How do I avoid advent calendar / stocking crossover?

[PrunellaMcTat]

Usually dcs have 2.99 supermarket advent calendar and then on Christmas morning a stocking with a few medium presents / books and a bunch of little bits of nonsense. They LOVE the bits of nonsense.

This year I've got them advent calendars that are boxes with 24 little drawers. I think I initially thought I'd put little nail varnishes or soaps or chocolates or lego figures into the advent calendar. But now I've realised that's stocking stuff.

Do I just put chocolate in the advent calendar?

Chocolate, mint humbugs, sherbet lemons, eclairs, chocco limes etc is what I put in. My kids have the wee trains with the drawers to put stuff in.

We put chocolate in, and occasionally a little note E.g. “today we are putting the tree up/visiting Santa/going to look at lights/having a Christmas movie night” etc.

I put small chocolates in mixed with a few other bits. First Saturday in December this year will have a stamp to write to Santa. Chocolate bauble on the day we put the tree up, I make a ticket for Christmas Eve for the pantomime that sort of thing.

I put chocolate in. For days over a weekend maybe a note of something we are planning ie make cards today, let's make some hot chocolate - week days I print a strip of Christmas jokes off line and put one in each day

I generally put the very small (both size and low cost) items in the advent calendar, slightly bigger things in stockings.

So badges, stickers, maybe a lip balm, tiny rubbers etc on advent calendars. I also include Christmas themed stuff I want the DC to have the use of in this e.g. if they need a new Christmas jumper or I want to give a christmassy book to read in the run up, even if these are bigger gifts (I put a note in the calendar about where the gift is if it is too big).

I used to put Haribo or jelly babies, or sweets from Morrison’s pick and mix. We’ve got small boxes so it’s just a few or even one.

I put in sweets, Christmas crafts (well a notes saying they're under the tree) and sometimes relevant bits for what they are doing eg Christmas hair clips to wear for school Xmas meal. I also put in a Christmas themed joke everyday. A few times I've got a job lot of Christmas play mobile stuff second hand do they can build a Christmas scene in the run up.

We put chocolate in and DD got a small gift on each Advent Sunday. Christmas earring or headband (in time for school fun day), lip balm or small bath bomb.

This is why I dont do those advent calanders... too expensive, to awkward to find worthwhile stuff that fits and unnessacery.

Say you get them as babies and do them until your kid is 16 thats 384 unique match box sized 'cheap' items you have to come up with per kid over that time.

Which is pretty impossible really.