Pocket Advent Calendar Fillers For Kids

This Christmas, I am starting a new tradition in my family, where I create my own advent calendar for my boys. My mother-in-law had sent my boys a really fun advent calendar every single Christmas for the past 11 years. It was something they always looked forward to. And they weren’t just the chocolate ones, but ones filled with toys or legos. She passed away this year from cancer, and this is our first Christmas without her. I wanted to continue the special advent calendars tradition, so I decided to make my own after getting some inspiration from Pinterest. This calendar can be used year after year, and I can make it as elaborate or simple as I would like. So if you are thinking about making a DIY advent calendar this year, but don’t know where to start- I got you! Here are over 45 pocket advent calendar fillers for kids !

Because I have an older child and then two littles- I knew it would be a little tricky to find things that all 3 boys (twelve, three and one) would enjoy. I decided to do a Lego advent calendar for my oldest and do this advent calendar for my two littles. I am including my oldest son in all the activities, crafts, etc. But the few little things of candy and toys will be just for the little boys.

The canvas pocket calendar I have is from a small shop on Etsy. I cannot link the calendar as the shop is taking a break right now. This is the message on their profile – “Last updated on Nov 16, 2024 Hello – we are not taking orders for the moment as we work through issues with the Canada Post strike and getting packages to customers.” I am so bummed! Hopefully their shop can open back up soon and continue to take orders, because I am SO happy with my calendar. It is very high quality. I do wish I had personalized it, though. I was stuck on what exactly I wanted it to say and then just never added the personalization when I went to checkout. Oops! Even still, I like the simple clean look of it. You can definitely make your own hanging calendar out of a hanging canvas shoe organizer, and sew, embroider, or iron-on the numbers yourself.

I wanted a good mix of activities, events and treats. I am really happy with how it turned out and I even made some cards to stick in the pockets that you can grab for free HERE.

The first thing I did was look at my calendar to see if there were any Christmas events we had already planned on attending. There were a few- Santa on the Farm, Caroling in Town, a drive-through live nativity scene in the city, and our annual Christmas Eve party with my parents.

Then I started writing down some ideas and came up with a whole list of filler ideas. So if you want to make your own pocket advent calendar, but don’t have the time to do all the thinking and planning- I got you! Just follow my list and print out the advent cards on some cardstock, and make this Christmas the most magical yet.

I used these brown kraft paper pillow envelopes to put some of the goodies in- these fit perfectly in the advent pockets! I have plenty leftover, so I will use these in stockings, too.

