🎄 Advent calendars for children: 24 creative ideas to make and fill yourself at home and at nursery 🎅

The run-up to Christmas is a magical time for children, whether at home 🏠 or at nursery 🏫, full of anticipation ✨, glitter ✨ and exciting surprises 🎁. A homemade Advent calendar for children provides daily joy 😊, whether at nursery 🏫, in the crèche or at home 🏠, and can easily be filled with loving ideas 💡. A homemade Advent calendar can make every day in December very special 🎊 and is perfect for children 👧🧒. But what should you put in an advent calendar for children aged between 2 and 6? Here are 24 creative ideas for giving small gifts 🎁 and exciting experiences 🥳 - including simple craft instructions ✂️!

How to make your own Advent calendar for children at nursery or at home

You can use small bags, boxes 📦 or even reusable fabric bags 👜 to make an advent calendar for children in childcare 🏫, at nursery or at home 🏠 ✂️. All you need is some creativity 💡 and a few materials such as paper 📜, string 🧵 and a string for hanging. A good idea is to lovingly paint the numbers from 1 to 24 on each bag or sachet ✍️ and put the little surprises for children inside 🎁.

24 doors full of joy: creative ideas for the Advent calendar for children

Here you'll find a creative, child-friendly idea for every day 💡 for your Advent calendar for children, whether at daycare 🏫, nursery or at home 🏠:

1. Christmas stickers - Colorful stickers to decorate Christmas drawings 🖍️.
2. Plasticine - A small tin of plasticine to shape and play with 🎨.
3. Soap bubbles - A small bottle of soap bubble liquid 🫧.
4. Animal figures - A small plastic or wooden animal figure 🦁, perfect for playing with.
5. Homemade snow globe - An old jam jar filled with glitter ✨ and small figures. Turn it upside down to create a beautiful snow globe ❄️.
6. Wooden beads - Some colorful wooden beads and a string for a homemade necklace 📿. (December 6: Maybe Santa Claus 🎅 will come by and bring the wooden beads as a gift!)
7. Coloring picture - A Christmas picture to color 🖍️, perhaps drawn by yourself?
8. Finger puppet - A small knitted or sewn finger puppet 🧸 that is ideal for playing together in childcare.
9. Mini puzzle - A simple puzzle with a Christmas motif 🧩, ideal for nurseries or daycare centers to promote fine motor skills.
10. Little chocolate - A piece of chocolate 🍫 that should not be missed.
11. Star stickers - Glittering stars ⭐ that children will love.
12. Craft set: Christmas tree - A set of green paper triangles, glitter ✨ and glue to make a Christmas tree 🎄
13. Jumpingdough - A small portion of colorful jumping dough that is fun for children 😊.
14. Cookie cutter - A small cookie cutter for baking cookies together 🍪.
15. Spinning top - A simple wooden spinning top that spins wonderfully 🔄.
16. Christmas story - A small homemade booklet 📖 with a short story.
17. Bath paint tablet - A colorful bath paint for fun splashing around 🛁.
18. Cardboard house to paint - A small house 🏠 made of cardboard that the children can paint 🎨.
19. Finger paint - A small tin of finger paint for painting on paper 🖌️.
20. Bell - A small bell 🔔 that the children can wear on a ribbon.
21. Balloon - A colorful balloon 🎈 to blow up.
22. Hand stamp - A small stamp with a Christmas motif 🎅.
23. Mini car figure - A small car 🚗 for lots of trips.
24. Homemade snowflake - A white snowflake ❄️ made of paper that can decorate the window 🪟.
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Craft instructions for the homemade things

Homemade snow globe (December 5)

• Materials: A small jam jar, glitter ✨, water 💧, a few drops of glycerine or a small dash of distilled vinegar, hot glue and a small figurine 🧸.
• Instructions: Stick the figurine to the lid of the jar using the hot glue. Fill the jar with water 💧, a few drops of glycerine or a small dash of distilled vinegar and some glitter ✨, then screw the lid on tightly. The glycerine or vinegar helps to keep the water fresh for longer and prevents it from becoming cloudy or foul. Turned upside down, the result is a beautiful snow globe ❄️.

Christmas tree craft kit (December 12)

• Materials: Green paper 📜, glitter ✨, glue, scissors ✂️.
• Instructions: Cut out triangles from the green paper and glue them together to make a tree 🎄. Decorate with glitter and small stickers.

Christmas story (December 16)

• Materials: Several sheets of paper 📜, stapler needles, pens ✍️, paints 🎨.
• Instructions: Fold several sheets of paper and staple them in the middle to create a small booklet 📖. Write a short Christmas story inside ✍️ and decorate the cover colorfully.

Cardboard house to paint (December 18)

• Materials: cardboard 📦, scissors ✂️, pens ✍️, paints 🎨, stickers.
• Instructions: Cut out a small house 🏠 from cardboard and decorate with pens, paints or stickers as you wish.

Paper snowflake (December 24)

• Materials: White paper 📜, scissors ✂️.
• Instructions: Fold a square sheet of paper and cut jags and patterns into it with the scissors ✂️. Unfold again and the snowflake ❄️ is ready!
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Summary

With these ideas, the Advent calendar for children at nursery 🏫, daycare 🏫 or at home 🏠 will be a real highlight ✨. The little gifts 🎁 and homemade craft surprises bring a smile to the face every day 😊 and make childcare at nursery or at home even more enjoyable. It's not just about material things, but about time together 🕒 and experiences - exactly what makes the pre-Christmas period so special 💖.

Have fun making the Advent calendar 🎄 and have a wonderful Advent season with your children 👧🧒!