Our Go-To Advent Calendar Fillers (Add Yours!)

Variety of small animal erasers that can be taken apart and assembled like a puzzle.

LEGO Minifigures are great advent calendar fillers or unique party favors for LEGO-loving kids. Part of the fun with these blind bags is not knowing which mini-fig is inside!

Jennie Utsinger:  These adorable little bendable men have magnetic hands and feet, so they can stick to metal objects around the house or perform acrobatics with each other. Kids will love them as Advent calendar fillers so their collection can grow every day!

Brigitte Nohra Miller:  With hundreds of styles, colors and shapes you can always find a new Hot Wheels car to add to your kid's collection. One of our kids' favorites are the color shifters as they enjoy dumping them in water and watching them change color.

Kelly R:  Seasonal lip balm flavors like Candy Cane and Holiday Cocoa are fun and useful! I like giving these as Advent calendar fillers instead of stocking stuffers because the kids can use them all month leading up to Christmas.

Brigitte Nohra Miller:  This vibrant colorful putty does more than stretching and molding...it bounces!! Kids will have hours of fun playing. And, a bonus for parents, this putty does not stick to fabrics! Tested and approved by our family, these would make great Advent calendar fillers.

Kelly R:  These chocolate truffles were our Advent calendar fillers last year (one for each kid, of course!). My kids went NUTS for them, and I have to admit that I really enjoyed the overage myself! I used a variety of flavors, but the hands-down favorites were the special seasonal ones like peppermint cookie and snickerdoodle. My Target had a nice selection!

Kelly R:  The 11 tiny figures in this kid-friendly nativity scene would be perfect small Advent calendar fillers for the days leading up to Christmas morning. I love that these could be reused year after year.

Kelly R:  These kid-favorite small hand sanitizers come in fun holiday scents every year. Stuff a few into the DIY Advent calendar for a little extra winter germ fighting.

Festive Christmas nail stickers are great Advent Calendar filler ideas, especially for teens or tweens who would love showing off holiday-themed manicures. Cut the sheets into smaller sizes that will fit into your calendar.

Kelly R:  Money always goes over well, and folding a dollar into a Christmas tree makes it especially fun for the holiday! There are also origami tutorials for dollar bill stars, angels and more if you want multiple days of Advent calendar ideas. Your kids might even be inspired to try some easy origami tutorials themselves!

Alexandra F.:  My 2 and 4 year olds LOVE playing with trucks of all sizes, but they especially love mini construction trucks for digging in sand or dirt when they are outside, and kinetic sand when they are inside. They are just the right size for advent calendar fillers, and I love how easy they are to pack up in a purse or diaper bag for on-the-go entertainment!

Kelly R:  These cute 1-inch bath bombs will fit in most calendars, and are individually wrapped so there won't be any residue left behind. Kids can mix and match the different bombs to create their own custom scent blends. I love little Advent calendar fillers like this that are "consumable" but not candy!

Kelly R:  My kids like Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty over slime because it's more fun to play with and comes in so many fun varieties. The mini tins are about 2 inches and are great Advent calendar fillers if yours is big enough!

Alexandra F.:  My kids love playing with animal figurines, and while Schleich toys are our favorites they are always drawn to these little miniatures as well. We really like the quality of the Wild Republic mini animals - not quite as good as Schleich, but better than most other animal figurines, and smaller (and cheaper!) than Schleich. Battat animal figurines are even smaller (and less expensive), if you're looking for them to fit in a small space, like an advent calendar, and all of these mini animals make great party favors and class favors for preschoolers (add a cute "wild about you" message and your school valentines are set!). They are also the toys my boys use most in the bath!