Another new gift guide for 2024 and one that I am really excited about……Advent Calendars. One of my favorite things every holiday season is finding the perfect Advent Calendar for my daughter. From as early as she understood what Christmas was about, we began the countdown using an Advent calendar. It was such a fun way to count down the days until the big day and I always searched high and low to find something that she was into. What I have noticed these last few years is that there are so many more options for Advent calendars and couldn’t get over how many were targeting improving fine motor skills or had some kind of sensory focus. Below, I share 10 different calendars that would be great for your little ones. If you have any questions or want other ideas for Advent Calendar options, please email me at otmeghan@gmail.com. There are so many other great options out there and I would be happy to share what I found when writing this post.
1. Young Wild and Friedman Advent Calendar-I love all the sensory bin products from Young, Wild and Friedman because they are incredibly well made and use only the finest natural ingredients. This 24-day sensory based Advent Calendar is so cute and encourages sensory play and exploration as you lead up to Christmas Day. Each calendar includes two jars of homemade dough and a calendar filled with all kinds of wooden and PVC holiday figurines, miniature slimes, squishies, accessories to decorate and so much more. This is not only great for encouraging sensory play, it encourages creativity and imagination skills, works on developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills and improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills. The best part, this is not just for Christmas, it can be played with all winter long
2. Highlights Countdown to Christmas Activity Book-this is for those parents who want to do a Christmas countdown but don’t want all the stuff. If that is you, than this activity book from Highlights is perfect. Highlights activity books are a big favorite of mine and I love that there is always a big variety of activities inside the books. Inside this 96-page activity book, kids will find a variety of brain games, Hidden Pictures (a big favorite with my kiddos), Spot the Difference, coloring pages, simple craft projects, recipes and so much more. During a month when there is so much excitement, so many parties and so much going on, it’s great to have an activity book like this to keep your kids entertained during more chaotic moments. The activity book works on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, works on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills and works on improving executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, following directions and frustration tolerance.
3. Crazy Aaron’s Putty Advent Calendar-for anyone who has followed me, they know that I just love all things from Crazy Aaron’s. When I saw this 24-day Advent Calendar in my favorite Brooklyn gift store, Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store, I was totally convinced I had to make this new gift guide. Every 3 days your kiddo gets to create a new putty by mixing together a container of putty, a packet of mix-ins and holiday themed trinkets to combine in. This is not only exciting, but works on increasing grasp strength, improves fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills and helps with emotional regulation by offering opportunities for sensory and tactile exploration.
4. 12 Day Mindware Advent Calendars-I know that some kids can be overwhelmed or get anxious about too long of a countdown to a special event so I was thrilled when I found all of these 12 Day Advent Calendar options from Mindware. There are 6 different calendars to choose from that are sensory and fine motor related. They include 12 Days of Slime, 12 Days of Puzzles, 12 Days of Science, 12 Days of Putty Scents, 12 Days of DIY Wooden Puzzles and 12 Days of Fun and Focus (fidget and sensory toys). I love the variety of these 12-day calendars and how you can find something perfect for your little one. Another nice thing is that there are options that don’t require assembling which is great for children who have more significant sensory, fine motor and developmental delays.
5. Meri Meri Gingerbread Sticker Advent Calendar-how cute is this gingerbread calendar??? I was looking for some options that don’t include gathering more stuff and this one is just perfect. Meri Meri makes the most adorable party and paper products and everything they make is of the upmost quality. You start by assembling a cardboard gingerbread house and then each day you open a different envelope that is filled with some kind of sticker, pompom and other festive decorations to create a gingerbread house for the holidays. What I love about this is that it is more open-ended and kids can use their imagination and be creative as they decide how to decorate their gingerbread house. In the end, your child has created an adorable decoration that they will feel proud of and can be used year after year. The best part is that kids can work on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improve hand-eye coordination skills and work on improving visual motor and visual perceptual skills.
6. DIY Ornament Advent Calendar-this Advent calendar from Uncommon Goods is for your craft loving kids. This kit comes with all the materials needed to create 25 different felt and sticker ornaments. Each ornament comes with step-by-step instructions making it easier for kids to complete on their own. The nice thing about this ornament making calendar is that it requires no glue or extra materials for completion. In addition to the ornaments, there are bonus holiday themed games such as word search, scramble and others plus kids pop out a sticker every day to help with the countdown to Christmas. This calendar is for developing fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills and works on improving executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, planning and organizational skills and following directions. The completed ornaments can also be used as gift tags.
7. LEGO Advent Calendars-one of the most obvious Advent Calendar options are the Lego ones. So many of the kids I work with love Legos and I love them because they are such a great hand strengthening activity. There are SO many to choose from including Harry Potter, Lego City, Lego Friends, Star Wars, Marvel and so much more. Each set has instructions for building a handful of Lego minifigures, accessories and larger pieces that go with the theme of the calendar. Once all of the pieces are built, kids can work on play and language skills and encourage imagination and creativity. Legos are great for working on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye and bilateral coordination skills, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills and improves executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, planning and organizational skills.
8. NeeDoh Advent Calendar-my kids absolutely love when I get new squishy toys and there has never been a NeeDoh fidget toy that hasn’t been a hit with my kids. This 24-day calendar offers a new sensory/fidget toy each day. There is a big variety of toys each day including squishee toys, finger toys and so much more. Needoh fidgets are super durable, colorful and motivating for kids of all ages. If you have a kid who loves fidget toys, keep in mind how great it is to be able to have a collection of fidgets and squishees that offer a variety of textures, shapes, colors, etc. for them to choose from. One of the reasons I chose this calendar is because I could see this being a great gift for a child with sensory or developmental challenges and we all know the holidays can be difficult for those children and having a collection of fidgets/squishies to choose from to take with them to holiday parties or gatherings.
9. Plus Plus Advent Calendars-I just love PlusPlus Blocks and they end up on my gift guide each year (sometimes more than once) so when I saw that they had Advent Calendars, I knew that it had to make this list. PlusPlus Blocks are an open-ended building materials that encourage imagination and creativity. There are two sets to choose from, Woodland Christmas and Santa’s Visit, and comes with 600 different colored Plus Plus Blocks, accessories for the builds and a step-by-step instructions for each build. The Woodland Christmas set has you building Santa, woodland creatures, trees and so much more while the Santa’s Visit set has you building Santa and his sled, Santa’s elves, reindeer and so much more. Once completed, the box turns into an accompanying scene so they can play with their completed pieces which is great for encouraging play and language skills. Additionally, PlusPlus Blocks are great for working on improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves hand-eye and bilateral coordination and works on executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, organizational and planning skills.
10. Through the Window Puzzle Advent Calendar-I’m obsessed with this mini puzzle Advent Calendar from Uncommon Goods and it is a really good one for kids who are a little older. The calendar comes with 24 50-piece puzzles for your little one to put together and each one is a different holiday and family themed picture. I love puzzles because they work on so many skills such as improving fine motor, grasping and manipulation skills, improves visual motor and visual perceptual skills, encourages hand-eye coordination and works on executive functioning skills such as focus, attention, planning and organizational skills. It’s also a confidence and self-esteem booster as they complete each puzzle every day.