Advent Calendar Ideas- Fillers

Get creative and reduce the sugar load this season by using some of these homemade advent calendar ideas! These ideas for advent calendar fillers are perfect for toddlers! None of them are candy based (I avoid sugar with kids as much as possible) but your toddler will still be excited upon wake up!

Why I Opted For Homemade Advent Calendar Ideas

• Healthier
• Better experience
• Quality/eco-friendly

When baby bear was old enough (last year at the age of two) I knew I wanted her to experience the awesomeness of an advent calendar. Unfortunately, I couldn’t justify giving her store bought, crappy chocolate every morning before breakfast… no, not even at Christmas season!

After a ton of debate, I ended up buying an awesome Wooden advent calendar (that’s as big as a doll house haha) and rocking it my own way.

All of the homemade advent calendar ideas below are simple, healthy alternatives to store bought candy

 

Homemade Gummy Bears

The first year I rocked the homemade advent calendar we went with homemade, immune boosting gummies. My girls absolutely loved them and I would have continued with them but hubby made a good point.

We make a lot of gummy bears now. Below is a video to help explain how to do them but they worked really well in the calendar. You can grab all the ingredients at Well.ca

I bought little baggies portioned them out and snuck them into the calendar in the morning before my daughter got up.

This is our go-to recipe but truthfully, I make it up most of the time!

 

Stickers

Stickers are our option this year as my toddler is obsessed and my baby thinks they’re funny. Trolls is a big theme in our house right now so I’ll probably go that route!

 

Ribbon Wrapped Crayons

I thought this was a cute idea! Give one new crayon a day for anyone who has kids who love to draw! My game plan was to do “special” crayons like the glitter ones versus the every day pack.

 

Homemade Chocolate

I make a tasty freezer fudge that my daughter loves (it’s coconut oil, almond butter, cacao, pure maple syrup) and I was going to pop those into baggies and put them in.

Again, super simple but you would have to get up early to put them in the morning of because otherwise it does melt.

 

Playdough

Not only is a jumbo pack of mini playdough colors cost effective. But think of how much time it gives you while the kids play! This is on the list for next year and I personally can’t wait!

Hair Clips

A great one for anyone with little girls! Little cute hair clips or elastics is a great way to stock up (we lose these sooo often).

 

Advent Calendar Ideas – Mini Trolls

I loved this idea, but my husband was less enthused about 25 mini trolls that he’d probably be stepping on haha.

I still think it’s awesome though and think of the collection! So much fun to play with (I may possibly be bringing my own troll obsession back into this from when I was a kid!)

 

Erasers

Simple but great for anyone who has an artsy kid. I lost erasers all the time when I was young, so I thought this would be great for anyone with just in school kids.

Socks

This is just practical. Yes, 25 pairs of sucks sounds like a nightmare. But we lose socks probably every other day and I am constantly buying new ones!

Have a stash of cute socks wouldn’t be a bad thing. Plus, my toddler totally gets excited by stuff like this!

 

Disney Figurines

This option depends on how much you want to spend on ideas for advent calendar fillers! As well as how big you calendar is!

We hid these Disney Figurines in Easter eggs this year (check out how to have a non-candy Easter) and the girls loved them. There’s only 20 though so you’d need something to fill for the other five days.

Stamps

If your toddler loves stamps why not get a stamp set? They’d love to collect all of them from the month and it would be a great activity to keep them entertained!

Glow Sticks

Glow sticks are a killer one for advent calendar ideas! We love mini glow sticks in our house! They’re honestly just fun and you could collect and sort the colors to make it a game. We give them to my daughter at bedtime and she “reads” her books with them.

 

Temporary Tattoos

Not everyone will be on board with this one but a bunch of little tattoos for them would be super cute. It’s simple but they’d get to try out a new one (or save them up of course!) often and show it off.

 

Money

And yes, the old stand by is that the homemade advent calendar could contain money instead of a treat or gift. I’m mostly okay with this, a buck a day to fuel a piggy bank isn’t bad. Buutttt, for me it takes the magic and excitement out of it.

My rule was that if it was money it was to be saved for something specific and then on boxing day you go buy that item. I still think it’s an opt-out though!

 

So, how about you, did you love advent calendars are a kid? Do you use them now? Homemade or store bought? What’s your best advent calendar ideas?

Personally, I just love this season of anticipation and love starting traditions like this with the girls. Santa or not, it helps keep magic alive

 

The Gummy Switch Up

The initial year we did this, my toddler LOVED the gummy bears.

However, this led to a habit of her wanting gummies every morning before breakfast. Sigh. So basically, I make a crap ton of gummy bears all because of a homemade advent calendar. Could be worse, right?

That said, my husband said I couldn’t do gummies the next year. Mainly because she knows that I make them often and she’d put two and two together and realize it wasn’t Christmas magic but mama bear rocking the set up.

This is a great point and one I didn’t think of. 

So, remember to keep it in mind if you’re using something signature.

Don’t forget to pin these awesome advent calendar ideas!