Advent calendar filler ideas: 24 that aren't just sweets

At the end of October the first little pouches appear on our table, and every year I face the same question: how do I fill 24 doors without ending up with a mountain of chocolate in the cupboard? If you're looking for advent calendar filler ideas, you know the feeling. The first five pouches are easy. By number twelve it gets slow.

Over time I've realised that an advent calendar doesn't need 24 little gifts. It needs 24 little moments. Some of them cost money, many don't. And the ones that children and adults remember later are rarely the expensive ones.

That was true right from the start, by the way. The Munich publisher Gerhard Lang, who is considered the inventor of the printed advent calendar, is said to have got the idea from his mother: she sewed 24 biscuits onto a painted piece of cardboard, and he was allowed to eat one each day. Not a big present, just one small thing a day to look forward to.

Advent calendar fillers for kids

Children care less about what a door is worth than about opening it. So the fillers can be small, as long as they vary.

1. One puzzle piece a day. A 24-piece puzzle, one new piece every morning. On the 24th the picture is complete.
2. A voucher for something together: "Today we bake together", "Today you pick dinner", "Today I'll read you two chapters".
3. Pavement chalk in a single colour, so December happens outdoors now and then.
4. A riddle or a little treasure map that leads to the real filler.
5. A hair tie, a hair clip, a pair of colourful shoelaces.
6. A packet of flower seeds for the windowsill in spring.
7. A stamp or a sheet of stickers for their own Christmas cards.
8. A small torch for an evening walk to look at the lights.

With small children I use a simple rhythm: every third door is something sweet, the others are something to do. That way chocolate stays special instead of becoming a duty.

Little words as fillers

My favourite door is one that holds a sentence instead of a thing. A folded note saying what you love about your child often gets kept longer than yesterday's toy.

9. Something you admire about your child: "I saw how you helped your sister yesterday."
10. A memory: "Do you remember the frog we found in the pond last summer?"
11. An encouragement card for a particular day. If something in December takes courage, say the first performance at the nativity play, the right card can be waiting in the calendar that very morning.

For days like that I make the "Mutmacher" (little encourager) cards in my workshop in Bergisch Gladbach: an A6 card with a laser-engraved birch plywood tile, Ø 40 mm. The little encourager "Ich trau mich" (I dare) reads "Auch wenn es groß aussieht" (even if it looks big), a little bear sits on the tile, and at the very bottom it says "Wir sind da. Immer." (We are here. Always.) The little encourager "Ich werde geliebt" (I am loved) with the little bunny says "Ohne dass du etwas dafür tust" (without you having to do anything for it) and below "Einfach so. Jeden Tag." (Just because. Every day.) I think it suits the 24th, when every other door is already open.

An A6 card is bigger than most pouches. On the big days I lay it flat under the calendar or clip it to the string with a wooden peg. Without engraving the cards cost €4.90, with your child's name along the curve at the bottom of the tile €9.90. The printed text is in German.

Ideas for adults

An advent calendar for your partner, a friend or your own mum doesn't have to be more romantic than one for children. It can simply be kind.

12. A special tea, a different bag every day.
13. A handwritten recipe for something you love to cook.
14. An old photo with a sentence on the back.
15. A voucher for an hour of peace: "I'll take care of dinner and the washing-up tonight."
16. A song with a line about why it reminds you of them.
17. A small hand cream or lip balm for the cold days.
18. A letter in instalments: one paragraph a day, the signature on the 24th.
19. A good-luck charm for a specific date. If someone has an exam or a job interview in December, that day deserves something that keeps its fingers crossed.

That's exactly what the occasion card "Viel Glück" (Good luck) is for: "Vier Blätter für dich" (four leaves for you) on the card, a clover on the tile and below "Ich drücke dir die Daumen." (I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.) The same A6 card, the same wooden tile, €4.90 without and €9.90 with a name.

Fillers that cost nothing

A few doors can do without any shopping at all. With 24 of them, that's a relief, and they're often the loveliest.

20. A walk to a place you've never been.
21. A games night, with the game chosen by your child or partner.
22. An evening without screens, with a candle and reading aloud.
23. Homemade biscuits that you cut out together beforehand.
24. A note saying "Today is all yours" and an afternoon with genuinely nothing else planned.

Decorate the pouches yourself

If you own a cutting machine, the calendar itself can become part of the gift. The cutting file "Fir Tree with Star" is drawn from one flowing line and set up for 10 cm on the longest side; it shouldn't go smaller than that. So it's too big for the tiny pouches, but it looks lovely on the big bag for the 24th or on a fabric sack that holds the whole calendar. With the private-use license for €0.99 you can cut it for yourself and for gifts, and the download is available right after payment. More designs are under Digital templates.

Plan ahead

The calendar starts on 1 December, and everything should be there by then. Cards without engraving are in stock and reach you within Germany in 3 to 5 working days. If you'd like a name engraved, allow 7 to 10 working days, which already includes making it in my workshop. To Austria it's 9 to 12. Ordering in mid-November is the most relaxed option. And since the card for the 24th is only needed at the end, it can arrive a little later if need be.

Looking for small gifts for other people too? I've written down a few thoughts on small budgets in my piece on Secret Santa gifts under €10.

In the end, an advent calendar is a way of saying "I'm thinking of you" every day. It doesn't have to be equally loud every day. A puzzle piece, a tea bag, a sentence on a note: what matters is that tomorrow there's something again.