Christmas is coming so that means it’s time to break out the Advent calendars! I mean, who doesn’t love a good Advent calendar? I sure do and I’ll be honest with you all there’s a bit of pressure picking the right advent calendar these days. There are so many options! They’ve come along way from just cheap chocolate behind little card stock doors.
These days you can find Advent calendars for just about anything and anyone. There are make-up Advent calendars, sock calendars, and calendars for pets. You can get coffee calendars and fancy chocolate calendars. LEGO puts out a handful each year and other bands like Playmobil, Crayola, and more have followed suit.
There are so many options!
So which calendars are we enjoying this year? Well, my kids and I have picked out a few. Every year we all get at least one food-related calendar a well as a more substantial one with little gifts we can enjoy all December long. We are hardcore twenty-four day calendar people, by the way, so we can get the maximum enjoyment out of them!
Read on to see which calendars we’ll be enjoying this year! If you have any questions about them or want to share your own experiences with any of them hit us up in the comments.
Exit the Game Advent Calendars
I first heard of the Exit the Game Advent Calendars last year and at the time I had no real idea how to get my hands on them. I’m not entirely sure that either was actually available in the United States yet. The only way I found to order them was through international shippers on Amazon for a high price mark up. This year, though, publisher Thames and Kosmos released two titles in the United States which I was able to pre-order the second they went up from one of my favorite online game stores.
A better person would have more self control but I went ahead and ordered both. The Mystery of the Ice Cave has a more ‘grown up’ sounding story about trying to escape a mysterious cave after being trapped by an avalanche. The Hunt for the Golden Book, meanwhile, has you trying to find Santa’s stolen book of Christmas wishes. Both stories are for players 10 years old and up and can be played alone or with as many people as you’d like. They’re both “novice” level puzzles which is good because I’m actually pretty terrible at puzzles in general. Still excited, though!
If you’re a board game fan and especially an escape room-style game fan, you’re going to want to check these out! I’m excited to solve puzzles and explore the stories in December and I think you will be, too. If you have played any of these let us know how they were in the comments! (And maybe give me some tips because I’m sure I’ll get stuck at some point.)
Playmobil Wiltopia DIY-Advent Calendar
I have been obsessed with Playmobil since I was a little kid. My first set was a plane that my uncle got for me and it was just downhill from there. Fortunately as an adult my youngest (who is now eight) has been super into Playmobil, too, so I’ve gotten to once again play with them. This is our third Playmobil Advent calendar and they are always great. You get a good mix of figures, accessories, and items throughout the month. In the past we’ve had a horse ranch calendar and a Santa’s toy shop calendar and both were great.
We are very excited about all the cute animals in the Wiltopia calendar this year! Wiltopia is a Playmobil line that’s dedicated to using less plastic than their other products.
If you’re interested in other options, they also have other Advent calendars featuring the todder friendly 123 Playmobile line, a Christmas baking theme, the Adventures of Ayuma, Duck on Call, Novelmore, Back to the Future, and two jumbo sets featuring either a stunt show or a Christmas themed townhouse. Tons of options! You can get them on the Playmobil website or Amazon though the Playmobil website offers some pretty good discounts if you pay attention – we got our calendar this year for $10 off!
Q-Workshop Dice Advent Calendar
This is my oldest’s second year in a row getting a Q-Workshop Dice Advent Calendar which is high praise in and of itself because teenage boys are hard to please. An avoid Dungeons & Dragons player, he really enjoyed the variety of dice he got in last year’s calendar and was excited to see what he’d get this year. Q-Workshop’s calendars feature an odd assortment of dice from their various different sets as well as one full Christmas themed set. It’s a cool way to get a variety of different dice to use or just to have around.
You can order from Q-Workshop directly or you can pick it up at your favorite online or brick-and-mortar game store. You may find it cheaper in-store if you can find it in-stock anywhere. This late in the game, your best bet may be going through Q-Workshop directly!
If you’re more interested in getting matching sets, he also got the Adventure Dice Advent Calendar a couple of years ago. A Canadian based company, most of the calendars are out of stock for this year. But they have a variety of options including deluxe calendars with 24 complete sets and each month has multiple complete sets mixed in as opposed to random dice. (Though in the past Adventure Dice has offered customized options so you could probably get all random ones from them, too!)
‘Tis the Season for Elf-Care Ornament Calendar
Unlike most of the other calendars we’ve featured, I actually have already gone through this one in its entirety because we got it as a review copy from Workman Publishing. But that makes me no less excited because I love everything from Sabrina Moyle & Eunice Moyle of Hello!Lucky. Their picture books and board books are some of my all-time favorites and I will never miss a chance to talk about how much I love them.
The ‘Tis the Season for Elf-Care Advent calendar is full of adorable grown-up illustrations of elves taking care of themselves at the holidays. Each day has an inspiring tip on how to take care of your self complete with silly elf-related puns. From taking time off from family drama to reading a book or chatting with a friend, the calendar has a new tip each day on how to unload and focus on yourself for a bit. And as a bonus you can add the included twine to each day’s pop-out ornament to hang them up on your Christmas tree!
I’m really excited about this one and I have all kinds of grand plans to actually try living up to each day’s tip. I’ve even got a whole little mini-Christmas tree set up for these ornaments at work! But we’ll see how well I do. Maybe it’s the though that counts?
Not big on elves? No worries. I also got to check out another Workman Publhishing Advent Calendar: Gnome for the Holidays. Trade out elves for adorable gnomes and gnome-puns in this equally cute series of illustrated gnome ornaments. Or, if you’re interested in a more religious themed calendar, they also have The Story of Christmas which I didn’t get to check out but seems absolutely adorable.
Ilchester British Cheese & Moo Free (Dairy Free) Chocolate Advent Calendars
I’m throwing these ones in for fun because my family has these ones to enjoy, too! If you’d still rather eat your Advent calendar no judgement here. We love to eat ours, too, so my kids and I pick out something fun to eat each year.
Usually my oldest gets a generic chocolate Advent calendar but this year he’s joining me in enjoying the Ilchester British Cheese Advent Calendar from Sam’s Club. I had it last year and it was amazing. I cannot understand how much I enjoyed eating one of five different cheeses each day.
Unfortunately, my youngest is severely allergic to chocolate so she can’t enjoy the cheese calendar with us. Instead, she’s enjoying the Moo Free (Dairy Free) Chocolate Advent Calendar for the second year in a row! We usually get it from Amazon which is also where you can get the No Whey Foods non-dairy Advent Calendar which we’ve also gotten in the past. My daughter couldn’t tell you which she likes best – she just likes being able to have a chocolate Advent calendar that’s safe for her!
So which Advent calendars are you planning on enjoying this year?
Which ones will you be getting for your friends or family members?
We genuinely want to know! I am always looking for new ideas for me and the kids so if you know of a cool Advent calendar let us know!
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