Can I ask you to share your Advent ideas?

[ArribaArribaAndaleAndale]

My two DC love doing the advent calendar. Last year I placed a small piece of chocolate for each of them in the wooden drawer of the advent calendar every other day. The other days each found a clue that lead them to a hidden treasure which would always be a small toy. It may sound silly but I ended up buying 24 small toys, quite expensive, and they were a bit tatty anyway. What could I do that would still be exciting and fun but would minimise waste?

My dad made a big fabric advent calendar for us. It had a tree made out of felt and felt toys in all the pockets. Candles for the advent branches. You stick a toy on every day (no sweets though!)
I'm sure some website like Pedlars will sell them for a gazillion quid now but ours is still going strong 37 years later.

I did read a lovely idea on here (that I am just not organised enough to do!) where each day has a little piece of paper with a specific Xmas related activity to do. So one day making some paper chains, another day making some Xmas cards. Etc.

For the past couple of years we have used a pin board to attach one clue a day for DD to find a prize. We just drew a christmas picture on the front of a piece of paper, wrote the clue inside and pinned it on.

To keep the cost down we purchased items in bulk and kept it to one prize a day. Some days she had a sweet/choclate (local shop did 6 items for a £1) or childrens books from the charity shop, again I got so many for a £1.

She is now 5 so I am liking Buda's idea of having xmas activities and perhaps replacing te sweets with this.

Buda that's an excellent idea. I wonder what xmas activities though...or should I start a new thread about that?

I can't take any credit for the idea - BUT I did find a thread! Here!

if you want to keep it simple, why dont you just a put a 50p piece in for them each? if you do it every other day alternating with the chocolate, it will only cost you £12 in total, probably cheaper than the little toys.

check upon ebay for wholesale/job lots of things. for instance a dd who likes jewellery you can get 25 different rings, on for a boy, little plastic dragons etc. they dont amount to much and if you dont use all of them keep the spares for party bags