15 best kids' advent calendars for Christmas 2018
Advent calendars aren’t what they used to be. Remember the days when you got nothing but a flimsy bit of cardboard, yet still you couldn’t race downstairs fast enough to find out what was behind each day’s little door? These days, traditional advent calendars are hard to find and Santa’s more likely to play the starring role behind door number 24 than the baby Jesus.
Still, the very notion of advent is about as traditional as you can get, even if you’re counting down the days with chocolate rather than religious observance. A version of the Latin word for ‘coming’, Advent is the season in the church’s calendar during which Christians prepare to celebrate the Nativity – the birth of Jesus as told in the Gospels – and anticipate his return to earth one day.
Whether you fancy ushering in a bit of festive reflection and tradition during Advent or just want to let your kids fill their faces with chocolate each morning, there’s an Advent calendar to suit every taste and budget.
From sweets and trinkets to home-made calendars that you can fill with slips of paper bearing festive family challenges, Advent calendars aren’t all about chocolate and commercialism – choose carefully, and you’ll find the whole family looks forward to seeing what’s behind each day’s little door.
Cadbury Heroes Advent Calendar: £5, Tesco
For some of us, an advent calendar just isn’t an advent calendar unless it’s filled with chocolate – and of course only Cadbury’s will do. This one’s full of miniature versions of our favourite Cadbury bars and there’s no palming us off with the ones no-one likes. Because, let’s be honest, there are none that no-one likes. Scrumptious. We’d like one with full-size bars next year, please.
Hatchimals Colleggtibles Advent Calendar: £24.99, Amazon
Hatchimals fever is here to stay and little fans will love this advent calendar containing more than 50 'collectible things', plus everything you need to create a winter scene straight from Hatchtopia. If you don’t ‘get’ Hatchimals then don’t expect to be bowled over by this but, based on our extensive research, it’s seemingly one of the coolest things a five year old has ever seen. Ours has already put everything back in readiness for opening it all over again come December – it’s *that* good.
Reese’s Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar: £5, Tesco
We weren’t big peanut butter fans until this arrived. We might even have dismissed the very notion of white chocolate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures at first. And then we tried this, and now we literally can’t pass a shop without dashing in to see if they’ve got any of that peanut buttery white chocolate good(bad)ness. Resist, or prepare to be ruined. Or at least hide it from the kids.
Lego City Advent Calendar: £22.99, Lego
Lego really led the way in the craze for advent calendars full of collectibles that you can’t get elsewhere throughout the year, and we still think theirs are among the very best. They don’t contain chocolate or sugar, and you get at least five minutes’ peace every morning while your little Lego fan gets to work building. Great fun to collect over the years, too. Best of all, you’re never too old for Lego so the day never comes where they ask you to stop buying them an advent calendar.
Haribo Advent Calendar: £5, Tesco
If you’re a purist when it comes to chocolate Advent calendars, it can be difficult to wrap your head the notion of swapping for a calendar containing sweets. Still, we’ve yet to meet a kid (or an adult, for that matter) who doesn’t love Haribo, and this is one of the cheapest Advent calendars around – bonus. It's also a great alternative for kids who can’t eat chocolate. All our favourites are here, including Goldbears and MAOAM. Look out for the gummy Christmas tree!
1,2,3 Advent Calendar Christmas On The Farm: £19.99, Playmobil
Suitable for children aged 18 months and older, Playmobil’s offering is the perfect introduction to a themed Advent calendar for little ones. Excellent quality, excellent fun, and the kind of figures that kids actually want to collect and play with, so you really get your money’s worth.
