Advent calendar ideas for families
Updated 30 October 2026 · By Rob and Chris, two Sheffield dads, and our families
An activity Advent calendar swaps the chocolate for one small thing to do together each day, like a lights walk or paper snowflakes. All of these are free: a free online Advent calendar to open on a screen, a homemade calendar with printable activity slips, colouring sheets and a reverse Advent calendar for a food bank.
Is there a free online Advent calendar for kids?
Yes. Famoo’s free online Advent calendar has 24 windows on a Christmas picture. Tap one to reveal an activity, hear a message from Santa, and watch the picture fill with a family. It works in a web browser on a phone, tablet or computer, with no account and nothing to install.
How do you make a homemade activity Advent calendar?
Choose 24 things to do together, print them as slips or write them by hand, and hide one for each day in a hat, a paper chain, envelope bunting or toilet-roll tubes. Our make your own Advent calendar guide has 44 activities to choose from, with filters for age, time and staying in, and free printable slips, six to a sheet of A4.
Where can I get a free printable Advent calendar?
The same guide prints your chosen 24 as slips with cut lines. 8 of our suggested 24 take 10 minutes or less, for school nights, and the longest fall on weekends. No printer? Copy them from the list.
What can go in an Advent calendar instead of chocolate?
- An activity slip: “Today: Christmas charades”.
- A Christmas colouring sheet, folded small.
- A joke to read out at tea time.
- A kindness coupon from one family member to another.
- A clue to a small surprise hidden somewhere in the house.
What is a reverse Advent calendar?
A reverse Advent calendar works the other way round: you add one thing to a box each day, then give the full box to a food bank or charity before Christmas. Each food bank has its own list of what it needs, so check yours first with the Trussell food bank finder. Our sharing parcel steps show how children can help.
What Advent activities suit toddlers and preschoolers?
Our activities start at age 3, so we do not have ideas for children under 3. For 3 to 5 year olds, pick ones where a grown-up does the tricky part and the child has one clear job: spotting lights on a walk, colouring paper chain strips, a freeze dance or an indoor treasure hunt with three easy finds. Every activity page has a part for ages 3 to 5.
Where are the step-by-step activities?
The Christmas activities page has 46 ideas grouped into crafts, food, kindness, walks and games, with full steps for nine of them, and the Famoo Christmas Book puts them together to read or print.
Want a door to open for you each day?
In Famoo, your family’s Advent calendar opens one door a day with that day’s activity, picture steps, an elf who reads each step aloud, and a part for each age, so brothers and sisters can do it together. Join the beta and choose your 24 from 46 activities.
Famoo is a family app for UK homes, in beta, so things may change.
