Advent calendar ideas for toddlers (ages 2 to 4)
Updated 30 October 2026 · By Rob and Chris, two Sheffield dads, and our families
For a toddler, the best Advent calendar is one small thing to do with you each day, like a lights walk, a song or a bath with a Christmas toy, rather than a box of tiny gifts. Young children put small things in their mouths, so leave out anything small enough to fit through a toilet-roll tube (our own rule of thumb), and keep nuts, hard sweets, magnets and button batteries out of it altogether.
- Ages: 2 to 4, with a grown-up every time
- Each day: 5 to 10 minutes
- Cost: mostly free
- Our safety check: nothing that fits through a toilet-roll tube
How is a toddler Advent calendar different?
- Doing beats getting. A 2 year old does not need a new thing every day. Ten minutes of you is the treat.
- Repeats are fine. In our homes, toddlers loved doing the same thing again. Four or five favourite activities on rotation worked well for us.
- Make the wait visible. In our experience, counting to 24 means little at this age. A paper chain they take one link off each morning shows how long is left.
- Big and soft. Use big picture cards, socks pegged on a line out of reach, or paper bags, rather than little boxes with little things.
25 Advent ideas for toddlers
Each one takes 5 to 10 minutes with a grown-up. Costs are rough guides.
| Idea | Ages | Rough cost | Grown-up note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas lights walk, in the buggy or on foot | 2 and up | Free | Point and name: star, tree, red, green |
| Sing the same Christmas song every morning | 2 and up | Free | Add actions |
| Bath time with a big floating toy in a Santa hat | 2 and up | £1 to £2 | Stay with them the whole time they are in the bath |
| Big cardboard box sleigh: sit in it and get pulled along | 2 and up | Free | Take out staples and tape first |
| Tear paper into big pieces of snow; sweep up after | 2 and up | Free | No glitter |
| Stick paper scraps onto sticky-back plastic on a window | 2 and up | About £2 | Use big scraps |
| Read a Christmas board book together | 2 and up | Free from the library | |
| Freeze dance like a reindeer | 2 and up | Free | |
| Hide a teddy in a Christmas hat for them to find | 2 and up | Free | Hide it in plain sight at first |
| Kitchen band: pans and wooden spoons | 2 and up | Free | Keep away from the cooker |
| Sort red and green socks into two piles | 2 and up | Free | |
| Big brush painting on a big sheet | 2 and up | £2 to £3 for washable paint | Old clothes on |
| Handprint card for a grandparent | 2 and up | Free | Washable paint |
| Look for robins in the garden or park | 2 and up | Free | |
| Wave a thank-you picture at the postie or bin crew | 2 and up | Free | |
| Wrap a teddy in a tea towel and give it to someone | 2 and up | Free | |
| Lucky dip: one big toy hidden in a box of scrunched paper | 2 and up | Free | Toy bigger than a toilet-roll tube |
| Stamp on frosty leaves or splash in puddles | 2 and up | Free | Wellies on |
| Video call a grandparent and sing together | 2 and up | Free | |
| Choose one decoration for a grown-up to hang | 2 and up | Free | Glass baubles high up: the NHS says toddlers should not hold anything made of glass |
| Stir and sprinkle when you bake | 3 and up | About £2 | A grown-up does the oven. Check allergies |
| Dance with scarves to Christmas music | 2 and up | Free | |
| Torch walk in a dark room, spotting paper stars on the wall | 3 and up | Free | A torch with a screwed-shut battery cover |
| Scribble a letter to Santa and post it together | 2 and up | Free, plus a stamp | |
| Christmas Eve: pyjamas and a story | 2 and up | Free |
The 5 minute version
Cut 24 strips of paper, draw a simple picture on each one (a star, a song note, a book, a bath), and loop them into a paper chain. Each morning your toddler pulls off a link and the picture says what you will do together. If you cannot draw, write the word and say it out loud.
A ready-made 24-day toddler plan
Five favourites come round more than once on purpose. Bigger outings fall on weekends.
