Best advent calendars for kids in 2024
Here are the best kids' advent calendars to buy in 2024. Including sweet advent calendars, toy advent calendars, LEGO advent calendars and more.
Advent calendars are must-have for the countdown to Christmas – all that excitement and anticipation just wouldn't build without them!
Traditionally, children's advent calendars are all about chocolate, whether that's the classic Dairy Milk calendar, or something slightly more boujee like Tony's Chocolonely, but, that doesn't mean it's your only option.
From simple sweet advent calendars, toy advent calendars and even ones with whole LEGO sets inside, there are plenty of unusual calendars out there to try. So, to help you find the best advent calendar for your child, we scoured the market and compiled a list of the very best.
Remember though, advent calendars are not just for children, so take a look at our best advent calendars for teens or our step-by-step guide on how to make your own advent calendar from scratch.
Jump to:
- Best kids' advent calendars at a glance
- Best kids' advent calendars to buy this Christmas
- Chocolate and sweet advent calendars
- Toy advent calendars
- LEGO advent calendars
- Unusual advent calendars
Best kids' advent calendars at a glance
Chocolate and sweet advent calendars
- Kinnerton Bluey Advent Calendar, £1.50
- Dairy milk chocolate advent calendar, £2.75
- M&S Science Museum Advent Calendar, £2.75
- Haribo Sweets Advent Calendar, £7
- Personalised Santa Advent Calendar, £8
Toy advent calendars
- Aquabeads Christmas Advent Calendar, £15.65
- Playmobil Christmas Bakery Advent Calendar, £17.99
- Thomas & Friends MINIS Advent Calendar, £21.50
- Hot Wheels Advent Calendar, £23.99
- Play-Doh Advent Calendar Playset, £24.45
- Peppa Pig Advent Calendar, £39.99
- Pokemon Deluxe Advent Calendar, £52
- Micromallows Squishmallows Advent Calendar, £64.99
- Disney Parks Wishables Soft Toy calendar, £125
LEGO advent calendars
- LEGO City Advent Calendar, £19.99
- LEGO Friends Advent Calendar, £19.99
- LEGO Disney Advent Calendar, £29.99
- LEGO Spider-Man Advent Calendar, £29.99
Unusual advent calendars
- Hey Duggee: Advent Calendar Book Collection, £18.11
- Melissa & Doug Wooden Advent Calendar, £20.80
- Fidget advent calendar, £28.99
- The Purple Cow handmade Christmas decorations Advent Calendar, £29.90
- Elf on the Shelf Advent Calendar, £30
- Smiggle Advent Calendar, £21
- National Geographic Gemstone Advent Calendar, £29.99
Best kids' advent calendars to buy this Christmas
Below you'll find our picks for the top 25 kids' advent calendars, divvied up by chocolate and sweets, toys, LEGO and the more unusual calendars you won't find in the supermarkets.
Chocolate and sweet advent calendars
1. Kinnerton Bluey Advent Calendar, £1.50
This chocolate advent calendar is all about everyone's favourite Australian dog: Bluey. Every day you'll get a new milk chocolate based on Bluey's favourite things about Christmas.
2. Dairy milk chocolate advent calendar, £2.75
Available at: Cadbury
It's a classic for a reason. The Dairy mil advent calendar is reasonably priced and full of sweet surprises.
3. M&S Science Museum Advent Calendar, £2.75
Available at: Ocado
Budding archaeologists will love digging chocolate dinosaurs out of this advent calendar, sadly there's no bones only milk chocolate.
4. Haribo Sweets Advent Calendar, £7
Available at: Asda
If you don't like chocolate but still want a sweet treat each morning in December then the Haribo advent calendar is a fantastic option. Each day you get a mini bag of Haribo sweets to enjoy, including Moams, pinballs and of course their gummy bears.
5. Personalised Santa Advent Calendar, £8
Available at: Thorntons
You can make things that little bit more special for your child with this Thorntons advent calendar. After 23 days of milk chocolates, the final treat is a hand-iced milk chocolate plaque bearing their name.
Toy advent calendars
6. Aquabeads Christmas Advent Calendar, £15.65
Available at: Amazon
Suitable from: 4+ years
Swap the chocolate calendar for this Aquabeads one. Perfect for kids who enjoy getting busy with creating little things and displaying them afterwards. Each day will unveil a Christmas-themed template and beads to create a festive keepsake design. There's also a spray bottle included to keep the beads stuck together, some string and a bead stand to turn the creations into hanging or standing ornaments.
7. Playmobil Christmas Bakery Advent Calendar, £17.99
Available at: JD Williams
Suitable from: 3+ years
This Playmobil advent calendar is a fabulous combination between play and real life. Similar to the LEGO CITY advent calendar, you can create your own festive scene with the figures behind each door such as a snowman or Santa Clause himself. But, the best thing about this advent calendar is it also has baking accessories such as cookie cutters to help your children bake festive treats.
8. Thomas & Friends MINIS Advent Calendar, £21.50
Available at: Amazon
Suitable from: 3+ years
In this set you'll get 24 miniature toy trains inspired by Thomas and Friends. Highlights include Thomas himself, Percy, Gordon and 6 exclusive holiday-themed trains.
9. Hot Wheels Advent Calendar, £23.99
Available at: Boots
Suitable from: 3+ years
Budding race-drivers can race cars all around a Christmas scene to get in the festive spirit. Hot Wheels' advent calendar has 24 doors of toy-car fun to be revealed including 8 cars and 16 accessories. Attached to the box you will find the playmat to race your cars.
