Advent calendar fillers for kids
5/11/2025
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
December’s approaching fast and there’s nothing but empty space behind the 24 doors on your children’s Advent calendars? Don’t panic. These 99 Advent calendar filler ideas should have you covered.
Only getting Christmas presents would be too easy, right? To stop myself from becoming complacent in the run-up to Christmas, I started making my own Advent calendars for my kids – just like many other parents, grandparents and godparents. In other words, I have to come up with 48 surprises (two children times 24 days of Advent). If you’re giving presents to even more kids, you’ll have, erm, 72, 96 or more bags to fill. Enough to generate panic, that’s for sure. Especially because, once again, December’s approaching superfast.
The magic’s in the mix
Does your offspring need a new hat, socks or a pencil holder? Then that’s one for the calendar. Multi-packs are also a good way to save money and reduce stress if you’re OK with 24 items that aren’t all unique. Make the most of the Galaxus filter function and display toys only, for example. Or type in a more specific search term such as Lego below 10 francs. Create a watch list called «Advent calendar» to park everything you like the look of. This will give you a nice overview of your gift ideas and costs.
Besides that uneasy feeling of being late again, I’m also pumped about filling the bags. When else do you get a free pass to buy this many presents? I’m sharing my ideas here, so you can enjoy the lead-up, too.
Small storybooks + bookmarks
These sets can go into different bags or distributed between children.
Children's books
EUR7,92
Pixi 8-piece set 295: Popular authors congratulate Pixi (8x1 copy), 8 parts
German, Various, 2024
Assorted Pixi Christmas set of 8 (German)
German, Various, 2024
EUR7,92
Pixi 8-piece set 295: Popular authors congratulate Pixi (8x1 copy), 8 parts
German, Various, 2024
Maxi Pixi 386: Fröhliche Weihnachten, Pauli!
German, Brigitte Weninger, 2022
Paperblanks Bookmarks - Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking - Bookmark -
Quantity discount
EUR8,40
Sombo Jingle Bunch Lesezeichen ass
Quantity discount
EUR8,47 per piece for 2 units
Sombo Magnet bookmark set
Small puzzle games
Classic puzzles, Rubik’s cubes and activity books for focussed moments.
Fun + games
Indoor games are great for the colder months.
Kuenen Flummi in marble optics
Quantity discount
EUR7,43 per piece for 3 units
Creativ Company Yo-yo
Quantity discount
EUR10,74
small foot Spinning tops
NoName Marbles
EUR62,75
small foot French skipping elastic
200 cm
Quantity discount
EUR6,89 per piece for 4 units
Mattel Games Uno Junior
Quantity discount
EUR5,42 per piece for 4 units
Ravensburger Children Mau-Mau
German
EUR14,47
Mattel Games Skip-Bo
Rigi Spiele Jass cards Piquet
German, French, Italian
Cars + finger skateboards
Ta-dah! That’s another three to five doors filled.
Dollhouse accessories
You could hide dollhouse figurines and furniture behind each calendar door to make up a complete set.
Toy shop accessories
Great for budding buyers and sellers.
Schleich animals
This is where the endless range of hand-painted animals really comes in handy.
Toy figures + building blocks
Lego, Duplo, Playmobil, Bruder and Brio are always a hit.
Playmobil
Quantity discount
EUR7,80 per piece for 2 units
Playmobil 71883 Santa with wishlist
71883, Playmobil Special Plus
Playmobil
Quantity discount
EUR11,99 per piece for 2 units
Playmobil Bicycle trip
70601, Playmobil Special Plus
Playmobil
Quantity discount
EUR5,64 per piece for 2 units
Playmobil Figures Girls (Series 28)
71890, Playmobil Figures
Toy car accessories
Quantity discount
EUR10,44 per piece for 2 units
Bruder BR Man with black hair Size: 10.7 cm *from Jul
EUR7,90
LEGO Santa's sleigh ride
30670, LEGO Creator Expert
Quantity discount
EUR5,93
LEGO F1 racing cars to collect (Assorted)
71049, LEGO Minifigures
Quantity discount
EUR9,90
LEGO Minifigures Space Series 26
71046, LEGO Minifigures
Quantity discount
EUR6,90
LEGO My first duck
30673
Quantity discount
EUR7,80 per piece for 2 units
Playmobil 71883 Santa with wishlist
71883, Playmobil Special Plus
Quantity discount
EUR11,99 per piece for 2 units
Playmobil Bicycle trip
70601, Playmobil Special Plus
Quantity discount
EUR5,64 per piece for 2 units
Playmobil Figures Girls (Series 28)
71890, Playmobil Figures
Quantity discount
EUR10,44 per piece for 2 units
Bruder BR Man with black hair Size: 10.7 cm *from Jul
Quantity discount
EUR9,64
Brio Bell Carriage
Arts and crafts
Glitter stone, paper, scissors!
Quantity discount
EUR5,08
Pelikan Children's scissors
15 cm
Quantity discount
EUR7,73
Maped Kidicraft
12 cm
EUR16,62
Fiskars Animal scissors for children bee
13 cm
Quantity discount
EUR4,98 per piece for 2 units
Pritt Fun Colors
I Am Creative Washi Tape Christmas Gold
Rico Design Washi Tape Hearts
Glorex Gemstones
Quantity discount
EUR6,12 per piece for 2 units
Grafix Animals stamp set
Christmas stamp set
Decoration for your kid’s bedroom
How about some glow-in-the-dark stones and window stickers?
