60 Things to Put in a Kids' Advent Calendar

The best things to put in a kids' Advent calendar are a mix of six types: scripture slips, tiny gifts, acts of kindness, family activities, treats, and service ideas. Fill roughly half the days with something to do and half with something to have, and December stays exciting without turning into 24 days of small plastic toys.

Below are 60 fillers, organized by type, with notes on cost and which ages each one fits. You need 24 or 25, so pick across categories rather than down one -- a calendar of nothing but verses gets skipped, and a calendar of nothing but candy gets forgotten. If you still need the calendar itself, see our buying guide to Advent calendars for kids or the DIY builds in Advent calendar ideas for kids. New to the season? Here's what Advent is for kids in plain language.

How Many of Each Type Should You Use?

A reliable mix for a 24-day calendar is 8 scripture or story slips, 5 activities, 4 kindness acts, 4 treats, 2 tiny gifts, and 1 service project. Put the tiny gifts and the big activities on weekends, when you actually have margin.

Two rules that save December: write the day number on every slip before you fill anything, and put your three most demanding items on days you control. Envelope 13 should not demand cookie-baking on the night of the school concert.

Scripture and Story Slips (1-10)

Cost: free. Age fit: all ages, with the parent reading for under-6s. These are the backbone -- they're what makes the countdown about Jesus rather than about stuff.

1. A Christmas prophecy verse. Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:2, Isaiah 7:14 -- one per slip, read aloud at breakfast.
2. One line of the nativity story, in order. Split Luke 1-2 into short chunks so the story unfolds across the month.
3. A name of Jesus with its verse. Prince of Peace, Immanuel, Light of the World. Isaiah 9:6 alone gives you four.
4. A memory verse for the week. Same verse Monday through Friday; by Friday the six-year-old has it.
5. A "who said it?" slip. Write a line from the story and let kids guess the speaker: the angel, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds.
6. A Jesse Tree reading. One Old Testament story per day, with an ornament to hang. Start with the Jesse Tree explained for kids.
7. A psalm of praise. Psalm 100:4 or Psalm 136:1 -- short, easy for kids to read aloud themselves.
8. A question slip instead of a verse. "Why do you think Jesus was born in a stable and not a palace?" Great for chocolate calendars.
9. A carol lyric. Print one verse of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" or "Silent Night" and sing it after dinner. Loud counts more than good.
10. A story to watch. A slip that says "tonight we watch the shepherds story" for kids who take in stories better on screen than on the page.

Tiny Gifts (11-22)

Cost: $1-4 each. Age fit: noted per item. Keep these small and keep them few -- 2 or 3 across the whole month, saved for weekends, so they stay special.

1. Christmas socks (all ages). Rolled tight, they fit most calendar pockets.
2. A single Lego minifigure or small polybag set (ages 5+). Splitting one boxed set across four days works too.
3. Hair clips or bobby pins (ages 3+). Cheap, flat, and instantly used.
4. Stickers (ages 2-8). The highest joy-per-dollar item on this list.
5. A matchbox car (ages 3-8).
6. A new marker or gel pen (ages 4+). One per day for three days beats a pack all at once.
7. A bookmark (ages 6+), ideally one with a verse on it.
8. Hot cocoa packet (all ages). Doubles as that night's activity.
9. A nativity figure (all ages). Wrap the pieces of a nativity set and add one a day -- baby Jesus goes in last.
10. A puzzle piece (ages 5+). Break a small puzzle into daily handfuls; the finished picture is the reward.
11. Glow sticks or a mini flashlight (ages 3+). Pair with Isaiah 9:2 about light in the darkness.
12. A small ornament they hang themselves (all ages). By Christmas Eve the tree is theirs.

Acts of Kindness (23-34)

Cost: free. Age fit: 4+, with the best results at 6-11. The rule that makes these work: the act has to be finished before bedtime, and you debrief at dinner. "How did it go? What did they say?"

1. Write a thank-you note to a teacher.
2. Give three sincere compliments today -- and one of them has to go to a sibling.
3. Do a sibling's chore without telling them. Watching them discover it is the whole payoff.
4. Call or video-call a grandparent just to say hi, not for anything.
5. Hold the door for five people.
6. Draw a picture for a neighbor and deliver it.
7. Let someone else pick -- the show, the seat, the song, the dessert.
8. Write a note for the mail carrier or delivery driver and tape it to the door.
9. Say sorry for something you've been avoiding. For ages 8+, this is the hardest slip in the jar and the most valuable.
10. Invite the kid who usually plays alone into your game at recess.
11. Make a card for someone who is sick or in the hospital.
12. Pray out loud for one person by name at dinner. Our Christmas prayers for kids has simple ones to echo if praying aloud is new.

Family Activities (35-46)

Cost: $0-15. Age fit: all ages. These are the memories kids will describe in fifteen years, so put the big ones on weekends and pencil them into your real calendar first.

