This year, Maggie is 3.5 years old, and so I anticipate the Christmas season being especially fun and magical as a result. She “got it” in many ways last year, but is now old enough to really get into the season, and I’m so excited about it!
I also think that with it being in the midst of a pandemic, we’ll have to do even more than usual at home to celebrate, and so that led me to start the search for an interactive advent calendar that has an activity we can do each day to count down the days until Christmas.
(Separately, but along similar lines, something I decided to implement this year for the first time is to gather 25 kids Christmas books, wrap them all individually, and let Maggie unwrap one each day. We’ll read that book together each day of December, and then we’ll reuse the books year after year. I’m so excited about this tradition, and think my little bookworm Maggie will love it, too!)
In case you’re curious about some more hands-on advent calendar ideas for your kiddo, too, I thought I’d share my findings!:
–LEGO City Advent Calendar. This set says it’s for kids 6+, but I’m confident Maggie would do great with it. It comes with a LEGO toy to put together each day, and as the days go by your child will have more and more Christmas LEGOs to play with!
–The Nutcracker Advent Calendar. Nutcracker fans, this advent calendar is for you! It’s SO sweet, and each day your child can open a numbered tray to add a character, prop, or other element to the set to help bring the story of the Nutcracker to life.
–Crayola Craft Advent Calendar. This calendar is full of DIY crafts you and your child can enjoy in the days leading up to Christmas. I know my artsy girl would love this one!
–Christmas Around the World Advent Calendar. This one doesn’t have a craft, but it does come with a new fact each day about how Christmas is celebrated across the globe. The whole family would enjoy learning these fun facts!
–Unicorn Ink Stamp Advent Calendar. Maggie would love this one! Each day your child will open a new stamp to help make Christmas crafts even more special and fun.
Now comes the difficult decision of choosing which of these to get for Maggie! What advent calendars do you love at your house? Would one of these sets be perfect for your kiddos?