Markers
Quantity discount
EUR8,20 per piece for 3 units
Edding Windowmarker 16 Funtastics
Yellow, Green, Blue, Red, Brown, 8 mm, 5 x
Cookie cutters
Me want cookie!
Small treats
Save some money by hiding a snack behind the odd door.
Desk supplies
If you’re a (school) kid, you can never have enough pencils, rubbers or stickers, right?
Pencils
Quantity discount
EUR8,83 per piece for 2 units
STABILO Trio DECO Metallic Felt Tip Pen
Multicoloured, 8 x
Correcting
Quantity discount
EUR12,07 per piece for 4 units
Trendhaus Eraser XXL For Good Vibes SCHOOL
Quantity discount
EUR7,72 per piece for 4 units
Legami Dino
Green, 1 x
Quantity discount
EUR8,83 per piece for 2 units
STABILO Trio DECO Metallic Felt Tip Pen
Multicoloured, 8 x
Clairefontaine Christmas ball pen set with topper, assorted
Multicoloured
Quantity discount
EUR10,03 per piece for 2 units
EberhardFaber Tattoo Marker
Legami Scented eraser mit Duft, jelly friends dino
Legami Panda
Quantity discount
EUR12,07 per piece for 4 units
Trendhaus Eraser XXL For Good Vibes SCHOOL
HERMA Christmas stickers
Quantity discount
EUR3,05 per piece for 3 units
Z-Design Children's stickers
Accessories + jewellery
Hair accessories, glow-in-the-dark tattoos and fluffy keychains are always a hit.
Bath-time fun
Great fun for your water baby.
Socks + doll socks
Not even children can resist brightly patterned socks.
Socks
Sock Snob 8er Pack Kinder Weihnachtssocken | Atmungsaktiv Warm Flauschige Socken Plüsch
pack of 8, 22 - 24
Doll accessories
Quantity discount
EUR7,82 per piece for 2 units
Zapf Creation BABY born? Socks 2-pack 43cm (assorted item)
Many Mornings X-Mas Tree
Single pack, 27 - 30
Happy Socks Jumbo Snowman
Single pack, 36 - 40
Happy Socks Santa On The Way
Single pack, 36 - 40
Sterntaler Antirutsch-Socken Dino Graublau Gr. 17/18
Single pack, 17 - 18
Sock Snob 8er Pack Kinder Weihnachtssocken | Atmungsaktiv Warm Flauschige Socken Plüsch
pack of 8, 22 - 24
Quantity discount
EUR7,82 per piece for 2 units
Zapf Creation BABY born? Socks 2-pack 43cm (assorted item)
Christmas tree ornaments
Horses, dogs, helicopters... The range of Christmas tree baubles leaves nothing to be desired.
Christmas tree decorations
Ornamente Glass Ornament Cow with CH Cross, brown/white, 9.5 x 5.5cm
1-part
Christmas tree decorations
Inge’s Glas Christmas Decor INGES CHRISTMAS DECOR Hänger Hund, Braun
1-part
Ornamente Glass Ornament Cow with CH Cross, brown/white, 9.5 x 5.5cm
1-part
G. Wurm Rocking horse
6-part
Chic Antique Vintage Schlitten, Messing
1-part
Ornamente Glass Ornament Helicopter
1-part
EUR21,23
LEGO Various Christmas tree decorations
40744, LEGO Iconic
Inge’s Glas Christmas Decor INGES CHRISTMAS DECOR Hänger Hund, Braun
1-part
Nativity scene figurines
Keep in mind that these are expensive. However, if you wanted to buy some anyway, you might as well hide them behind an Advent calendar door.
Advanced categorising
To keep track of everything, I spread out all of my calendar fillers on the floor in front of me as soon as I have them all and count them. Any rainy day in November is suitable for this, but do it before 30 November. I organise the items in a way that creates a colourful, varied mix.
If you’re giving the calendars to siblings, you’ll know which child is getting what on each day. This will help you prevent small injustices. After all, it would be a bit unfair if one of them gets the big Lego surprise and the other one just a small chocolate coin. Oh, and try not to give the best stuff right at the start. This will only raise expectations and maybe even lead to disappointment if the other doors are «only» hiding smaller suprises like bath salts.
Still thinking about which shape your Advent calendar should be? Here’s some inspiration:
Overwhelmed by the whole idea or 1 December’s only a day away? Don’t worry. I’m sure your kid will be more than happy with a shop-bought calendar:
What are you putting in your kids’ Advent calendars? Let the Community know in the comments!
Header image: Ann-Kathrin Schäfer
Ann-Kathrin Schäfer
Editor freelance
simon.balissat@digitecgalaxus.chI'm really a journalist, but in recent years I've also been working more and more as a pound cake baker, family dog trainer and expert on diggers. My heart melts when I see my children laugh with tears of joy as they fall asleep blissfully next to each other in the evening. They give me inspiration to write every day - they've also shown me the difference between a wheel loader, an asphalt paver and a bulldozer.
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