Homemade advents calendar bits and bobs ideas

[Nerdle]

My kids (aged 10 and 13) loved their homemade advent calendars this year - things ranged from a pack of chewing gum to a £2 coin, a mini pack of sweets to a lego mini figure. They really want me to make them again this year and I am looking for cool ideas. I looked in Flying Tiger this week as last year I got lots of things there, but was totally uninspired plus things were more expensive than usual.
Any suggestions welcome. I know it is May but so much to do in the run up to Christmas I like to get a head start.

Boys or girls? Ive done this since dc1 was 3 (now 16) and girls are way easier! Lip balms, lip glosses (multipacks to do several days), hair clips, hair ties, small nail polishes, cheap bracelets, necklaces etc.

shein is quite helpful unfortunately.

Key-rings, novelty pens/pencils, mini fidget toy things, phone charms, socks (again multipacks broken down used for several days), the big punch balloons, joke things like whoppee cushions/fart trumpets.

I am putting one together for my 3 year old daughter! I think I will also include some activity based things, like bake / decorate cookies and do some Christmas crafts (I find the works and home bargains good to get crafts stuff and Christmas novelty bits!)

-Hair clips/bands/acessories
-Christmas themed cookie cutter
-Christmas sprinkles to put onto biscuits/cup cakes
-Tree decoration
-Chap stick/lip gloss
-Elastic shoe laces

This place sometimes have quirky things- mainly in the stationary section. https://uk.muji.eu/

Sorry should have said, boys.

Sometimes charity shops have interesting & unique bits & bobs for advent calendars.

We did a few things over the years: bits and bobs, chocolates, one instruction page plus lego pieces each day, a handful of jigsaw pieces each day, etc.
Now we use it as a family advent calendar. We each have to write treats/favours for eachother so one of us gets a treat each day; tea in bed, their choice of film or dinner, a day out, being allowed to take the best sofa for themself for the evening! That works really well now that we've run out of ideas for 'things'.

Oh I love these!!!! Though I agree, boys are harder!

• notes with prizes for things you would have done anyway (visit Christmas market, ice skating, Christmas movie night)
• Chocolate coins
• 50p and £2 are the most exciting coins to my mind
• Pokemon cards (a pack spread over a few days!)
• Kazoo or similar loud annoying things!
• novelty pencil case supplies
• Small thing of slime
• Bouncy ball
• stretchy men/sticky men
• novelty rubber ducks relevant to their interests
• christmas themed biscuit cutter

The PP that mentioned the charity is correct! You can find all weird and wonderful trinkets!

Sachet of hot chocolate, or bubble tea.
Key ring/bag charm.
If it'll fit, a bag of Walker's Christmas flavoured crisps. They usually bring out a couple of new temporary flavours around November time.

Novelty socks, box cake making kit, festive bath bomb, pipe cleaner crafts, biscuit decorating, hot chocolate with a Christmas mug and squirt cream/mallows, tickets for a movie night with popcorn.

I swear by Amazon for stocking fillers which would probably work for these. Or pocket money sections in toy shops (do those still exist?) I always get flamed for mentioning this but you can also get little toys for not very much on Temu.

I’d love to have go at this but so far never start early enough so I end up with only days 1-5 completed in time so I to give up and buy a chocolate one for each of them! Can I ask how you display arrange the things when they aren’t the same size? Do you wrap them and give them each day or are they on the mantelpiece or in a big box? I have 4 kids so just thinking how To do it? Any help would be great!

I buy advent number stickers from Etsy and wrap each item then store in a wicker basket.

Tattity tattity tatt. And it’s not even summer.

You could print off puzzles- like a wordsearch, sudoku or crossword and put folded paper for one of the days? When we did homemade advent (with little houses), it was mainly lindt balls, or the cadbury festive biscuits (wrapped in a tiny bit of kitchen roll!). Got an advent jigsaw puzzle for myself this year - that was quite satisfying to do.

Oh bugger off.

I fill DD’s with things she will use such as skincare, hair accessories, earrings, pyjamas, make up, bath bomb, books, notes for festive days out, treats for movie nights etc.

Traditional summer begins on 1 May.

I have felt calendars with pockets. Getting things to fit is mainly the problem. I did have to attach some things with ribbon and safety pin last xmas!

How about doing this but avoiding any plastic/crap. Things they will use/are useful then ok eg hair ties/clips, Christmas socks. But otherwise a printed off puzzle, a recipe card or a few ingredients to make a Christmas cookie or a decoration.

I thought of another- a fortune cookie.

OO that's such a good idea, I need to remember that one

Our DC had a lovely homemade calendar with challenging sized pockets. I wrapped some larger gifts and put them in a gift bag, then put a slip of paper with ‘lucky dip’ in the calendar pocket.
I also put a slip of paper in with activities we’d have done anyway like ‘make gingerbread house’ or ‘drive round to see the lights’.