Ideas for Advent Calendar (for 5yo)

[Throwawaytoday]

Hi there,

I had a beauty calendar last year, so have a really nice box advent calendar with 24 drawers.

I'm planning to repurpose it for DD this year - BUT I don't want to fill it full of shitty bits of plastic that will clutter up the house (and later landfill). Equally I don't want to make it a joyless affair.

Ideas so far:

• Pair of Christmas socks
• Pen(s)
• Sachet of hot chocolate
• Chocolate(s)

I'd love to hear any other ideas of Christmas goodies to put into the calendar, ideally things we'd have bought/got anyway over the season.

If you are going to any Christmas events, a 'ticket' for them

Instructions and ingredients for gingerbread/mince pies/cookies

Paper and glitter to make snowflakes

Paper chain kit

Oh yes, that's an excellent idea to add mini crafting kits, we'd be doing a load of crafting anyway.

Ditto a recipe bag (I've seen recipes where you can just put all the dry incredients in a container, and add the wet ones, I'll try that).

Also - I could add a christmassy soap - she'd like that.

If you struggle to find enough presents of the right size, you could wrap some bigger preeents, put them in a gift bag and put a 'lucky dip' card in the drawer. Will allow you to add bigger things like books
Expanding on Pp's suggestion about event tickets, you could add experiences eg visit to a Christmassy garden centre (some of ours locally are magical for kids at Christmas) & free.
On a day you need to take her to do something dull like food shopping, add s voucher for a hot chocolate in a cafe, or cheaper fir a ginger bread man/similar from the bakers.
Christmas hair bobbles.
Tree decorations.
If you still have some sort of pound shop have a browse for things like Christmas stickers or other crafts which will help pass the time as she starts to get excited nearer the big day. You'll also be able to get things like Christmas mugs/tumblers which she can use throughout the month.

Oh and make a note of what you've put in which drawer so you can 'fix' it if weather dependent or other circumstances demand it

I'm doing this for my 4 year old too & thinking a Christmas pen & nice paper to write a letter to Santa, pjs for the 1st of December so we get maximum wear 😂 Christmas cookie cutters to spread over a few of the days, some Christmas hair bobbles/clips ( school uniform is green so thinking some green ones that I can re use for school days) exciting times 😄

Stickers, ink stamp, bouncy ball, a note leading to a hidden wrapped present.

Great idea of the 'extras' bit (vouchers for hot chocolates, ginger bread, etc. at places we plan to drag take her over the festive period.

And good idea on the annual bauble - she chooses one bauble each year, if we do that early enough (October) then she'll be excited to see it again in December.

Ditto hair bobbles, she lives for those.

Also a good point about writing down what is where for fixing purposes!

I wonder if I'd be turning into my mother if I put in a pack of Thank You notelets @violetclouds - 'father christmas' always used to put some in my stocking as a child.

p.s I don't know how the typo of inCredient slipped through the net... wowzer.

I usually put a slip of paper in each one, 'hot chocolate,' 'decorate the tree,' 'look at Xmas lights,' 'games night,' 'carol service,' etc. Then now and again they'll have a chocolate coin or candy cane in one as well, and the odd bigger thing like socks. They don't need a lot at that age, just enjoy opening it!

I put Christmas jokes in DDs . Have an old Xmas joke book but you can find lots on line. Sometimes with a little chocolate or gift as well. DD is older now and rolls her eyes at the jokes but still loves them. I use cut up old Christmas cards from the year before to write them on

So many lovely ideas here! I put chocolate coins in too.

My reusable advent calendar isn't big enough to put much in so I tend to use it as an activity calendar. Each day has a little note with something for DC to do. Could be printed tickets/clues to something we've booked, could be a puzzle to solve that leads them to a craft that I've set up, could just be a suggestion of 'movie night' or 'hot chocolate'. Some days just have a little chocolate or stickers. I only include things we'd be doing anyway though, DIY advent calendars add up quickly!

I like the idea of putting in jokes too.

Stamps to post Christmas cards to granny etc
Stickers to make cards ^
Picture of a Christmas movie or mock up movie tickets to watch a film
A tick list of things to find on a nature walk like feather, shiny stone
A pack of playing cards to play snap

I am just wondering if I have the least grateful child on Earth - with @inappropriateraspberry noting that kids just love opening things, I can imagine every day DD opens the calendar and there ISN'T a chocolate, she's going to have a tinge of disappointment. I swear we have done everything we can to bring her up with gratitude and joy in the little things, but that kid LOVES CHOCOLATE.

Until last year we got away with a paper/picture advent calendar - but now she knows there are chocolate ones... we're doomed.

I hope I'm misjudging her, because I would LOVE all the little drawers, and treats, and ideas, and Christmassy things.

I totally get it about spiraling costs @snugglyblanket - and I love the idea of just repackaging Christmassy things we'd have done anyway.

Mini fizzy bath bombs could work as well.

How about putting vouchers for toy shops or a little voucher for a day out to something Christmas themed with him ??

When DSD was about 5, I did a dolls house Christmas themed calendar where we gradually decorated her dolls house for Christmas with tiny scale decorations off Amazon. We added those tiny wire fairy lights and pipe cleaners as tinsel too, had a great time getting her house ready for the Christmas party 🥳
I try to avoid random crap too (or things that would normally go in the stocking!) so we've done books (the works 10 for £10), Christmas card crafts (blank cards one day, gems the next, washi tape the next day etc), special magnetic photo 24 piece Jigsaw, her own mini Christmas tree with special little baubles added each day...
Not all the same year!

They do moan sometimes if there isn't anything, but it's a good lesson to learn and they have the 'paper' activity or other treat to look forward to.

You say you want a kid who loves the little joys etc - hey a little chocolate coin / button every morning during the Christmas period is a little joy that children love. My child was exactly the same last year she was absolutely thrilled to open up and have a chocolate every morning after breakfast ;) you would have thought she was opening a winning lottery ticket every morning (and before anyone jumps on it we've always been pretty easy with treat food so not to create a stigma around good and bad foods - but she was still v v excited

If she loves chocolate buy a tin of her favourite mix and put one a day in, plus activities