The days of finding a paltry chocolate behind an advent calendar door are long gone.
With even adults expecting daily December treats from mini bottles of booze to luxury beauty products, we can hardly expect children to be satisfied with a chocolate in the shape of a Christmas tree. Readers of a certain age might remember the designs that had just – gasp! – festive pictures behind each door.
Now, some of the biggest toy makers have got a head start on Santa and produced their own advent calendars.
Best toy advent calendars at a glance
There’s one to suit almost every child, whether they love LEGO or are potty for fictional princesses. Some require colouring, building or assembly to set kids a mini-challenge each morning and are a great way to keep them engaged all month.
Whether your child prefers superheroes or Star Wars, all these calendars will make counting down to the big day even more exciting.
I roped in our own and friends’ children to help us test these calendars and give us their honest opinion on how appealing each one looked and whether it would keep them excited throughout December. I broke the first rule of advent calendars, and opened all the doors in one go to get a sneak peek at the toys inside, considering the fun factor of each toy, how challenging each one was to build if necessary and what age each calendar would suit best.
Below, you’ll find my rundown of the best ones to get this Christmas.
