Best advent calendars for kids that start the Christmas magic early

For kids, the countdown to Christmas is almost as exciting as the big day itself. And, although December may feel like the longest month for little kids patiently (or not so patiently) waiting for Father Christmas to visit, a great advent calendar definitely helps tick the days off in style.

While I love the nostalgia a traditional paper advent calendar brings, the choice for kids these days is mind-boggling. Of course, you’ve got the crowd-pleasing chocolate-filled options, but now you can also find advent calendars to delight everyone from little Lego fans to mini fashionistas.

If you’re planning a sustainable Christmas, think about investing in a reusable advent calendar, which you can fill with your own treats each December. It’s a clever way to swerve the staggering amount of plastic you’ll find in many advent calendars, while making sure the kids get little gifts they’ll treasure.

As a mum and parenting writer, I was keen to test an eclectic mix of advent calendars (with the help of my six- and nine-year-olds), to whittle down the ones worth your money.

How I tested

We whacked on the Christmas tunes and got stuck into opening a huge collection of advent calendars for 2025. Together with my very willing six- and nine-year-old testers, I rated each countdown on everything from appearance and ease of opening to how genuinely fun or appealing each gift included was. Once the initial excitement of opening multiple advent calendars died down, I took into consideration which goodies still held my little testers’ interest.

To bring you my final round-up, I assessed cost, kid appeal, quality, longevity, value for money, and sustainability. You can read a detailed breakdown of my testing criteria at the end of the review.

The best kids’ advent calendars for 2025 are:

• Best overall – Lego minecraft 21280 advent calendar: £29.99, Lego.com
• Best budget buy – Hotel Chocolat up to snow good advent calendar: £8.95, Hotelchocolat.com
• Best for siblings – Lush 29 ½ high street advent calendar: £125, Lush.com
• Best for bookworms– Little People, Big Dreams advent calendar book collection: £17.59, Amazon.co.uk
• Best for pre-schoolers – Magna-Tiles micromags advent calendar: £39.99, Amazon.co.uk