Great Advent Calendar Gift Ideas (+ 101 Advent Calendar Filler Ideas)

One of the best Christmas countdown ideas is a Christmas advent calendar. Usually, however, I have a hard time finding creative advent calendars – well technically finding unique advent calendars without the exorbitant price tags. Most years though I create a home made advent calendar with a couple of nice items and a bunch of fillers that I pick up in the sales or the clearance racks. An easy homemade advent calendar is more about the thought put into the individual items than the cost. For example, I know my son can never have enough Lego Minifigures or novelty magnets. Here you will find a great list of

Did you know advent calendars started as a way for Germans to mark the days of December up to Christmas. The marking started off small like lighting a candle and then by the early 20th century, the Germans started printed Advent Calendars in the early 20th century. Gerhard Lang started the concept of adding little doors in the 1920’s. Sadly World War 2 put the advent calendar business out of business. They restarted again after the War. President Eisenhower was credited with making them popular in the USA when he was photographed with them. In the 1950’s, the tradition of adding chocolate to advent calendars began. Now, it seems that anything goes for advent calendars.

Advent Calendar Ideas For Kids

You really can’t go wrong with a candy advent calendar or a toy advent calendar. There are some good store-bought options because kids are generally easy to please. My son still adores his Lego advent calendar even though he gets one every year.

Here are some advent calendar ideas for kids:

Novelty Hatchimals Advent Calendar for Kids; Marvel Collectible Figure Advent Calendar

Advent Calendar Filler Ideas For Kids

I like to create my own home made advent calendars though. Here are some good ideas for advent calendars fillers that are sure to please!

For toddler advent calendar filler ideas:

1. Play-doh
2. Hot Wheels cars
3. small plushies
4. crayons
5. arts & crafts items
6. bubble liquid and wand
7. stickers
8. stroller/car toys
9. coloring books
10. pull-back cars
11. crayon sets

DIY advent calendar filler ideas could be similar to what you would find in many a party bag

1. candy
2. gum
3. mini springs
4. fidget toys
5. light up bracelets
6. punch balloons
7. sticky hands
8. squeeze balls
9. bouncy balls
10. sunglasses
11. slap bracelets
12. light up rings
13. colourful pencils
14. light up keychains
15. foam airplanes

For toy advent calendar filler ideas:

1. 1. Lego mini figures
   2. Playmobil characters
   3. Sylvanian animal characters
   4. Polly Pocket characters
   5. marbles
   6. mini-games
   7. fidget spinners
   8. novelty lip balms
   9. windup toys
   10. puzzle books
   11. playing cards
   12. temporary tattoos
   13. slime putty
   14. scratch party art
   15. bendable men

An easy homemade advent calendar idea is to create a “lucky dip” – Each day you get to pick one item that comes out of a sack.

Adult Advent Calendars

Why should kids have all the fun? There are a lot of great adult advent calendar ideas, too.

I love Diptyque French scented candles and the Diptyque advent calendar is glorious. This adult advent calendar has candles, fragrances and body products from the luxury retailer. And, it retails at £320.

Ouch.

Most people would be lucky to get a Christmas gift that costs that much never mind a Christmas advent calendar.

Advent calendar ideas for her include one from French company, Diptyque

Unlike luxury and beauty advent calendars, an alcohol advent calendar tends to be much cheaper. This beer advent calendar is perfect for your favourite craft beer loving person.

Fill your own advent calendar or take the easy way out with a pre-made beer advent calendar

There are some great options for a beer advent calendar for whatever your taste – craft beer, lager etc.

I have also found this alcohol advent calendar which has small-size bottles of gin from around the UK.

Unusual advent calendars include this selection of UK gins

Why limit yourself to gin? There are other adult advent calendars for your favourite alcoholic beverage such as wine, whiskey and rum.

Unusual Advent Calendars

I love an ornament advent calendar. The cheapskate in me tends to buy the ornaments for the ornament advent calendar in the after-christmas sales the year before and then they are dirt cheap.

We love having our old ornaments which hold so many memories but we also like to add new ornaments every year to keep it looking fresh.

Another great idea is a book advent calendar. I have yet to create a homemade advent calendar with 24 books. Even my heavy reading family would find that a bit much to get through in a year.

I have, however, added books as part of an easy homemade advent calendar for both adults and kids. Usually I mix up joke or humorous books with paperbacks for the book advent calendar.

unique advent calendars can include fun gift books and playing cards

Advent Calendar Filler Ideas For Adults

Fill your own advent calendar with your favourite tipple. December is a stressful month and an alcohol advent calendar gives you something to wind down with at the end of the day. You can create your own advent beer calendar or branch out to other wines or spirits, such as whiskey or gins.

If alcohol isn’t your gift recipient’s thing, how about winding down the day with a nice tea calendar? A selection of herbal teas that can soothe and relax in the evening.

What to put in an advent calendar? Chocolate is the easiest option for an an advent calendar to fill yourself. But that’s boring. I tend to put chocolate in amongst some cooler items.

Ideas for a beauty advent calendar to create an advent calendar to fill yourself

A home-made advent calendar is only limited by your imagination (and budget). Here are some great things to put in adult advent calendars:

For a beauty advent calendar 

• • 1. bath bombs
    2. shower bombs
    3. scented candles
    4. nail polish
    5. lipsticks
    6. lip balms
    7. hair accessories
    8. hand cream
    9. face masks
    10. skin care items

Advent calendar filler ideas for her:

• • 1. hair accessories
    2. jewellery
    3. nail art
    4. recipes
    5. moisturizers
    6. washi tape
    7. fun sticky notes
    8. stationary
    9. self care products
    10. yoga socks
    11. craft sets

Advent calendar filler ideas for him that don’t involve alcohol:

• • 1. grooming products
    2. beard oil
    3. cufflinks
    4. socks
    5. multi-tool gadgets
    6. barbecue seasonings
    7. steak sauces
    8. hot sauce sets
    9. mini tape measure keychain
    10. wild game meat snacks

Gender neutral homemade advent calendar filler ideas

• • 1. hot chocolate packets
    2. coffee pods
    3. jellybeans
    4. mindfulness prompts
    5. cocktail mixes
    6. hand sanitizer
    7. specialty candy or nuts
    8. earphones
    9. energy bars
    10. smartphone camera accessories
    11. eyeglass cleaning wipes
    12. flower/vegetable seed packs
    13. brain teaser puzzles
    14. affirmation/mindfulness cards
    15. motivational stress balls
    16. fidget toys
    17. origami paper
    18. keychain flashlights
    19. art supplies
    20. mini notebooks

As you can see, with a little imagination you can create an easy home made advent calendar that is more suitable for your intended recipient than many of the ready-made ones on the market.

In our opinion, making your own advent calendar means you are spending the bulk of the money on the gifts instead of snazzy advertising and packaging!

And, it’s truly a unique and thoughtful set of presents. I found my kids appreciated their daily small gift very much because Christmas gifts themselves got lost in the overwhelm of presents from friends and family.

Need more ideas for advent calendars and advent calendar filler ideas? Updated for 2023, these are the best advent calendars we found on the market in terms of value for money as well as bulk options for homemade advent calendar filler ideas.

Great Advent Calendar Gift Ideas (+ 101 Advent Calendar Filler Ideas)

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