The Fillers

1. Christmas PJ’s– this year, instead of gifting my boys their Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve, I thought it would be nice to have them December 1st, that way they have them to wear all month long. I got my entire family matching pjs this year from Target when they were having their 40% off sale. Check Old Navy, too. They always have good sales!
2. Stickers– I got super fun Christmas dinosaur stickers from Target, because my boys are obsessed with dinos lately. I couldn’t find them online to link for you, but The Dollar Tree would be a great place to get cheap stickers as well. price-$3.49
3. Bath Bomb– I have only one because my littles take a bath together. This Santa bath bomb is from Target. price-$5
4. New Christmas Book– Every year I get at least one new Christmas book for the kids, to add to our collection. I got this one from the Daily Grace Co. price-on sale for $10
5. Christmas craft- Target had a great sale on seasonal craft kits, so I bought a few. price-$5
6. Drive through live nativity– We missed this last year, and I really wanted to see it. Live nativities are so beautiful and I always get emotional. I want my boys to experience this to keep coming back to the reason for the season- our Savior, Jesus! I added in a nativity ornament I already had, just for fun. price- $0
7. Special Pancakes– My three year old’s favorite food of all time is pancakes, so I know he will go crazy when I make special Santa shaped pancakes with fresh strawberries and whipped cream! I may even go nuts and add sprinkles.
8. Tiny plush toys– I found this plush penguin and snowman in the Bullseye section at Target for just a dollar each! These are so cute, and I may even use these year after year. If I pack them away with the other Christmas decor, by the time I bring them out next December, it will be new and novel again for them! price- $1 each
9. Write a letter to Santa– you can download this super cute Santa Letter stationary for free HERE. My littles cannot write, so I will write it for them and they can draw him a picture. My oldest is now in on the secret, so he will sit this one out, but I am sure he will enjoy helping his little brothers with their letters. price- $0
10. Make Christmas playdough- every year we make homemade cinnamon playdough because it smells SO good. We still have a huge container from last year! But this year we will make red and green, and maybe even sprinkle in some chunky glitter. I already have all the ingredients, so the price is $0. I put a little toy kitchen rolling pin in there for something fun. I also forgot I bought a little set from the Bullseye section of Target that I will give the boys this day- its a little rolling pin with plastic Christmas cookie cutters.
11. Instant snow sensory bin– when my oldest was younger, instant snow was like magic to him! I am going to set up a little winter scene with plastic arctic animals and some Christmas peg dolls, all in a large shallow tote bin. I know my littles (and probably my oldest) will really enjoy this one. price- $9.97 + a 25% off coupon
12. Make Ornaments- this is another craft kit from Target. I am going to have my boys make several of these and mail them to family when we get our Christmas cards in. price- $5.00
13. Coffee shop date + city lights walk– in Lynchburg there is an ongoing event called Bright Nights, where you can walk through some really amazing light displays. We will grab some cocoas at the little coffee shop downtown, and then take our time walking along the lighted path. Another idea would be to drive around and look at all the Christmas lights in your neighborhood or the closest city.
14. Christmas tattoos– I got these from Amazon, and I have a feeling the kids are going to cover their entire bodies with these! It will be fun. I liked the look of these- a bit vintage and nostalgic. price- $4.97
15. Make pinecone birder feeders– This is a very messy, but fun, activity we do almost every year. It’s a bit nostalgic for me, too, as I remember making these as a kid. I will take the boys to the backyard where we can collect a few pinecones, roll them in peanut butter and bird seed, and hang out in the forest. I already have all the supplies for this, so cost was $0.
16. Caroling in town-this is a local event, but getting a group to go caroling around your neighborhood would be so fun! I remember doing that a few times with my family at our big family Christmas party, and it was a great time. price- $0
17. Chocolates– I had to add at least a couple days of chocolates for the boys. I got the Lindt LINDOR Christmas milk chocolate truffle sticks price: $1.69 each
18. Hot Cocoa & a nature walk– I got some packets of the Starbucks peppermint hot cocoa that I plan on adding to our old thermos and taking the boys on a nice leisurely nature walk. That may be just in our own forest, or driving to a trail. I’ll pack a little adventure bag with binoculars, reference guides, and snacks. price- $4.99 for the box of hot cocoa
19. Mini Christmas sticker activity books– These fit perfectly into the pockets! These will be perfect to use at restaurants, too. I didn’t see them until after I ordered these, but there is a little Nativity stickerbook that is just darling! Decorate a Christmas tree book. Decorate a Snowman Book. price- $2.50 each
20. Bake cookies– My boys love helping me in the kitchen, so it will be a fun day of baking cookies for the neighbors and friends! I like to buy Christmas tins right after the holidays when they go on major clearance, so I can fill them with homemade cookies and candies to deliver to our neighbors. (We live in the country, so we only have a few!) price- $0 (unless you have to buy ingredients) I put a snowflake cookie cutter in this pocket (which I already had)
21. Visit with Santa– There is a local event here called Santa on the Farm, and it looks adorable. They have a little farm store, the kids can feed some farm animals, there is a bounce house and huge play barn, and they will have s’mores around the campfire. I will attempt to get my boys dressed nicely with hair brushed and matching shoes on, so I can snap a photo with Santa. Wish me luck! The last 3 years I’ve had a screaming child at the sight of the man in red. price- $7 per person, with 3 and under free. But there are a lot of places that have free visits with Santa! I put our Santa and Mrs. Claus peg dolls that my mother in law had made in this pocket- we bring them out every Christmas.
22. Chocolate Santa’s– I put three little chocolate Santa’s in a pillow box for all three of my boys. price- $4.99
23. Wood angels craft– I ordered these wood angels from Target, thinking they were small little figures. I could not fit all three angels in a pocket, so I just displayed one, and kept the other two in the box with all the other extra advent calendar items. Painting is a great activity for all ages! I kind of wish I ordered myself one to paint, too. price-$5 each
24. Christmas Eve party– the tradition of a “party” with just immediate family, was something we did every single year until I moved away from home. I continued the tradition with my own family for the last 12 years, and now that we live only 5 hours away from my parents, they can come up for the party! It’s the same every year- a huge spread of charcuterie and finger foods, sparkling grape juice for the kids, wine & a festive punch for the adults, lots of chocolates and candies, a fire in the fireplace, and watching all the old classic Christmas movies while we munch around the coffee table. We play games, we eat too much, and then we put the kids to bed at a good time so we can get everything ready for the next morning. It’s really one of my absolute favorite days of the year. The anticipation of Christmas morning is so magical even as an adult. You can start your own tradition of a Christmas Eve party with your family. Your kids will remember it and will shadow the traditions you make now, with their own kids someday.

More ideas for fillers/activities:

1. Make Christmas cards- spread out plenty of supplies for your children to make cards for neighbors, teachers, Sunday school teachers, the mailman, etc. Price- free
2. Lip balm or hand lotion
3. Bath crayons
4. Fidget toys
5. Ice skating
6. Sledding date
7. Donate toys
8. Christmas socks
9. Small plushies
10. Little People figures
11. Matchbox cars
12. A new ornament
13. Christmas dance party in the kitchen
14. Decorate the Christmas tree
15. Make a dried orange garland
16. Build a fort by the Christmas tree
17. Make a popcorn and cranberry garland
18. Make ornaments with your pet’s paw prints
19. Go cut down a fresh Christmas tree
20. New mittens (bonus if they are festive!)
21. Card games
22. New crayons

I also wanted to share a special tradition we have done the last 3 years, in case you are looking for even more advent goodness. We do a mini book advent tree using this : The Story of Christmas Story Book Set and Advent Calendar . It is currently on sale for $12.99! Each day, we take out the coordinating mini book where we read a part of the Christmas story. We then take that little book and hang it on a little tree. It has a little loop of thread on the book already, so it’s perfect to hang. We usually do this every morning at breakfast, and then dive into our Christmas schooling lessons. This year we are switching it up and using A Slow Christmas by A Year of Learning.

Another new family Christmas tradition is using the Finding Jesus Doll. This is SO incredibly sweet and we are so excited to start this on December 1st. It’s like the Christian version of Elf on the Shelf. It’s a Christmas countdown where you hide the Jesus plush doll every night, your kids find it in the morning, and in the back pocket is a puzzle piece. Then you read the coordinating scripture together out of the little book, and then add that puzzle piece to a frame to make a surprise picture once the whole puzzle is put together! price-$39.99

I hope you have a blessed Christmas season filled with love and light!

XOXO

-Nat