BeanBoozled Naughty Or Nice Advent Calendar: £15, Jelly Belly
Jelly Belly has transformed its hit game into a festive edition. Ten wacky flavours are paired with ten tasty lookalikes, and the only way to tell the 'naughty' from the 'nice' flavours is to taste them. Canned Dog Food or Chocolate Pudding? Spoiled Milk or Coconut? There’s only one way to find out…
Reindeer Balloon Christmas Advent Calendar: £20, Bubblegum Balloons
This looks fab and really sets off your festive decorations – but given that you have to pop each balloon to access each day’s chocolate, it’s probably one to avoid with very young children. Unless your little ones will be able to resist popping all the balloons at once. Ours weren’t, and they’re old enough to know better.
The Animal Kingdom Advent Calendar: £59.95, Juniqe
There’s no getting away from it, this is an expensive option for an Advent calendar. But we love it, and so did our arty teen tester who’s beyond the chocolate and Lego stage. It’s a limited edition of just 1,000, and you get 24 different posters, each beautifully presented in individually numbered boxes with an index listing all 24 artist names.
Biscuiteers and Susie Watson Limited Edition Advent Calendar: From £125, biscuiteers.com
This hand-stitched cloth calendar is a real keepsake item, so best to focus on its price-per-use over the years to come, rather than the price tag. Biscuiteers have collaborated with designer Susie Watson to create this unique, limited-edition calendar, and it comes with a luxury tin of 24 delicious biscuits – the only trouble is, they’re so exquisitely beautiful that you might not want to actually eat them. Who are we kidding, you totally will, because: delicious.
Personalised Activity Advent Calendar: £42, Not On The High Street
This is the perfect antidote to chocolate or sugar when it comes to buying an advent calendar, and ideal for families who want to create a little bit of Christmas magic during advent. The set includes 24 baubles, each printed with a number on one side and a fun, festive activity on the other. Re-use it every year and create some new family traditions of your own.
Playin Choc Advent Calendar: £65, playinchoc.com
This is a thing of beauty. The Advent box contains 24 drawers, each of which holds 10g of organic, vegan chocolate and a beautiful 3D animal puzzle with fact card. The outer sleeve of the box doubles as a landscape for playing with the animals. The chocolate contains no refined sugar, is environmentally responsible and uses only recycled, recyclable and compostable materials. "There’s no way I'd pay £65 for it though", said our young tester. Ten minutes of peaceful playing ensued. "Actually, I’d totally spend £65 on this", he added, through a mouthful of chocolate.
LED Wooden Gingerbread House Advent Calendar: £25, Hobbycraft
Decorate this gorgeous 3D Advent house with paint, glue, glitter and decoupage, and then pop a treat or Christmas challenge inside each drawer for your loved ones to enjoy throughout Advent. It even lights up, so it’s a beautiful addition to your Christmas decorations. Our little testers loved helping to decorate this too, turning it into a lovely family keepsake to be used every year.
Disney Snow White 12 Days Beauty Advent Calendar: £14, Superdrug
For tweens who are too cool for chocolate, this advent calendar features 12 individual bath and body products, all with a fresh apple fragrance. Hidden surprises include hand cream, body lotion or body wash, lip balm, bath fizzers, a nail file or a body puff.
Scout Elves At Play Paper Crafts: £12.95, Elf on The Shelf
We know Elf on The Shelf isn’t an advent calendar as such but it’s such a hit that we couldn’t leave it out. Sent from the North Pole to help Santa manage his naughty and nice lists, the Elf flies to the North Pole each night to tell Santa about the day's adventures, then returns to the family house each morning to perch in a different place and observe the fun. Little ones love racing round the house each morning in December to find the Elf, and this Elves At Play Paper Crafts set is an utterly brilliant resource for creating imaginative, entertaining Elf scenes.
The Verdict: Best advent calendars for kids
A Cadbury’s advent calendar is virtually a Christmas tradition in its own right, so the Cadbury Heroes Advent Calendar gets our vote.
We also have the Reese’s Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar to thank for the fact that our favourite jeans don’t fit, and we reckon the Hobbycraft LED Wooden Gingerbread House Advent Calendar is the best choc-free option and guaranteed to become a meaningful part of your family’s advent celebrations for years to come.