| Day | What | You need |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Make the paper chain together | Paper strips and tape |
| 2 | Sing the morning song | Nothing |
| 3 | Christmas board book | A book |
| 4 | Freeze dance | Music |
| 5 (weekend) | Christmas lights walk | Warm coats, a buggy if needed |
| 6 (weekend) | Big cardboard box sleigh | A big box |
| 7 | Bath with a Santa-hat toy | A big bath toy |
| 8 | Find the teddy in a hat | A teddy |
| 9 | Tear paper snow | Scrap paper |
| 10 | Sing the morning song with actions | Nothing |
| 11 | Kitchen band | Pans and wooden spoons |
| 12 (weekend) | Big brush painting | Washable paint, paper |
| 13 (weekend) | Look for robins | Coats |
| 14 | Handprint card for a grandparent | Washable paint, card |
| 15 | Sort red and green socks | Socks |
| 16 | Christmas board book | A book |
| 17 | Window scrap picture | Sticky-back plastic, paper |
| 18 | Lucky dip box | A box, paper, a big toy |
| 19 (weekend) | Stir and sprinkle baking (3 and up) | Ingredients, a grown-up for the oven |
| 20 (weekend) | Frosty leaf stamp walk | Wellies |
| 21 | Video call and sing | A phone |
| 22 | Scarf dancing | Scarves, music |
| 23 | Torch walk to spot stars (3 and up) | A safe torch, paper stars |
| 24 | Pyjamas and a Christmas story | Pyjamas, a book |
Get the Famoo app Family life, sorted together. The family calendar, jobs and lists, shared by everyone at home.
app.famoo.app
Keeping it safe for little hands
- The toilet-roll test. If a thing fits through a toilet-roll tube, we keep it away from under 3s. That is our own rule of thumb, set a little bigger than the Child Accident Prevention Trust’s warning that anything smaller than a 2p coin can choke a young child. It rules out coins, rubbers, small figures, bauble caps and bottle lids. RoSPA says children under 3 are most at risk from decorations with parts that pull off.
- Button batteries. Toys, lights and remote controls can use them. If swallowed, they can cause severe internal burns, and the Child Accident Prevention Trust describes one burning through a two-year-old’s food pipe within hours. Keep battery covers screwed shut, and if you think one has been swallowed, go straight to A&E or call an ambulance.
- Magnets. The NHS says swallowed magnets can stick together in a child’s intestines. Keep toys and fridge letters with small magnets out of reach.
- Food. The Department for Education’s advice for under-5s is no whole nuts, popcorn, packet marshmallows or hard sweets, and grapes and cherry tomatoes cut lengthways into quarters. Check for allergies before any food goes in a calendar.
- Cords and ribbon. The NHS says not to leave any rope or cord lying around young children. We count long ribbon, string, fairy-light cables and the strings on hanging calendars, and hang them high and out of reach.
- Balloons. The American Academy of Pediatrics says balloons are a choking risk to children up to 8. Keep deflated or burst balloons away from them.
- Grown-up jobs. Scissors, the oven, the kettle and candles are always a grown-up’s job. Use battery tealights with a screwed-down cover instead of candles.
For more, see the NHS advice on baby and toddler safety.
Questions parents ask
Is an Advent calendar suitable for a 2 year old?
Yes, if it is built around doing things together rather than small gifts or sweets. A 2 year old will enjoy a song, a walk or a bath toy with you, and a paper chain they pull a link off each day helps them see Christmas getting closer.
What can I put in a toddler Advent calendar that is safe?
Big picture cards with an activity on them, a board book, a big bath toy or a pair of socks. Leave out anything that fits through a toilet-roll tube, anything with a button battery or magnet, and whole nuts, popcorn or hard sweets.
Are chocolate Advent calendars OK for toddlers?
The NHS suggests children aged 2 to 3 have no more than 14g of free sugars a day, so a chocolate every day adds up. Check the age on the box and the label for nuts and other allergens. Some families keep chocolate for weekends and do something together on the other days.
My toddler does not understand waiting. How do I explain Advent?
Make it something they can see and touch. A paper chain that gets shorter, a row of socks on a line, or a sticker on a big chart each morning shows that Christmas is getting closer without any counting.
More ideas from Famoo
- Famoo’s free online Advent calendar
- Advent calendar ideas for families
- Little jobs children can help with, by age
- Christmas activities with a part for ages 3 to 5
Want the doors done for you?
In Famoo, your family’s Advent calendar opens one door a day, with picture steps and an elf helper who reads each step aloud, which little ones love. Older brothers and sisters get their own part.
Famoo is a family app for UK homes, in beta, so things may change.
Where this comes from
Each fact on this page links to one of these. Everything else is our own view from our families.
- NHS, Baby and toddler safety, checked 30 October 2026
- Department for Education, GOV.UK, Help for early years providers: Food safety, checked 30 October 2026
- Child Accident Prevention Trust, Safe from choking, checked 30 October 2026
- Child Accident Prevention Trust, Button battery safety, checked 30 October 2026
- RoSPA, Christmas novelties safety tips, checked 30 October 2026
- American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org, Choking prevention for babies and children, checked 30 October 2026
- NHS, Sugar: the facts, checked 30 October 2026
