Liked this post? Why not share it?
If you click on my affiliates/advertisers links, I am going to receive a tiny commission. AND… Most of the time, you will receive an offer. Win/Win! The products that I advertise are the ones I believe in.
Recently updated on July 29th, 2021 at 07:10 am
Are you looking for ways to fill your child’s advent calendar this year? Here’s a list of 32 advent calendar filler ideas for kids (that doesn’t involve chocolate!).
Note: This list works fine for kids from 2-3 years old. If you are looking for ideas for smaller kids, check out the advent calendar I did for my 15-month-old son.
Contents
My top tips to consider when buying fillers for an advent calendar
- decide the type of your calendar (that’ll keep all the fillers) – it’s a good idea to start here because you’ll know what sized items to buy at the store. The last thing you want is to buy things that are too big for your advent calendar. Check this out for some cute DIY advent calendar ideas.
- how many days – some parents like to do 25 items and some only 12. Whatever you choose is absolutely fine, but you want to have a rough idea.
- look for sets – sometimes it’s cheaper and you’ll have fillers for multiple days. Just make sure you spread them out throughout the month.
- decide your budget – I recommend you don’t go overboard with your budget, especially since you’ve got to have 25 different things (it can get expensive), therefore a good budget (in my opinion) is somewhere between £1-3 or $1-4 per item. Of course, it depends on the things you want to include in your advent calendar. It’s OK to have some exceptions.
- mix things up – try to mix the things you include in the advent calendar. Make sure you have something creative, educational, fun and toys. Keep on reading to find more ideas.
Advent calendar filler ideas for kids
The majority of the items I listed down below already come in sets, so you can cover multiple days in your advent calendar. Like I mentioned earlier, try to mix things up and choose items from each category to keep your child interested.
Toys
- Personality Building Blocks – these are so cute! Your child can move their legs and arms.
- Bath toys
- Wooden spinning tops
- Construction vehicles – you can never go wrong with these, especially for boys.
- Lego Polybag is a little cheaper than the usual lego sets.
- Squishy Toys
- Kicko Icy Ball – little balls that are super fun to play around the house.
- Fat Brain Toys Squigz – we have something similar to these and my son loves to play with them. Get a pack of these and spread them out throughout the month.
- Musical instruments
- Animal figures
- Small dolls
- Puzzle cubes
- Matryoshka Dolls Set
- Wooden character dolls
- Lego characters
- Mini wooden cars
- Foam magnets
Activities
It’s always a good idea to include activities in your advent calendar which will lead to fun experiences for your family. Check out this article where you’ll find 20 Things to Do with your Toddler – it’s a Winter Bucket List I created for my family a couple of years back. Keep in mind that some of these things won’t be available in 2020, due to the Covid pandemic, but the list has various activity ideas so I am sure you can find something in there.
Creative
- Craft supplies – there are so many options here. Please make sure you choose age-appropriate supplies.
- Play-doh – you can never go wrong with a nice set of play-doh
- Crayons
- Markers
- Paint
- Play-doh Stampers – these are super fun and your child can use them
- Modelling Foam
- Kinetic Sand – you could add kinetic sand in little pots first and then add them to the calendar.
- Stickers
- Mini colouring books
Other ideas
- Hair bows or accessories for little girls
- Treasure map – this can be your whole advent calendar if you want too, but I think this is more fun for older kids.
- Christmas tree ornaments – we have a little tradition where every year we have a new ornament for our tree. This year we DIYed our ornament and I think it’s extra special.
- Mini Books – I found this cute little set of mini books that teach manners, but you can always search for mini storybooks.
- Homemade Cookies or other healthy snacks
