12 month old advent calendar?!

[TwinklyGoldReader]

So, DS has been brought a lovely advent calendar type stocking with his name on.. but what the hell am I filling it with?!

I'm not feeling wasting money on a load of pointless tat he won't be interested in. At the same time, the gifter will question why it isn't being used 🙄

Please inspire me!

If gifter will be in your house often enough to know if it is being used just buy a couple of bags of chocolate coins to fill it - can always eat them yourself if needs be 😂

If not i'd just put it up, send them a photo and tell them it is lovely

I wouldn't use it. Calendars are for older kids. And if the gifter asked me anything, I would tell them so.

Hang on, an advent calendar for a 12 month old baby? I'd probably hang it up somewhere, take a lovely picture and then keep it for next year/s.
Will the giver inspect to see if it has been properly filled?

Possible ideas....
Crayons? Really big ones, or ones that go in the bath?
Building blocks.
The component parts of a shape sorting toy or stacking toy.
I'd totally load it with something you already own. Doesn't need to be new.

Is it an advent calendar for chocolate type thing?

If this is what you mean I'd probably just put a chocolate button in each day

Stickers? 🙂

Loading it with small crap you already own is genius.

Do that, send photo to gifter. Then unload and stick somewhere as a lovely decoration until DS is old enough to appreciate it. If gifter is likely to come round and expect to see it in use you can just open it every morning and put the previously owned stuff back where it belongs.

If you haven’t got 24 small objects to stick in it, get some gift tags and write some activities on them é.g. Visit Father Christmas, At 12 months nothing you weren’t going to do anyway and doesn’t have to be high effort. Going for a walk/to the park/to the library is fine. He won’t know any different.

I’d do this for twelve of the pockets and mini photos for the other twelve. Mine loves looking at photos of family members/friends and saying their names.

Eh? Don't do anything, the gifter is not the boss of you and he's a BABY.

Just say thanks and pop it away for next year. That's what a man would do.

I'm flabbergasted anyone thought it was acceptable to give a mum of a baby this kind of extra job....

<mind blown>

Good luck whatever you decide OP

Is it an Advent calendar or a stocking? Those are entirely separate items to me. One that has a tiny pocket or window for each day of Advent (or actually 1-25 December which isn't actually Advent because it doesn't always start on 1 December and always finishes on 24 December so a 1-25 December one is wrong every year but I digress) and a stocking you hang up on Christmas Eve to be filled by Father Chrostmas overnight. I can't picture the two combined.

The photos are a brilliant idea.

You can probably mix and match between small items, activities and these.

On the basis that the run up to Christmas is a good time to clear out all the old toys and clothes you don’t need to make space for new ones, if are not putting them away for future use then donating to local baby bank or a charity shop + donating to local food bank will fill a slot or two of the activities.

I’m flabbergasted that anyone would give if as a gift to a child that is too young to have any concept of time or what they are counting down to and expect it to be used now.

Genius ideas from you all, time to rummage through the toy chest and find out some photos! Thank you!

Hate to sound like a Scrooge- but this exactly!!!

Advent is not Christmas therefore you can’t sound like Scrooge 😂

Nobody needs 24 days of receiving tat before Christmas just because shops tell us we should.

What little chocolates do you like? Fill it with them, for you.

Love this!

You could fill each one with random household objects e.g a nail brush, measuring spoons etc that at the end will make up a 'treasure' box. I made up a box of household items like that for my DD when she was a baby and she loved it for ages.

Think I'd be tempted by the chocolates for me route though to be honest!

A very thoughtless present - expecting the parent to do all the work of coming up with the ideas for 24 non-choke hazards, supplying all the items, and filling all the pockets!

I'd be really tempted to say "Oh dear, DS was very disappointed that all the little pockets were empty. Did you forgot to send the contents?"

Or stick a Smartie in each one, if you are confident that child doesn't choke on Smarties. I wouldn't do choc buttons as they will melt and stick to the fabric (which I doubt will be machine washable, because that would be practical and not twee). Or 6 sultanas. Or a cherry tomato. Satsuma segment. Could be an after-lunch surprise. Alternate between sweets and healthy. Little savoury biscuits. Pop the thing is two minutes before getting child to discover the thing.