Reusable advent calendars. what do you put in them?

[Tortoise]

Got a lovely wooden advent house in charity shop.
DD1 8 and DD2 7 want to share it so each door will need 2 items in.
Other than chocolate, what do you put in? Or do I make life easy and just put chocolates in?

Chocolate every other day but some activities like baking, craft, day out if they are really good that sort of thing.

movie night with popcorn always seems good.

Stuff from www.Tickseed.co.uk

A clue where to find something hidden in the house, along the lines of "Now for clue number 2, Look where you would keep your shoe". For most days, this is a small piece of chocolate. The fun is in the looking.

On Christmas Eve, the clue is the start of a treasure hunt which takes them all around the house and finishes with something like a new dressing gown, pyjamas or slippers.

My mum had a reusable calendar that she used for her class, and she had a little ornament to add to the tree and a slip of paper with a prayer, thought for the day or activity to do. Some were for the children (making paperchains) and some were more service sort of things (taking cards to the day centre, making decorations for the local hospital)

We put in clues each day for them to decipher. And we hide various things, not just chocolate, things like paper chain kits or diy christmas card kits, paint-your-own baubles, things to make and do with a Christmas theme. Last year I got a Christmas craft kit and lots of days the items came straight out of that.

we live in Birmingham so I go to the Christmas market and get small tree decorations, also novelty rulers, erasers, badges, that sort of thing . I love filling it up!

Last year I got DD the Sylvanian Families Christmas set and put a little bit of the set in each of the advent calendar's pockets. She gradually made up the set over the course of the month.

Not sure what I am putting in this year.

Oh the tyranny of the DIY advent calendar.I bust a gut and my wallet last year buying 'little things' for my DD's-I put in some small moshie monsters, little soaps and bubble bath sachets, little sweets and chocs. This year Advent calendar budget slashed so it will be mostly choc buttons and some slips of paper with jokes and sayings and kisses and hugs....

Good idea re badges....

And she's just had her ears pierced so I might find some Xmassy earrings too

oddly enough, HMV do good badge sets fairly cheaply....

Choc santas or something similar, haribos - no room in ours for a packet so just a few in a twist of foil, I will also have a rummage in my "junk" drawer for any tiny presents from the previous years crackers or party bags. DS has usually forgotten about them so I just recycle.

Wow, I didn't realise so much is involved. Simple is best for me I think lol. Badges and little soaps are good. Will look on website link too. Thanks.

Maybe some little playmobil bits too.

I second playmobil. I've got the playmobil nativity and Three Wise Men sets, and I split these into 24 separate pieces and DD can open one on each day of Advent. It creates a nice build up (the baby Jesus is on the 24th, natch) but isn't a 'special' nativity set that she can't play with.

I put a joke and a sweet in every day for my son and a bead with which to make a necklace and a sweet for my daughter.

I was thinking of getting one ... but if your putting 'little things' like playmobile figures and Sylvanian Families doesn't it just dilute what they get on christmas day?

I would be loathe to even put Sylvanian Family figures in the stocking even, due to their cost, I would want them to be viewed as quite an important present. I find the idea of giving them before the big day madness.

And if you are just going to fill with choc why not just buy a decent chocolate calender with posh nice chocolate?

I say this out of curiosity as I love the look of the reusable calenders but cannot justify them, so was wondering what the logic was so I can buy one guilt free. I normally just get a non chocolate one, we had an Eric Carl one last year.

my mum did this for DS last year. some little drawers had a tiny present in like a Santa balloon or chocolate coin.

the rest had a little ticket in which matched a small wrapped present for him. some days it was a wee box of raisins, others a small book or wind up toy. i think there were a couple of Dvds too.

DS was very impressed even though he was only 15mo! she'd spent lots of time on it and it was lovely.

i think she got more carried away with the little presents than intended, but she got them in supermarkets and bargain book shops etc.

i think he will go a bit mad for it this year now he's figured out unwrapping stuff...

I have a set of small wooden ornaments (well 2 sets - 24 in total) that we put 1 in each pocket (along with 2 quality street - 2 boys).
I also made a christmas tree from 2 pieces of thick cardboard slotted together, about 60/70cm high, and the calendar decorations go on the cardboard tree (real tree doesn't go up until they finish school).

Just chocs or jelly beans here, I bought a wooden one from GLTC a few years back and the drawers are tiny. I like the idea of the notes to my ds though, so might look into that one.

He has an additional Lego starwars advent calendar this year, you know, to teach him the true meaning of Christmas from a Jedi perspective.

It will be chocolate most days. I just like the idea of something different on some of the days. Would only be small like one playmobil figure. I'm looking on ebay for some cheap Christmas figures like a snowman.
Normally just buy chocolate calendars but DD saw this wooden advent house and fell in love with it.

I just do chocolate pennies or Quality Street or similar!

I have three to do ...STILL,

Talked about not bothering last year and they all looked at me like I had cancelled Christmas

They are 14, 16 and 19! ...they're never going to leave home are they?