10. Play-Doh Advent Calendar Playset, £24.45
Available at: Amazon
Suitable from: 3+ years
The Play-Doh advent calendar is brilliant for giving children something to do each morning. Behind each door is a can of Play-Doh and a modelling tool to help you create your own Play-Doh Wonderland. There are also playmats and creation cards to help give inspiration and ideas at to what to model
11. Peppa Pig Advent Calendar, £39.99
Available at: Amazon
Suitable from: 3+ years
Peppa Pig fans this one is definitely for you. Every day you'll get a new mini-figure of Peppa and the members of her family, or a range of Christmassy props to help them wrap up warm.
12. Pokémon Deluxe Advent Calendar, £52
Available at: Boots
Suitable from: 3+ years
Pokémon fans! This Christmas you can catch 'em all! This advent calendar features mini-figures of all your favourite Pokémon, including Pikachu, Pichu, Charmander, Squirtle and more.
13. Micromallows Squishmallows Advent Calendar, £64.99
Available at: Amazon
Suitable from: 3+ years
Get ready for cuteness overload with this calendar full of the tiny but mighty 2.5-inch Micromallows, featuring holiday like Nick Santa Claus, Manny Snowman, and more.
14. Disney Parks Wishables Soft Toy calendar, £125
Available at: Disney Store
Suitable from: birth
This calendar is more expensive than most, but it's a whole toybox in itself, with soft plushies of all your favourite Disney characters decked out in their finest festive outfits. Look out for Woody, Remmy and Simba.
LEGO Advent Calendars
15. LEGO City Advent Calendar, £19.99
Available at: LEGO
Suitable from: 5+
Inside the 24 windows of this advent calendar you'll find 195 LEGO pieces, ready to be assembled into a festive Christmas scene. Inside, you'll find Santa and Mrs Claus, a snowman, a skier, and so many more merry mini-figures.
16. LEGO Friends Advent Calendar, £19.99
Available at: LEGO
Suitable from: 6+
This 272-piece set from LEGO Friends will help you assemble the ultimate cosy Christmas. The family mini-figures come with presents, toys, a guitar and more.
17. LEGO Disney Advent Calendar, £29.99
Available at: LEGO
Suitable from: 5+
If the other Disney calendar was too expensive, try this LEGO version. Inside, you'll have the pieces to assemble all your favourite princesses, plus pets: Elsa, Tiana, Ariel, Mirabel, Moana, Pua, Sven and a Snowgie.
18. LEGO Spider-Man Advent Calendar, £29.99
Available at: LEGO
Suitable from: 7+
This calendar comes straight from the film series: Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse, with Miles Morales, Spidey-Gwen, and a whole range of props hidden inside.
Unusual Advent Calendars
19. Hey Duggee: Advent Calendar Book Collection, £18.11
Available from: Amazon
There are a tonne of children's book calendars available, including this one from Hey Duggee. Behind each door you'll find a storybook of Duggee's various adventures.
20. Melissa & Doug Wooden Advent Calendar, £20.80
Available from: Amazon
Suitable from: 3+ years
The set includes a magnetic wooden tree and 24 magnetic baubles and a star to be placed at the top of the tree. To keep all the baubles safe throughout the month, there is a little wooden box at the bottom of the tree to keep them in before they're put onto the tree.
21. Fidget advent calendar, £28.99
Available from: Amazon
Suitable from: 3+ years
So many kids love fidget toys, whether that's to play with in class (if allowed) or just to build up their collection at home. Fidget toys are especially good for children with sensory needs to help calm them in stressful situations.
22. The Purple Cow handmade Christmas decorations Advent Calendar, £29.90
Available from: Amazon
Suitable from: 6+ years
This advent calendar is fantastic for amusing children, especially over the Christmas break when you may be trying to get lots of festive errands done. In each box is something fun for your child to do such as a craft, recipe card, story book or elf challenge. Some of the crafts included are; making a snowball juggling bear bauble, making snowmen puppets and many more.
23. Elf on the Shelf Advent Calendar, £30
Available from: Amazon
Suitable from: 3+ years
This set is as much for parents as it is for kids. Everyday, you'll get a new idea and kit for our old friend Elf on the Shelf. Overall there are 70 interchangeable pieces and instructions for set up each day.
24. Smiggle Advent Calendar, £21
Available from: Smiggle
Suitable from: 4+ years
Who doesn't love stationery? If you're someone who finds buying their stationery for the new school year the best thing ever, then this advent calendar is for you. Inside you will find so many goodies including a highlighter pen, lanyard, scented pens, mini notebook, squishy ball, slapband and so much more.
25. National Geographic Gemstone Advent Calendar, £29.99
Available from: Amazon
In the calendar, there are 24 gemstones and not only that, you get a little keepsake pouch to store the rocks and stones in. The gemstones included consist of agate, green aventurine, hematite, sodalite, turquenite, tiger's eye, blue calcite and plenty more. Turn the stones into wearable jewellery with the jewellery kit included. Every purchase of these calendars helps to support the National Geographic Society to further the work of protecting nature, further research and educating us all.
How did we choose our 10 of the Best?
When testing and selecting the advent calendars for kids we considered, opening experience, what's inside and value.
Our 10 of the Best lists are compiled by qualified and experienced parenting journalists. They rely on a number of sources, including our independent reviews, testing undertaken during the MadeForMums Awards, and feedback from our home testing panel and Top Testers Club. Each year thousands of products are put through their paces by hundreds of parents across the country on behalf of MadeForMums, to ensure we’re bringing you honest and true reviews and recommendations.
Our list is not an ordered ranking from 1-10, instead it is a carefully selected group of tried-and-tested products, each of which we believe is best for a different situation or requirement. We don't just tell you what is best, we help you discover what is best for your family.
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Authors
Janet is a Digital Journalist for MadeForMums and mother to a boy and girl both under 4. With a keen eye and passion for creating online media content, she enjoys sharing her own journey of motherhood, and providing encouragement for new mums.