Fun Advent Calendars

Let’s count it down!

One of our favorite traditions as a family is getting out the advent calendar every year.  Counting down the days makes the Christmas suspense ever the more palpable.

It’s a slightly torturous activity, honestly…for my kids as well as myself. When I was a kid, those 25 days of December were the longest of the year.  As an adult, it’s kinda the same.  What can I say?  I love Christmas…but countdowns are fun.  Right?

Here’s a list of some fun Christmas Countdown ideas that I am loving.

Lego.  This is what my kids are counting down to this year.  My littlest guy’s Godmother bought him the cool Star Wars calendar, so I picked up the City version for my other kiddo, just to avoid arguing.  Sometimes it’s just not worth it

Now for the girls…I found this adorable Polly Pocket Advent.

Or this cute one from My Little Pony.  It seems a bit pricy, but I think you can find it cheaper on ebay.

I adore this one, for boys or girls…Olive, the Other Reindeer Reindeer.  It is a pop up calendar with punch out figures for kids to set up around the castle.

Here’s how it looks popped up…

Now, I love me some Pottery Barn…here’s an adorable one that can be personalized….

For the chocolate lover here’s a fun way to wake up everyday of December.  A Chocolate Advent Calendar.  Plus it’s only $5.95, which means you can get two

Now this is an extravagant chocolate calendar coming in at $99, but the gingerbread house is wooden and hand-crafted, so it could be used for years… and it is filled with delicious Seattle Chocolate Truffles.

For you crafty folks, here’s a few ideas for DIY advent calendars.

This adorable one from Martha uses baby socks…

Or this easy and fun magnetic countdown from Twig and Thistle.  You could out them on your fridge!

There are even some really cool Christmas countdown apps…

This one is by MagicSolver.com and it’s free, which is awesome!

Another fun one is this Christmas Countdown by Energize Software.  It plays music or you can add your own in and the tree gets closer, as  Christmas approaches.

Finally, this isn’t an Advent Calendar, but it’s a fun way to scare your kids into acting good…The Elf on the Shelf.  The idea is that your elf shows up before Christmas with a book.  The book tells the story of why the elf is there.  He watches your children and reports back to Santa every night about their behavior.  Every morning he is in a new place, which is almost as exciting for my children as it is for my husband getting to hide the little guy every night.

There you go! A few ideas for the Christmas countdown!

If you have any fun advent ideas I would love to hear them