Christmas Advent Calendar Alternatives

Christmas countdown game with a jar of daily challenges

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Let’s be honest. Every year you buy a Christmas Advent Calendar, and every year the same thing happens. By December 6th, someone sneaks the chocolates for days 7 through 12 in one sitting, someone else is crying about it, and the cardboard door on day 4 is hanging off like a sad little trapdoor. Meanwhile, you’ve spent $40 on tiny pieces of mediocre chocolate. Something meant to be fun and festive is now a struggle.

If that sounds familiar, you’re in the right place. This post is about Christmas Advent Calendar alternatives that get the family involved and don’t end with a sugar-fueled meltdown right before bedtime.

Why Classic Chocolate Christmas Advent Calendars Let Us Down

I love the idea of an advent calendar. Twenty-four days of festive anticipation, the season of treats, a little ritual each evening. Lovely. Very Hallmark. The reality, with kids aged 6 to 16, is a different story. Here’s where the store-bought version tends to fall apart in my house:

  • It’s a solo activity. Kid opens a door, grabs the prize, and wanders off. Nobody’s connecting with anybody.
  • The “prize” is forgettable. A chocolate shaped like a bell isn’t a memory. It’s a snack.
  • Fairness wars are guaranteed. Who opens today’s door? Who got the bigger chocolate? You will referee. Every. Single. Day.
  • It doesn’t suit older kids. A 14-year-old is not getting emotional over a tiny chocolate reindeer.
  • The price creeps up. Especially outside of chocolate! Fancy calendars with toys, beauty products or Lego for my three kids now cost more than a weekly grocery shop.

So what do you do instead? You turn December into a family Christmas countdown game.

What Is an Advent Calendar Alternative (and Why Does It Work)?

An advent calendar alternative swaps the “open a door, get a thing” format for a daily shared activity or challenge that counts down to Christmas. Instead of 24 doors, you have 24 small moments, which allow the family to connect.

Why it works better than the cardboard version:

  • Shared experience beats stuff. Kids remember “the night we had the snowball fight in the lounge room” far longer than the chocolate.
  • It flexes for every age. You can scale the activities up or down, so the 7-year-old and the 15-year-old are both in.
  • It’s as cheap as you need it to be. Most days can cost nothing at all.
  • If you prefer buying to crafting, checkout my review of the family game alternative to chocolate, the Cluedo Advent Calendar.
  • It builds the Christmas countdown. You can structure it to get more exciting as the days go on – not just the same stuff different day.

The Christmas Countdown Game Guide: How To Set It Up

Step 1: Pick Your Format

Choose whichever suits your household. The chaos level is up to you.

  • The Jar: Write 24 activities on slips of paper, fold them, pop them in a jar. Kids take turns drawing the day’s slip.
  • The Board Game: Draw or print a winding “path to Christmas” with 24 spaces. Each day, move a token forward and complete the challenge on that space.
  • The Envelope Wall: Number 24 envelopes, stick them on a wall or string/clothespin them on a ribbon, and tuck a challenge in each one.
  • The Scorecard: Keep a family leaderboard. Points for completing challenges, bonus points for creativity, and a small prize for the winner on Christmas Eve.

Pro tip: If you have more than one kid, take turns being “Chief Elf” each day. That person draws the challenge and runs the activity. It cuts down on fighting and gives you a ten-minute break from being in charge of everything.

Step 2: Mix Up Your Daily Challenges

The secret to keeping this going until December 24th is variety. Mix easy, active, creative and kind activities so no week feels the same.

Quick and Easy (5-10 minutes)
  • Christmas karaoke: Everyone picks one song. No judging. (Some judging)
  • Dance party: Sixty seconds to your favourite festive track.
  • Snowball toss: Scrunch up white paper and aim for a laundry basket. Highest score wins.
  • Joke of the day: Everyone shares the worst Christmas joke they can find.
  • Assemble your family’s ultimate Christmas Carol playlist.
Creative and Cosy (20-30 minutes)
  • Build a gingerbread house out of cookies or cardboard – whatever works. Standards were lowered years ago.
  • Make a paper snowflake for the window.
  • Play Christmas Charades or Pictionary
  • Write a letter to Santa, or to your future self.
  • Christmas-themed LEGO free building challenge
  • Build a blanket fort and watch a Christmas movie inside it.
Secretly Helpful (30-45 minutes)
  • Decorate the House is always the first thing on my advent calendar. Might as well get Calendar credit for this fun activity that we’ll be doing anyway.
  • Hold a bake-off or seasonal snack/cookie decorating contest that can double as lunchbox fillers.
  • Christmas Card making session
  • Gift-Wrapping Team Challenge: Divide into teams and wrap presents (this works best with gifts for friends/neighbors/cousins).
  • Craft and decorate blank Thank You cards to be used after the holiday.
Get-Out-of-the-House Days
  • Drive around looking at Christmas lights. Bring hot chocolate and put the family Christmas Carol playlist to good use.
  • Visit a local Christmas market and let each kid pick one small thing.
  • Take a walk and spot as many Christmas decorations as you can. Bingo cards optional.
  • Decorate the sidewalk in front of your house with seasons greetings-themed chalk art.
Kindness Challenges (the sneaky good-parenting bit)
  • Donate a toy or book to a local charity.
  • Bake something for a neighbour.
  • Write a thank-you note to a teacher or friend.
  • Give a compliment to every family member before bed.

