The Best Advent Calendars for Kids
Happy holidays, everyone! Yes, it might technically be Halloween today, but, who are we kidding, if you haven’t been planning for Christmas you’re about a month late already - especially with these wild shipping issues. And today I wanted to talk about the one holiday thing you really have to start planning early - Advent calendars.
Obviously you have to have your Advent calendars ready by December 1st instead of by Christmas, so now’s a great time to get your hands on some new ones for this holiday season. And not just because you need to have them by December 1st, but also because many popular Advent calendars tend to sell out.
If you’re like us, you probably already have a few favorite calendars that you pull out each year. But we also like to discover new ones each year to add to our traditions. So if you like finding new calendars to enjoy as well, maybe you’ll find a list of our favorites useful!
Now perhaps the adults in the family will be after those wine, beer, and cheese calendars from ALDI, but this list is entirely about the kid-friendly variety of calendars - the toys, books, and ornaments variety. They’re certainly full of some of our favorite geeky entertainment properties - as well as some holiday classics as well. And they definitely give us something to look forward to every day in their own way.
Another bookish tradition we enjoy is wrapping up 25 different Christmas picture books - so that we get to read a new surprise book every day. But the great thing about adding all of these other calendars to our traditions is that there is so much variety in them. Toys to play with, songs to sing, crafts to make - it’s all over the place.
And the funny thing is that having this many calendars going at once takes care of a lot of planning for all those December days. We are definitely guilty of having to open a few days at once (hey it’s a lot of calendars to keep track of!) but, let’s be honest, everyone secretly likes it when they get to open extra days.
Hopefully one of these books or calendars catches your eye and makes a good fit for a new family tradition. Countdowns with the kids are always fun, and I think the items on this list are awesome at promoting imagination and free-play, and encouraging some memorable holiday family read alouds. Happy holidays to you and yours and I hope you have the best countdown yet.
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The Nightmare Before Christmas: Advent Calendar and Pop-Up Book
It’s hard not to think about The Nightmare Before Christmas on both Halloween and Christmas. It’s become such a staple of the holiday season that it’s a natural fit for the month-long celebration that an Advent calendar requires. This particular calendar is also a pop-up book - with a beautiful pop-up Christmas tree to hang all of your new little spooky ornaments on.
Most of my Advent calendars growing up were like this, little ornaments to hang on a tree. So it’s kind of funny that this is the only one on this list like that. Lots of calendars these days give you characters to decorate a 3D diorama, so this one stands out in our collection as a tree to decorate. It also comes with a little book with a synopsis of the movie and a description of all of the ornaments. Fans will love this one!
Funko Pop! Advent Calendar: Harry Potter
If you were to ask families these days what their favorite Advent calendars are, the first two things out of their mouth would probably be “Funko” and “LEGO”. Those two companies are definitely putting a lot of effort into the Advent calendar market, and they’re providing a lot of amazing variety too.
Funko has Pokémon, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and several more - but the one that caught our eye is obviously Harry Potter. It’s hard to say no to Harry Potter stuff. I suppose you could say they’re light on the decoration and presentation, but they’re high on the quality of toys you get each day. There are 24 Funko toy figurines to be found, and collectors and fans alike will obviously enjoy them very much.
LEGO Harry Potter Advent Calendar
Surprise, surprise - Harry Potter tempted us again. LEGO is the other huge Advent calendar company with tons of choices on the market - Star Wars and The Avengers being other popular choices. But LEGO Harry Potter has a special place in our hearts. Because when we read through the books together, beating the LEGO Harry Potter video games was part of our tradition as well.
I think LEGO puts more effort into their diorama space as well. It’s a beautiful set with lots of fun pieces to put together and craft a nice little Harry Potter winter scene. Perhaps one day we’ll splurge on the LEGO Hogwarts Castle, but for now these Harry Potter pieces and characters will suffice. And of course they make a great addition to your LEGO collection, unless you want to pack them back into the calendar for next year!
How Winston Delivered Christmas
This is the first item on this list that’s a countdown of stories instead of a countdown of toys to open. We really love Advent books in our house, and this is hands down my very favorite one. It tells the original story of a mouse named Winston who finds a lost letter addressed to Santa Claus - on Christmas Eve. So he sets off on an adventure to deliver it himself.
It’s hard to put into words how special this book is. It was obviously crafted with such care. It’s a beautiful hardcover book with a great story and beautiful illustrations. And as an unexpected bonus, it also includes ideas for Christmas activities after each chapter as well - like writing a letter to Santa Claus or making gingerbread cookies. The value in this book is honestly quite incredible, and I recommend it very highly.
And if you already have the first one, a sequel just came out as well! How Winston Came Home for Christmas came out in the UK already, but you should probably still be able to import a copy before Christmas if you live elsewhere.
HABA’s My First Advent Calendar
HABA is absolutely dominating the market for board games for toddlers, and they’ve long been known for their high-quality wooden toys. And it’s those wooden components that always make their board games stand out as well. So, as a big fan, I was ecstatic to see them dip their toes into the Advent calendar market.
Every day you’ll open up a a door to find a new cute wooden figurine inside. It also comes with a storybook to tie the characters together and give you an idea of how to play with them on the beautiful diorama - kind of like a prompt. I think HABA has always done a wonderful job encouraging free play and imagination with their toys and games, and this calendar is no exception. This is something we are definitely going to look forward to every day this year.
Peanuts: Countdown to Christmas
I don’t know if kids these days understand this quite the same way, but for people of a certain age, the Peanuts gang is one of those properties that is inseparable from the holidays. I kid you not, the Peanuts holiday special is probably one of the first 10 things out of my mouth if you asked me to start shouting out things that remind me of Christmas.
With that being said, how could I possible resist a new book that helps you countdown the days to Christmas with stories about Snoopy and the gang. It’s well made and a good quality book - with great choices of short stories and, obviously, terrific illustrations. It’s hard to imagine this is a new book, because it seems like a classic I should have had since I was little.
Christmas is Coming: An Advent Book
The last Advent calendar book on our list is a beautiful one. What makes this book stand out is that it isn’t based around a known property like Peanuts, it’s just a stand-alone Advent book crafted by one of our very favorite book publishers - Chronicle Books. The soft illustrations make it feel like a true classic holiday keepsake, and, I assure you, this is one you’ll be more than happy to make a tradition out of.
The wonderful thing about this book is that it’s all over the place. It’s not a story every day - in fact, you have no idea what you’ll get each day. It might be a recipe, it might be a Christmas carol to sing, it might be directions for a craft project, or it could be something like a hidden picture seek-and-find. It’s simply one of the most charming Christmas books we have.
Super Mario Advent Calendar
Last year we picked up the Super Mario Advent Calendar, and it was a big hit with our little Mario fan. And it looks like this year they’re releasing a completely new one as well - complete with adorable snowman Mario and Luigi and Santa Mario. These plastic figurines are so much fun to play with for little fans (and big fans), and the 3D diorama it comes with is a nice touch for free play as well as holiday decoration.
But you might have to be quick or look far and wide, because it’s selling fast and may be difficult to find closer to the holiday season. Hopefully Nintendo notices how popular they are and makes a ton more for us. With any luck, they’ll release the same set next year and give more people a chance to get that Santa Mario!
What’s your family’s favorite Advent calendar? Have you ever used any of the calendars in our list? Let us know in the comments, and Happy Holidays to you and yours!