1. Drive to see Christmas lights in pajamas, hot cocoa in the car.
2. Bake cookies for a neighbor -- and deliver them the same night, which is the part kids remember.
3. Build a blanket fort and read the Christmas story inside it by flashlight.
4. Make paper snowflakes and tape them to every window.
5. Family movie night with a nativity or Christmas film, plus one question afterward.
6. Wrap presents together, kids on tape duty.
7. Light the Sunday wreath candle together -- four Sundays, four candles, one short reading. Here's what the Advent wreath means, plus a kitchen carol singalong afterward. No skill required.
8. Write letters to next year's family and open them in December 2027.
9. Breakfast for dinner in Christmas pajamas, for no reason at all.
10. Make an ornament from scratch -- salt dough, paper, cinnamon sticks.
11. Read the Christmas story straight through by candlelight on Christmas Eve. Our Christmas family devotions end on exactly this note.
12. A December scavenger hunt: find something red, something that shines, something that makes a sound, something that reminds you of Jesus. More like this in Advent activities for kids.

Treats (47-53)

Cost: $0.25-1 each. Age fit: all ages. Four to six treat days across the month is plenty -- enough that kids never know which day is a treat day, which is the actual thrill.

1. One wrapped chocolate. The classic, and there is nothing wrong with it.
2. A candy cane (and a two-sentence explanation of the shepherd's crook shape, if you want).
3. A fruit snack pouch for the day after a heavy sugar day.
4. A hot cocoa bomb or marshmallow packet.
5. A "dessert of your choice tonight" coupon. Costs nothing extra, feels enormous.
6. A cookie you bake together rather than one you hand over.
7. Gum or a mint for older kids, who mysteriously rank this above chocolate.

Service Ideas (54-60)

Cost: $0-10. Age fit: 6+, though toddlers can carry the can. These are the slips that make Advent about giving rather than getting, and they hit hardest when the whole family does them together.

1. Add one item to a donation box -- a can of food, socks, a toothbrush. Deliver the full box the week of Christmas.
2. Pick one toy to give away, a good one, not a broken one. Do it with them, not to them.
3. Assemble a blessing bag for the car: granola bar, socks, water, wipes, a handwritten note.
4. Donate coins from the change jar and let kids choose where it goes.
5. Bring cookies to the fire station or police station.
6. Write cards for a nursing home -- most will take a stack if you call ahead.
7. Serve together for one hour at a food pantry, coat drive, or church toy sort. This is the single best "big activity" slip in the whole calendar.

A Note on Cost and Age Fit

You can fill an entire Advent calendar for under $10. Scripture slips, kindness acts, activities, and service ideas are all free or nearly free -- that's 40 of the 60 items above -- so the only real spending is treats and tiny gifts, and you need far fewer of those than the store displays suggest.

On age fit, the honest guide is this: under 5, the physical act of opening is the whole point, so lean on treats, stickers, and one-sentence verses. Ages 5-8 are the peak years for story slips and activities. Ages 9-12 want responsibility, so give them kindness and service slips they carry out themselves. And for teenagers, hand them the jar and let them fill it for a younger sibling.

If your evenings need a ready-made anchor once the calendar door is closed, our free Bedtime Bible Kit is seven short readings built for the wind-down slot -- print it once and use it all December. Families who'd rather have the daily story handled on screen can pair the calendar with a short Bible video; the nativity series at Faithful Kids adds a quiz and a reflection question to each one.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I put in an Advent calendar besides candy?

Scripture slips, acts of kindness, family activity cards, small non-candy gifts like stickers or Lego pieces, and service tasks are the strongest non-candy fillers. The categories above give you 40 free options. Most families keep a few treat days for the excitement and use activities and verses for the rest, which is a better balance than either extreme.

What fits inside a wooden Advent calendar drawer?

Most wooden calendar drawers are small -- roughly two inches across -- so plan on a folded paper slip plus one wrapped candy, a sticker, a Lego minifigure, a hair clip, or a coin. Measure one drawer before shopping. Anything bigger than a matchbox needs its own envelope taped nearby, with the drawer holding just the note that points to it.

How much should I spend filling an Advent calendar?

Under $20 total is plenty, and under $10 is very doable. Free fillers -- verses, kindness acts, activities, prayers, service tasks -- can cover two thirds of the month without anyone feeling shortchanged. Kids consistently rate the flashlight-fort night above the day they got a $4 toy.

What Advent calendar fillers work for toddlers?

For ages 2-4, choose fillers where the opening itself is the reward: stickers, a single wrapped candy, a nativity figure to place, a bath toy, or a glow stick. Keep the reading to one sentence. Toddlers don't need 24 different things -- repeating a favorite filler every few days is completely fine at this age.

Should every day have a gift in it?

No, and it's better if it doesn't. A calendar where every day is an object trains kids to expect a daily present, which is the opposite of what Advent is for. Mixing days that give something with days that ask something -- do a kindness, read a verse, serve someone -- keeps the countdown from becoming a 24-day gift stream.

Can we reuse the same fillers next year?

Yes. Scripture slips, activity cards, and kindness slips laminate well and can be reused indefinitely, which is one of the main advantages of a refillable calendar. Store them in a labeled envelope with your Christmas decorations. Most families rotate roughly half the slips each year and keep the traditions the kids ask for by name.