Step 3: Add a Little Competition (Because Kids Love It)

If your household thrives on friendly rivalry, add a scoring system.

  • 1 point for completing the day’s challenge
  • 2 points for doing it with a good attitude (this one can be hard)
  • 3 points for a creative twist
  • Bonus point for helping someone else

Tally up on Christmas Eve. The winner picks the Christmas Eve movie, or whatever else you think might be an argument that evening. Everyone wins, but one person wins slightly more, which is the best kind of winning.

Making It Work For the Whole Family

For Younger Kids (Ages 6-9)

  • Keep activities short and hands-on.
  • Use pictures instead of text on the slips.
  • Let them be in charge of the drawing of the slip. They’ll treat it like a sacred duty.

For Tweens (Ages 10-12)

  • Add mild competition and points.
  • Let them plan and host a few of the days themselves.
  • Give them a sense of ownership. Tweens hate being told what to do but love running things.

For Teens (Ages 13-16)

  • Be honest: they may act too cool for this. They will secretly love it.
  • Give them veto rights on a few activities.
  • Include low-effort, high-reward days, like a movie night.
  • Be a bit flexible on how you define participation. Let them cook a meal, have a bake-off or craft something adjacent instead of taking part exactly as intended.

What You’ll Need (Spoiler: Not Much)

You can run this entire game with things already in your house:

A jar, bowl or envelope set
Paper and a pen (or a printable pack if you’d rather skip the writing)
A calendar or tracker to cross off each day
A small prize or two for Christmas Eve, if you want to go that route
A sense of humour, which you’ll need by about day 17

Common Mistakes (So You Can Skip Them)

I’ve made most of these, so learn from my pain.

  • Over-planning. If a day requires three trips to the shops and a craft degree, it’s a bad day for this game. Keep half of them nearly effortless.
  • Scheduling everything for after school. Some evenings you’ll be wrecked. Put a “Do Nothing in Pyjamas” day on your list. It always wins.
  • Forgetting the busy days. Know your calendar. Put the low-key activities on school carols night and the bigger ones on weekends.
  • Making it a chore. The second it feels like homework, it’s over. If it’s not fun, skip it and move on. Nobody’s keeping score. (Except the scorecard. That one does keep score.)

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still do a traditional advent calendar too?

Absolutely. Plenty of families run both. Keep the cardboard one for the chocolate and use the game for the family time. Just don’t tell the kids you’ve doubled their Christmas countdown, or they’ll expect it every year.

When should I start?

December 1st is the classic start date, but you can start any time in late November and run a 24-day countdown. If you’re reading this in October, you have time to prep without panic.

What if I miss a day?

You miss a day. The world keeps turning. Double up the next day or just skip it. This is meant to be fun, not a test of your character.

Is it expensive?

It can be free. Most of the ideas above cost nothing. If you want to add small treats or a Christmas Eve prize, you’re still looking at a fraction of what a premium store-bought advent calendar costs.

Conclusion: Skip the Cardboard, Keep the Magic

A Christmas advent calendar doesn’t have to be a box of chocolates leading to disappointment. When you swap it for a family game, you get the countdown, the excitement and the traditions, plus something far more valuable: a month of small moments where everyone is in the same room, laughing, competing and (briefly) not looking at a screen.

And honestly, if you only do half of them, you’ve still done more than most of us manage between work, school drop-offs and the endless question of what’s for dinner.

Next Steps: Start Your Family Christmas Game This Week

Ready to give it a go? Here’s your simple plan:

  • Pick your format today: jar, board, envelopes or scorecard.
  • Write down 24 activities. Use the ideas above and add a few of your own. Aim for a mix of easy, creative, outdoor and kind.
  • Check your December calendar and slot the big activities on free weekends.
  • Let the kids add their own ideas. Buy-in is everything.
  • Start on December 1st and keep it flexible.

Want to skip the planning? Keep an eye out for my printable version of this game, plus more family Christmas ideas. And if you try it, tell me in the comments which challenge went down best at your house. I’ll be over here, pretending I’m not eating the kids’ chocolate.