Finding the ideal advent calendars for kids

On Monday morning, I was beaming with excitement when I was telling friends about a present I had received the day before. A friend had bought me the Gail’s advent calendar, which I can’t wait to start opening.

I had been tempted to get it for myself, as advent calendars have been at the top of my list to organise recently. But it’s been more about finding the right advent calendar for the children and not me.

I tend to wrap little gifts every year, and the challenge now is that I’ve figured it makes more sense to do this for a five-year-old girl who loves accessories and stationery than a two-year-old boy who probably prefers bigger toys. The result has been that Big Girl will have a personalised calendar with gifts, and Big Boy will have the Playmobil 123 calendar, which seems like a great fit for him.

I’ve also spotted a range of other fun advent calendars. For a traditional advent calendar with tiny windows to open, I like the Alison Gardiner cards.

For a personalised advent calendar, I’ve read about the photo jigsaw calendars by My Photo Puzzle (£29.99), which allows customers to upload a photo that is turned into a jigsaw and delivered as an advent calendar with photo jigsaw pieces for every day.

For a different type of advent calendar with an edible treat, there’s a new Elf & Seek Festive Countdown from The Little Treats Bakery(£10) comprising of 24 individually wrapped and decorated gingerbread elves that parents can hide around the home each day of December.

For girls I also like the look of the Disney Animators Calendar (£24.99), which contains little figures. A fun play set!