. I've never done it before. Is it silly to do candy so close to Halloween? My kids usually get a ton of Halloween candy.

 

[dairymomma]

I quit buying advent calendars after we had our 3rd kid. It just cost too much and we ended up with little trinkets/toys that they never took care of or lost. So I made an advent calendar with fabric. I cut cute fabric into half circle shapes, glued two pieces together to make a pocket, strung them together with twine, and drew numbers on each pocket with a Sharpie. The last day is a fabric bag so it can hold something a bit bigger. I hang it along the wall or over a doorway and our Elf on the Shelf brings the treats for the pockets when she comes back from her nightly visit to whisper in Santa's ear. I found it was easiest to fill each pocket the night before otherwise, the whole thing gets too heavy and falls down. (This also prevents my kids from sneaking peeks at the upcoming pockets..Which they totally did too.)

As for filling the pockets....Along with the advent calendar, we also have a metal tin shaped like a mailbox that the kids can put notes to Santa or the Elf on the Shelf in and the Elf will sometimes leave a note in reply. Two years ago, our Elf (aka me ) started leaving a daily Advent Activity for the kids to do and the advent calendar treat usually went along with that. Ex. If the Advent Activity was to go skiing through the woods on our property and have a cup of hot cocoa afterwards, the advent calendar had individual pouches of hot cocoa mix and a small bag of mini marshmallows in it. Or if the activity that day was to bake Christmas Cookies, the calendar pocket had a few containers of sprinkles and maybe a cookie cutter or two. If the activity was making Christmas cards for their friends, the pocket has a few sheets of fun holiday themed stickers, washi tape, and glue sticks. The Elf gets in on the fun too and her shenanigans usually are a hint to the activity as well. (When she tells the kids to make cookies, she often has cookie baking supplies out and has made a mess with the flour.)

This has worked really well for us and I like that I don't have to fill the pockets with candy or trinkets that my kids will only fight over or lose or break right away. Often, I have several of the items on hand already (cookie cutters, sprinkles, glue sticks) or I can get them fairly cheap at Dollar Tree or Walmart (stickers, hot cocoa mix, etc.) so I'm not spending loads of money on it either. I found a few advent activity lists on Pinterest and blogs so I copied the activities I really liked into the a Microsoft Word document, made a quick note of the items I'd need for the advent calendar for each activity, and I saved it on my computer. I have around 30 activities total so it isn't like the kids do the exact same list of things every year and I make sure to switch the order from year to year as well. But so far, my older kids especially say they prefer this to the advent calendars they used to get. It's more fun and interactive I think.

I will add that my kids are homeschooled so they have more time each day to do these activities so it may not work for others. They do also get one of those advent calendars with the itty bitty cheap chocolates each day from my mom so there is still a bit of the traditional advent calendar fun for them too.

 

[NDH]

When my eldest was two I made a felt advent calender. It had a tree with 25 buttons and then 25 pockets that each held a handmade felt ornament which would get hung on a button.

I also incorporated Bible verses and our nativity scene into the Advent tradition - one kid would get to chose where to hang the ornament, one would read the blabible verse, and one would get to add a new character to the nativity scene. And they'd rotate who got to do what each night.

Sadly it got water damaged a few years ago and I haven't replaced it (it was a lot of work to hand sew!). We did get given a fabric tree with pockets last year and did a small chocolate or mini candy cane for each of the kids - the pockets aren't big enough to hold 5 of anything, but I put one thing in each pocket and that showed them the treat they got that day

 

[SmartieMeUp]

I have 2 wooden calendars which I bought 5 years ago from Baker Ross. Painted them myself and refill them every year with sweets/chocolates. This year I was going to get collectible figure ones but decided not to.

 

[motherofboys]

I usually just get the chocolate ones because of cost and being so close to multiple birthdays and Christmas, but this year decided to go with the toy calender as its possibly the last Christmas with all my babies at home.
Jimi has chosen a food one anyway, but it's pork Scratchings
Zac still can't decide but thinks maybe he wants a cheese one.
Nate has a squishy toy one.
Seth has a lego one (can't remember if it was starwars or marvel now)
Reuben has a Thomas and friends minis one.

 

[Bevziibubble]

Mine get chocolate ones but my MIL usually buys it for them

 

[x_WelshGirl_x]

Mine get chocolate advent calendars and it's only over the past few years I've got toy ones. Scarlett loved her Smiggle advent calendar last year so I may get that again.
Not sure on Alex yet. Seen a Grinch one on Amazon, may get that or let him have a look and decide.

 

[sequeena]

Thomas wants the kinder bueno advent calendar this year.

I usually get a toy one too but nothing has caught my eye yet.

 

[WhisperGirl]

We're a Catholic family and we found chocolate advent calendars in Marks and Spencer that have the traditional nativity scene on them. We were delighted.

 

[Phantom]

Looks like chocolate is quite popular! I might go with chocolate/candies too for the first time then.

 

[kirstybumx3]

I feel we as a family waste so much money on advent calendars and honestly the children don't really bother with the contents afterwards.
My MIL always buys the boys a toy calendar and I get them a chocolate one. Last year they ended up with 2 toy calendars each and a chocolate one which was just silly IMO.

This year Rio wants the lynx one, if i can find it in home bargains (ive looked a million times or so it seems) then I will pick one up for him and suggest to MIL that it is off her so he doesn't have two.
Niko will probably get a lego one off MIL or similar, and I might not buy them one this year!

 

[Babybump87]

I have a beautiful wooden house with little drawers that I fill , I always get them a chocolate one each too Cadbury etc

 

[leoniebabey]

I’ll get us all chocolate ones. We don’t tend to get other ones really unless I’ve gotten them in the sale. last year we got a stationary one reduced I think it was maybe £2 and the kids took turns opening.

I’ve got myself a Disney scents wax melt advent which is my little treat to myself.

 

[c1403]

We have done both over the years.
This year they have both asked for the simple cheap and cheerful Cadbury one.
DD1 would love an expensive skincare one (not happening)
DD2 would love a Harry Potter one.
I need to have a shop around

 

[c1403]

Just seen some lovely ones on Boots
Harry Potter and Soap and Glory....but at £40 each...its a bit much!

 

[c1403]

So my sister is going to get the girls the boots calendars. Whooo

She also offered me a no7 one but they're all out of stock

 

[JuniBjones]

This year we’re getting a wooden one with little drawers to put chocolate or mini candy canes in practically the same price and we can reuse it every year

 

[josephine3]

There's some affordable harry potter ones on ebay and amazon x