Looking for a non-candy advent calendar ideas that isn’t chocolate and isn’t a toy? Read on to discover the best advent calendars for kids and adults!
It’s so much fun to have your own advent calendar and open up to find little gifts! With so many great options listed below, these non-chocolate advent calendars are full of small gifts that any family member would love.
If you’re looking for different ways to celebrate this Christmas season, all of these advent calendar fillers are full of good ideas and unique ideas! Check out the list of advent calendar gift ideas below.
Non-Calendar Advent Calendar Ideas
Counting down to Christmas is such a fun tradition for families, especially for kids!
They get to open a new window in a calendar, or open a new bag or box, and discover a scripture, an ornament, or a toy!
I have shared several different types of advent calendars here on the blog already because I think they are such a fun countdown to Christmas idea and tradition!
Toy advent calendars, nativity advent calendars, book advent calendar, random acts of kindness advent calendar, ornament advent calendars, and 25 days of Christmas advent calendar.
I even have posts with Christian Elf on the Shelf ideas, and other Elf on the shelf alternatives.
Today, I’m sharing far more unique advent calendars because, I don’t know about you, but I’m not always crazy about my kids having lots of little toy pieces hanging out about the house, especially if they are cheaply made toys or trinkets.
Nor do I think that candy advent calendars are as memorable or needed with all the Christmas baking that seems to happen!
So, I really like the idea or more unique advent calendars for kids that aren’t actually toys or chocolates (or even scriptures – gasp!) but are other types of gifts or prizes, like art supplies, coloring books, jewelry, puzzles, games and more!
I myself think it would be great to have a fun advent calendar to open each day, so I also hunted down some unique advent calendar ideas for adults!
However, none of these unique adult advent calendars will feature alcohol, coffee, tobacco, or tea, even though those are pretty unique advent calendar ideas!
However, I do not consume or promote those products so they will not be featured in my list.
With that said, there doesn’t seem to be a huge selection of these non-toy, non-candy unique advent calendars for kids or adults, perhaps unless you buy or make the gifts yourself.
I did my best to find as many as I could so you could decide which one might be right for the children or friend or spouse in your life!
Enjoy shopping! (Be sure to order them soon so they’ll arrive before December 1! Some may run out, and prices are likely to change.)
Unique Advent Calendar for Kids/Best kids alternative advent calendars
Crayola Christmas Countdown Activity Advent Calendar for Kids
The Christmas Countdown Activity Advent Calendar includes fun craft projects, gifts, and coloring activities to help kids count down to Christmas.
The 24-day calendar features an exciting new activity each day so kids ages four and up can stay engaged all season.
With everything kids need to create ornaments, finger puppets, decorations, and holiday-themed coloring projects, the calendar lets kids make crafts they can give as gifts or keep as mementos for years to come.
Ages 4+. $21.99 from Crayola or you can also buy it from Walmart.
Play-Doh Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar for Kids
What young kids don’t love Play-Doh?! This Play-Doh holiday countdown calendar has 24 secret doors that hide a different surprise for each day of the season.
The set includes 5 Play-Doh cans featuring 2 sparkle cans to let your kids creativity shine this holiday season!
Suitable for ages 3+. Get it for from Amazon or at Walmart.
Play-Doh DohVinci Advent Calendar for Kids
Celebrate and the enjoy the holidays the Play-Doh DohVinci way! Get your kids’ creative side flourishing with this advent calendar which encourages you to make a Play-Doh decoration each day.
Kids will create and decorate a winter wonderland scene with the following supplies: 24 design pieces, 4 support pieces, 6 tools, Styler, 6 Deco Pop tubes, and inspiration guide.
To decorate the project pieces, simply load a Deco Pop tube filled with drawing compound into the Styler tool, then squeeze to draw with bold 3D lines, dots, and other designs. The anticipation of what’s hiding in the next pocket is fun for the whole family.
Ideal for ages 6 and up. Get it from Amazon.
Advent Calendar DIY Charm Bracelet Necklace Set for Kids
This calendar is a unique way to countdown the days until Christmas.
From Dec 1 to Christmas, open a different jewelry gift, starting with a nice charm bracelet. Every day following December 1st you will find a unique charm.
The jewelry is made from alloy. It is nickel, lead and cadmium free, and is hypoallergenic.
Pandora Charms Bracelet for Kids Advent Calendar
Count down the days with this kids advent calendar by Mouttop Workshop.
From Dec 1 to Christmas, every day has a special number and each number has a different jewelry gift. Starting December 1st, open the window to find a nice Bracelet. Every day following December 1st you will find a unique charm. You get 1 bracelet size 7.8-8inch and 23 charms beads.
Jewelry made from environmental alloy and is white gold plated. Lead, nickel, and cadmium free and hypoallergenic.
MJARTORIA Jewelry Advent Calendar for Girls
This fun and beautiful jewelry advent calendar includes stone necklaces, charm bracelets, holiday earrings, cute wooden bracelets, silicone rings, and more.
Create your own Christmas decorations advent calendar
Enjoy 24 days of creative activities from Ravensburger that make the holiday season fun for young and old alike! Make your very own decorations to treasure for years to come!
This calendar includes puzzles, crafts, stencils, finger puppets, garland, modeling dough, cookie-cutter, gift tags, figurines, and more!
Be as creative as you like this holiday season with the Ravensburger Advent calendar!
For ages 6+. Get it on Amazon.
