Traditional Advent Calendars for young children

[BondJayneBond]

I'm thinking about getting advent calendars for the DC (4 and 2 years) soon.

I want to get them the traditional sort that just have a picture behind the door, no chocolates, no toys or anything fancy.

Does anyone have any recommendations about where to look for this sort of advent calendar?

Waterstones had some, they were about £6 though which I thought was a bit steep for some pictures! Watching with interest if anyone else has seen any nice ones.

Amazon have some beautiful Alison Gardiner traditional calendars but they are about £7 each

I guess the picture ones are more expensive because they're less popular?

£6 does sound steep though when you think that the chocolate ones in Tesco start at £1.

Vocational - I'm really looking for one that just has pictures and not toys in, so I won't be getting a Playmobil one. Although I agree that they look good and they'd be getting serious consideration if I was thinking about an advent calendar with toys in.

In my town (norwich) we have a store called jarrolds that had loads of traditional advent calenders, pretty sure john Lewis had some and yes Waterstones, book shop type places.

We get ours from a small local card shop and yes, they are more expensive than cartoon character chocolate calendars that go up to Dec 31st.

We got DC1 a large animal-filled nativity scene for the last two years and I noticed they have it again this year.

If you mean religious ones then local churches will sell them after mass. My granny buys one for ds every year and me, even though I'm 27.

Or Christian bookshops, my DM used to get them there when we were in our 20s as well.

Ours were given to us on October 31st. My dear old Granny likes to be prepared!

John Lewis do a few

Man on the moon

Gruffalo

Dog one

Oh posted before adding in my favourite one

Charities do them, I think we got battersea ones last year.

Yy to independent card shops, although I got a wonderful 3D one in whsmiths once.

whsmith have lots of choice instore, but I'm not sure I've ever seen them online

they had nativity ones, winter scenes, santa ones...probably 10 or so to choose from. the one dd1 chose was £2.99 and I think they were all under a fiver. The only other place I've seen them is John Lewis, but they mostly cost the best part of a tenner there.

This one is a bit different - still paper but instead of windows to open you add magnetic pictures of decorations onto the picture of a Christmas tree, so you would be able to use it more than once to justify it being more expensive than a cheapo chocolate one

But the DC always love their fabric nativity one. It's not exactly like this one but you get the idea. We save the Christmas Eve one until after tea and I love seeing the baby Jesus go up. Feels like Christmas is really coming!

Another alternative to paper ones is this, which is a fabric calendar with figures from the nativity in numbered pockets. You take a figure out each day and gradually create a nativity scene.
www.notonthehighstreet.com/jollyfine/product/nativity-advent-calendar

We have a different design, but along the same lines. Ours is shared between the two children and they take it in turns to put the pieces in the scene.

I love that one, Jasper!

I also have this, which get reused every year, too. The book opens up to reveal a beautiful 3D pop up scene with advent calendar windows in the houses. I bought mine in 1993 and have used it every year since.

Sorry, forgot the link.

www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Kingdom-Viking-Kestrel-picture/dp/0670831662

I bought the boys this one
www.elc.co.uk/Melissa-and-Doug-Wooden-Advent-Calendar/142123,default,pd.html

There's loads on Amazon - just search for traditional advent calendars. I think the German ones are the best - but they are at least £ 7 each. We have always gone for the traditional kind - and my kids are now 13 and 15!!

I think it is a nice tradition to have a reusable one (better for waste/environment too). We have a lovely felt one, which starts as an small empty Christmas tree and you add a felt ornament for each day, so that by Christmas it is covered in decorations.

We also have a big John Lewis wooden house one, which was a gift, it works for me as I can fill it with little cheap chocs for each day - so I have minimal outlay each year.

My eldest (7 yo) already has fond memories of using these each year and loves to see them come out.

Dh got a (really rather expensive, for what it is, but nice) nativity one for dd from Phoenix Cards (we know someone who sells these, but the stuff is also available on-line, I think. I understand that it raises money for some charities).

www.theletteroom.com/christmas_1/adventcalendars

these are really sweet and not a chocolate between them : )

I think Matalan do them.