Filling advent calendar for toddlers

[DandyLyon]

I've been given one of those wooden ones with little boxes for each day. What on Earth do you put in it?! Sweets have to be wrapped ... I'm very unimaginative and at a loss. What do other people do? My son is 3

Chocolate coins?

Ooh I’m doing that this year. Have sort of brainstormed some ideas so some days there will be treats like chocolate coins and other days there will be things like a ticket to the pantomime or to the Santa train we have booked. Nowhere near filling up my 24 days so am going to watch for ideas

Stickers, foil wrapped chocolates, minifigs.

Stickers, stampers and christmas tattoos come to mind. However, I think if you look at party bag stuff you’d probably find little bits in there too.

I’d be tempted to just do chocolate.

I got a set of wooden fruit and veg for the play kitchen one year and had one per day.

Chocolate coins, of course!! Love the idea of tickets too...

Little cars or trains? Bubbles?
Lovely idea though.

I had one of these as a child and if it was a gift too big to fit in, then my mum would hide it and put a written clue in the calendar - so "Go to where you get clean at the end of the day" (bath) or "I'm hiding in one of your shoes." Something simple you can read out to your child and they can find themselves.

Don't overthink it Chocolate coins are the way to go and in the final drawer put one of those chocolate reindeer or similar as well.

Decorations they can hang on the tree
Reindeer food to put out on Christmas Eve
Mittens
Figures for a nativity scene (donkeys, sheep etc) - one each day until you get a baby on Christmas Eve to put in the crib
A set of fairy lights to hang by their bed
Pine or berry scented bubbles for the bath

I did this last year and could hardly find anything apart from sweets and money that would fit. The drawers are tiny. I did as PP mum and left notes if they were too big. Not that he can really read yet but still...

If he’s into any particular characters have a look on eBay for bundles of second hand little figures. Years ago my DD got into moshi monsters just as the fad was starting to fade out, I got enough little figures to fill a calendar for around £5 that year.

Like a pp i used wee slips of paper with a clue and they did a treasure hunt. We had quite a few wooden animals, bouncy balls, tattoos and on christmas eve the clue led to their christmas eve box

Oh love the final clue leading to the Christmas Eve Box!

I've done over the years, finger puppets, cars, Christmas decorations, lego figures, chocolate coins and Christmas themed sweets. This year is going to be Christmas stationery.

Depending on how young they are I've done:

Stickers
Hair clips
Playmobil people (got a load second hand)
Lego mini figures (fake eBay ones cheap)
Rubbers
Pencils
Little party bag gifts
Kinder bars
Chocolate coins
Rolled up letter with an activity treat - e.g. something Christmassy that we were going to do anyway 😁
Bubbles
Hair bobbles
Christmas brooch
Flumps

Our advent calendars are fabric with pockets that I made when they were babies so things can be squashed in!

I still do one for grown up DD and her boyfriend shares it.., I put boozy liquor chocolate in hers and random funny bits.

We’ve got a very big fabric tree calendar. I’m putting chocolate coins in the little pouches, but have to do it for just the day in question or my little ones would empty it out!

How about a colouring page one day, a chocolate coin, a real coin, a book token (which you go to spend together) ... actually I think the international elf service does a north pole letter pack with activities, so maybe one of those in some of them, a note that says what you're going to do together that day (eg baking/go to the park), a colouring pen, stickers?

oops just seen sawyersfishbiscuits post and realised I've said almost the same. Sorry, not helpful!

Another vote here for Christmas activities... we have notes on our calendar for writing to father Christmas, making Christmas cards, making Christmas biscuits, putting up the Christmas tree, tickets to couple of christmassy things, visiting father Christmas, being ìn the nativity, and any other Christmas type activities I can think of. Cuts down on sugar consumption and levels of tat needed to fill it (And I hope helps with the concept that Christmas is not just a commercial festival too).

Rubber finger monsters, choc coins, Christmas decorations for the tree and numbers that correspond to a bag of wrapped, numbered books/magazines/stickers.

DS is 3

@Canyousewcushions never thought of tying xmas activities in, great idea!

At 3 mine were absolutely enthralled by all sorts of junk - shiny stone, coloured feather, sticker, bouncy ball, pine cone, measuring tape, stretchy man, lego figure, conker, shiny penny ... random bits.

For the occasional bigger thing I taped a long ribbon inside the drawer for them to follow and find their gift, leading them round furniture, under chairs etc

By 4 they were worldly wise and I had to resort to buying bundles of figures second hand (tip: pop them in a mesh laundry bag and wash in dishwasher)

By 6 they were asking for the eye watering my expensive lego calendars.

I wish I’d stuck to chocolate!