The elves are back!

It's easy to forget when your child is a tiny toddler that those elves are now committed to returning year after year! With the magic of Christmas still fully alive in our home, our elves have returned to join us for the festive season. They are renamed each year, and so this Christmas we have Holly (a conventional name from Mia) and Wernher von Braun (an unusual choice, named by Harry after his favourite rocket scientist). 

In years past they have arrived with a ring on the doorbell, but as it's quite cold this year they just appeared underneath the Christmas tree next to a gift bag containing the Advent calendars. Usually both children just receive a chocolate Advent calendar but Mia has been pestering for a fidget toy Advent calendar for years so we finally gave in. Harry wasn't that fussed about a fancy calendar so we bought him a new book about space instead. They also both have a chocolate one (as do I!)

I remember being so excited on the 1st of December each year when we were given our Advent calendars and they were hung up on a nail in the hallway. The early ones were just a picture, although I do remember progressing to the chocolate ones when they were more readily available! I actually would quite like a traditional Advent calendar with no chocolate, but they are more expensive than the chocolate ones!

And so the countdown to Christmas has begun!

Advent calendar ideas for crafters

Rather than buying one, I love the idea of putting together my own Advent calendars with a particular theme. This was sparked by the first ever wooden Advent calendar that we bought our then toddler, and I wrote a popular post filled with ideas for things to fill your own Advent calendar which I loved researching and updating.

As a crafter I would really enjoy receiving an Advent calendar filled with crafty bits and pieces as I count down to Christmas, and so I thought I'd have a browse for some ideas which would make great Advent calendar fillers for the crafty person in your life. Some of these gift ideas are a little large for the traditional wooden Advent calendar, but they could easily be wrapped and numbered separately for a small treat every day in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

So here's a big list of small gift ideas which would make wonderful fillers for a craft themed Advent calendar.

Mini craft kits, especially those with a Christmas theme

They sound like an expensive item, but craft kits can be reasonably priced if you keep your eyes open, or if you buy a larger pack that can be split into smaller parts. I bought these lovely mini Christmas cross stitch kits in Hobbycraft (sneakily positioned by the till for impulse purchasing) and they were priced at just £5 for 3. There are many mini craft kits available, and if you buy a multipack you can spread them out over several days of your crafty Advent calendar.

 

Christmas decorations to make

There are lots of options for blank decorations or gift tags which can be decorated for Christmas. We had a lot of fun decorating some blank wooden ornaments a few years ago - it's a simple and quick craft which is easy to do with pens and paints that you have lying around. Blank gift tags are also fun and easy to personalise as Christmas approaches.

A Christmas jigsaw

There are lots of Advent Calendar jigsaws available, or you could just buy a large Christmas themed puzzle and place a few pieces into a small box for every day of Advent. It's a good idea to put the jigsaw puzzle together first and break it up into sections otherwise it might get frustrating to complete the puzzle at random!

Small craft supplies

This can be tailored according to the crafts that the recipient enjoys. For example a small skein of floss, a pack of needles, a piece of fabric, a coloured pen - there are endless possibilities! 

Advent calendar ideas for readers and book lovers

One of my favourite early blog posts was my ideas for things to fill a wooden Advent calendar. I had a lot of fun thinking of small items that could be used as fillers for a homemade or pre-purchased empty Advent calendar. 

So on a similar note I thought I'd put together some ideas for a homemade Advent calendar for the reader and book lover in your life. I'd love someone to put together something like this for me, or perhaps I should just go ahead and make one for myself! They would also make good stocking fillers or Secret Santa gifts.

These are all ideas for a bookish Advent calendar aimed at adults and I've tried to think about small things that won't cost too much money - buying twenty four gifts can add up quickly!

Books

Books are the obvious choice for a reading and book themed Advent calendar! But it will get pricey pretty quickly if you want to include a new book each day. You could think about looking for second hand books - I love Wob for second hand books, especially the more obscure ones, and I've personally used them many times. Charity shops are another fab place for cheap second hand books, or if you do want to buy new then it's worth looking for box sets where you can buy a themed pack of books working out at a cheaper individual price.

There are also many Christmas themed books available. They are usually in the romantic comedy genre and fairly predicable in terms of plot, but they make lovely festive reading!

Bookplates

Bookplates make a perfect gift for someone who is building their library or enjoys lending books to friends and family but wants them to return home. Most packs come with lots of different designs so you can split up a pack to spread it out over several days. If you want to spend a little more you can also get some lovely personalised rubber stamps. 

Bookmarks

I have so many bookmarks, but I can never find one when I need one! You can buy some lovely multipacks of bookmarks which could be spread over several different windows in the Advent calendar. It's also really easy to make your own bookmarks, especially if you have access to a decent printer and laminator. Just print out your design, laminate, punch a hole in the top and thread through some ribbon. You could design personalised bookmarks using favourite photos and literary quotes.