Pop-up Advent Calendar Playset – Olive the Other Reindeer
A companion to the new deluxe edition of Olive, the Other Reindeer and a wonderful Christmas gift in its own right, this advent calendar offers an engaging and interactive way to count down to Christmas. And just like Olive is no ordinary “reindeer,” this is no ordinary advent calendar!
Featuring an intricate pop-up of Santa’s castle in the center, the calendar has a surprise for each day leading up to Christmas: a punch-out figure that children can stand up and place around the castle, whether it’s Santa, a reindeer, or Olive herself!
By the time December 25 arrives, the calendar will have become a very merry Christmas scene!
Ages 5+. Get it on Amazon.
24 Days of Beauty Makeup Advent Calendar
There are SO MANY different makeup and beauty advent calendars out there, so I’m just going to highlight this one.
It comes with lipsticks, lip gloss, lip liners, eyeshadows, blush, bronzer, lip balm, mascara, etc. This is a great gift for any makeup fanatic you have in your house (especially if a tween or teen as the quality won’t be super high on these as it’s a generic makeup advent calendar…).
You can get this one on Amazon.
12 Days of Socks
I had no idea this was a thing, but you can get 12 Days of Socks advent calendar for girls, boys, men, and women!
While it isn’t the full 24 or 25 days like many others on this list, if you have a sock fan, this can be a fun gift! Socks are either low-cut or crew-cut. Prices range from about $20 and go up.
There are the following themed advent calendars featuring 12 days of socks: Disney princess socks, novelty socks, Harry Potter socks, or holiday-themed socks.
Unique Advent Calendars for Adults
Perfect for a woman (or man) who loves fancy bath bombs and bath soaps! This unique advent calendar has 12 different scented bath fizzers. Smell good each day before Christmas!
It’s available on Amazon.
Yankee Candle Holiday Sparkle Advent Calendar
This unique advent calendar features 12 votive scented candles and 12 tea light scented candles in festive fragrances, as well as a gold mercury glass votive holder!
Featured fragrances: Christmas Eve, Christmas Cookie, Christmas Magic, The Prefect Tree, Spiced White Cocoa, Glittering Star, Icy Blue Spruce, Frosty Gingerbread, Winter Wonder, Crackling Wood Fire, Snowflake Cookie, and All Is Bright.
Grab it on Amazon or the 24-day version that is cheaper and more available.
The Ritual of Advent Calendars
This kit has 24 days of luxury bath and body products from Ritual.
You can get it on Amazon.
I love this spicy twist on the traditional advent calendar! This is perfect for any adult who just loves hot sauce! This unique advent calendar includes 25 different flavors of hot sauce.
This Man’ Stuff 12-day advent calendar if full of bath and body pampering goods for him.
It includes shower gel, hair & body wash, face wash, bath fizzer, soap, bath salt, lip balm, hair comb, scissors, tweezers, nail clippers, and toothbrush.
It’s currently available on Amazon.
Fly Fisherman’s Advent Calendar
This truly one-of-a-kind advent calendar is perfect for men (or women) who love fly fishing!
The first day they open a high-quality, waterproof fly box and each day after they open a new, hand-tied, fresh-water fly made in Canada.
You can pick this up on Etsy.
Color-Changing Fishing Lure Advent Calendar
This fishing advent calendar is different in that is has color-changing fishing baits every day! Super fun for the fisherman in your life.
Wera’s Tool Advent Calendar 2019
If you want to gift some great tools to someone this Christmas, this is a fun way to do!
These German-made Wera tools are high-quality and come with a carrying case inside this calendar too. Enjoy receiving a new tool for your toolkit each day with this rather unique advent calendar for him!
The calendar includes 8 Insulated Blades for Electrical Work and Glow-In-The-Dark Bottle Opener, 8 standard 89mm long bits for common screw profiles (Slotted, Phillips, Pozidriv, Torx) plus 4 Hex L-Keys.
I hope you enjoyed this list of unique advent calendars ideas! May you have a blessed and wonderful holiday season!
These are some of the best advent calendars that really help the spirit of Christmas! Choose your favorite advent calendars and make it a yearly fun Christmas countdown activity for the whole family to join in on! Keep it going from previous years to make it a fun surprise over and over again. These really do help with the holiday cheer!
Read more posts about Christmas traditions and ideas below:
- Unique Christmas Eve Traditions
- 25 Christmas Songs All About Jesus
- Christian Christmas Movies You Probably Haven’t Heard Of
- Want – Need – Wear – Read Ideas for 4 Gifts for Christmas Tradition
- Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh Christmas Gift Ideas
- Beautiful Nativity Ornaments for Your Tree
- 25+ Best Kid Nativity Sets
- 12 Days of Christmas Secret Santa Gift Ideas
- The Orange in the Christmas Stocking Tradition
- 8 Traditional Stocking Stuffers
Rosemary W. says
This is what we did for Advent calendars, it was cheap but different.
My husband made me a small mail box (about 9 inches high), we put it on the kitchen counter. In it I (mom) put 25 envelopes (the mail) I put slips of paper, one in each envelope.
Things like: marshmallows for dessert today, new pencil day, Daddy takes out (name of one child) for supper tonight, Daddy takes out another child, etc. We homeschooled so I would also put hot chocolate for lunch, no school this afternoon, get a Christmas tree today (pre-arranged with my husband!), pizza for supper because my kids love homemade pizza. These things we may have done anyway but it was special because it was unexpected and came out of the mailbox! it cost practically nothing and wasn’t all “things” and “stuff”.
When each child went out for supper with Daddy it was usually wherever I had a coupon! The child didn’t care! it was extra time with Daddy.