Book and reading accessories

Some of these gift ideas are a little larger and pricier but would make a lovely Advent calendar gift! Again buying sets of more than one, like the bookends and sticky flags, means that you can spread them out over several days. The simple bookends could be personalised to make them more individual, with stickers, photographs or vinyl cut outs. 

Other small gifts that go well with reading

I love to snuggle down with a book and a hot drink, so an individual hot chocolate sachet or a tea bag would make a great gift and both can be bought very cheaply in the supermarket. Likewise some nice chocolates or other treats. Hot chocolate stirrers are also a nice treat, and it's pretty easy to make your own, for example have a look here - Hot Chocolate Stirrers recipe. 

I loved putting this list together, I hope that it gives you some inspiration if you are looking for Advent calendar ideas for a book obsessed family member or friend!

If you are putting together your own Advent calendar you might also like these posts:

Advent calendar filler ideas

Advent calender filler ideas for crafters

Main photo credit Sabina Sturzu via Unsplash.

Things to fill a wooden Advent calendar this Christmas

A few months after I started blogging I wrote a blog post full of ideas for things to fill a wooden Advent calendar. At that time, the idea of giving a small gift for each day leading up to Christmas was quite new and children usually just had a picture or chocolate Advent calendar. In the last few years things have really taken off in the world of Advent calendars, especially when it comes to Advent calendars for adults, and so I thought I'd write an updated version of my post with some new ideas and links to products that might be useful if you are looking for inspiration for how to fill those wooden boxes.

My own wooden Advent calendar is one that I decorated myself from Hobbycraft. You can see how I did it here - Decorating a Hobbycraft wooden Advent calendar. It has a small box for each day of December, and the boxes are a good size for filling with small treats.

There are lots of different styles of wooden Advent calendar available so it's worth having a browse to find one that you like, especially if you are planning to use it for years to come. If you are buying one for a younger child I'd look for the more squat versions that won't be knocked over easily.

Collectable toys

A few years ago we bought a big pack of mixed Pokemon figures. We had enough Pokemon to fill two Advent calendars with plenty left over which we used as party bag favours for years, and the children still play with them. It was perfect because we only needed to buy one bag, and it had enough variety to make each day interesting. It's easy to find big packs of small toys like this on a variety of themes. Just check the delivery dates as some of these are shipped from China and so can take a little while to arrive, order in plenty of time.

Other small toys

There are lots of other small toys that can be bought in bulk. If you don't want too much repetition in the gifts, you could always get together with a friend or two and swap, so that each child receives an assortment of gifts. And there are some toys, like cars, that it seems children can never have too many of!

Stationery

Children love collecting erasers, and there are some really pretty ones available which come in a range of different designs so they won't be too similar each day. You could also think about mini gel pens or highlighters, tiny decorated adhesive note blocks, little notebooks, decorative paper clips or magnetic clips, magnets or keyrings.

Beauty items and jewellery

Look for multi-packs of things like mini nail varnish or lip gloss. I also love the range of tiny Christmas charms that you can buy. You could make the first gift a bracelet, with a new charm to be added each day ready for this Christmas and then to be re-used every year.

Christmas decorations

Christmas decorations make a lovely Advent gift that can be re-used from year to year. I particularly like the blank wooden decorations which the child can decorate as a Christmas activity like the ones that I made here - Decorated wooden Christmas ornaments.

Sweets and chocolates

Probably the most economical way to fill a wooden Advent calendar is with chocolates and sweets. In the supermarkets at Christmas you can easily find net bags of individually foil wrapped chocolates or chocolate coins. I personally love Lindor chocolate balls from Lindt, and would be very happy to receive one of those each day. You could also include mini bags of sweets like Haribo or packs of Love Hearts, treat size chocolate bars or individually wrapped chocolates from a Christmas chocolates tub.

Christmas activities

Finally, a free way to fill your Advent calendar is to include a family Christmas activity to do each day. They can be as simple or elaborate as you like, for example doing some Christmas baking, a visit to Santa, a trip out in the car to see some decorated houses in your neighbourhood or writing the Christmas cards.

If you need some inspiration here is a great list to get you started - The ultimate Advent activity list

Other ideas

You could also buy one larger toy, like a Lego set, and include a few pieces each day. This would be a much cheaper alternative to a Lego or Playmobil advent calendar! Another idea is a jigsaw - you could first make the jigsaw yourself and then break it up with the pieces for each row in a separate box. Then the jigsaw will build up over Advent to reveal a festive picture.

Filling a wooden Advent calendar for adults

As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, Advent calendars for adults have become very popular over the last few years. There are many different pre-filled ones available, but although some can represent good value, when it comes to the contents they can work out very expensive.

Many of the gifts above would also be perfect for adults, but some additional ideas you might want to consider could be:

Miniature alcoholic bottles (or even full size ones!), nail varnish, make up, bath bombs, pens and pencils, keyrings, Christmas decorations, jewellery or stationery.

You might also find these Advent calendar filler ideas posts useful:

Advent calendar filler ideas for book lovers and readers

Advent calendar filler ideas for crafters

I hope I've given you plenty of ideas - have fun filling up those Advent calendars!