Here's our pick of the best toy advent calendars for kids, including ones featuring Lego, Playmobil, Harry Potter, Barbie, Disney and more.
With the arrival of October, many of us are getting excited about Christmas and turning our attention to the best toy advent calendars for kids in 2021.
Why should adults have all the fun with non chocolate advent calendar offerings? And who really wants to deal with the morning sugar rush that accompanies the usual chocolate advent calendar tradition? Canny parents choose advent calendars stuffed with some of the top Christmas toys for 2021 instead of chocolates. What’s not to love about discovering a new toy to play with every single day in December?
Here’s our ultimate list of this year’s best toy advent calendars, including ones featuring Lego, Playmobil, Harry Potter and Disney.
If you fancy getting organised early, we’ve got good news – we’ve rounded up the best toy advent calendars for kids. There’s everything here, from the best LEGO and Playmobil toy advent calendars that let little ones build a whole playset throughout December, to the best Harry Potter advent calendars and toy advent calendars for kids containing much-loved play figures from our top Christmas toys wishlist, including Disney characters Elsa and Anna.
Here are this year’s best toy advent calendars for kids. Browse the selection and order your child’s favourite soon, as these are sure to sell out quickly.
LEGO Advent Calendars
LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar 2021
Credit: LEGO
Age suitability: 6+
This popular LEGO Star Wars advent calendar is sure to raise a smile from any LEGO Star Wars fan in the countdown to Christmas. Inspired by Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 2, this advent contains seven LEGO Star Wars characters plus 11 LEGO mini-figures to be enjoyed in the run-up to the big day, including The Razor Crest, Riot Mar’s starfighter, and TIE Fighter.
VIEW AT LEGO | £24.99
LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 2021
Credit: LEGO
Not too dissimilar from those Friends we know well, this charming LEGO Friends advent calendar – new for 2o21 – features five LEGO friends – Andrea, Emma, Mia, Olivia, and Stephanie, who live in Heartlake City. Build their world (all 370 pieces of it), which includes everything from winter toys and a piano to a fireplace and a classic Christmas tree.
VIEW AT LEGO | £19.99
LEGO Marvel The Avengers Advent Calendar 2021
Credit: LEGO
This MARVELlous LEGO Avengers advent calendar boasts 298 pieces of Avengers-themed fun to play with. Find favourite figures like Iron Man, Spider-Man, Black Widow, Thor, and Captain Marvel behind each door. There are also cool gadgets to discover like Spider-Man’s drone, the Helicarrier, and Quinjet.
VIEW AT LEGO | £24.99
Playmobil Advent Calendars
Christmas Toy Store Playmobil Advent Calendar
Credit: Amazon
Age suitability: 4+
Playmobil’s Christmas Toy Shop advent calendar comes with all the pieces you need to create a wonderfully festive scene. Every day throughout December, children open a door to find another piece for their set from miniature toys like dolls, teddy bears, robots, and racing cars to a figurine of Santa himself.
Santa’s Sleigh and Elves Playmobil Advent Calendar
Age suitability: 4+
This classic Playmobil advent calendar is back for another year. Behind each door are different pieces to create a gorgeous festive scene of Santa and his elves busy preparing for Christmas in their workshop. Children will love discovering a new miniature surprise every day including mini toys, Santa’s elves, his reindeer, and even a sleigh.
Back to the Future Playmobil Advent Calendar
Age suitability: 5+
The perfect starter for Christmas! This Back to the Future Advent Calendar is ideal for fans of the film franchise, aged five and over. It comes with over 99 different pieces to make December a month to remember, building up to an incredible scene from one of the most famous films – ever!
Horse Farm Playmobil Advent Calendar
Age suitability: 4+
The Playmobil Horse Farm advent calendar comes with multiple figures, horses, animals, and accessories behind every door, allowing kids to build an equine adventure a little more each day throughout December.
Christmas Ball Playmobil Advent Calendar
Credit: Amazon
Age suitability: 4 +
This well-designed Playmobil advent calendar sets the scene as a Christmas Ball, complete with a banquet table, musical instruments, and gift-wrapped presents under a snow-coloured tree.
Harry Potter Advent Calendars
Lego Harry Potter Advent Calendar
Credit: LEGO
Age suitability: 7 +
Happy news for fans of both LEGO and Harry Potter – the bestselling LEGO Harry Potter Advent Calendar is back this year! It comes complete with six mini-figures and there are intricate Harry Potter LEGO models to build, such as Beauxbaton’s carriage and a Hogwarts banquet dining table.
Harry Potter Pop! Funko Advent Calendar 2021
Credit: Zavvi
Behind each door of this popular Funko Pop! Harry Potter advent calendar is a miniature figure of your favourite Hogwarts students – and their furry friends. Fans of Harry Potter who consider themselves a bit too cool for an advent calendar won’t be disappointed to receive this on December 1st.
VIEW AT ZAVVI | £54.99
Harry Potter Holiday Magic: The Official Advent Calendar
From mini books to mementos, there is something to appeal to Harry Potter fans of all ages behind each of the twenty-five doors on this official Harry Potter advent calendar. It’s the perfect Harry Potter advent calendar for youngsters who aren’t really into toys but still go wild for magical collectibles and keepsakes. (Subject to availability – limited stock.)
Harry Potter LED Knight Bus Advent Calendar
We love this wooden Harry Potter advent calendar from Primark. Fill the cute little drawers and windows of the Knight Bus with treats and trinkets that will delight your little wizards and witches throughout December. Best of all, you can reuse this advent calendar again every year.
IN-STORE ONLY AT PRIMARK | £18
Disney Advent Calendars
Disney Frozen II Advent Calendar 2021
Credit: Amazon
Age suitability: 5 +
This Disney Frozen II Advent calendar is the perfect treat for the little princess in your life. Watch their delight at adding a new Frozen charm to the chain necklace and bracelet throughout the lead-up to Christmas. Featuring familiar Frozen faces like Anna, Elsa, and Olaf plus pretty snowflakes and fluffy pom poms, this is up there as one of the best Advent calendars for kids in 2021.
Disney Storybook Collection Advent Calendar
Credit: Amazon
Age suitability: 4 +
Unwrap one book per day on the countdown to Christmas with this charming Disney Storybook Advent calendar. There are 24 books to scoop up so fans of Disney can enjoy a wonderful tale each day with all new content and stories they’ve never heard before.
Disney Pixar Cars Advent Calendar
Credit: Amazon
The Disney Cars Advent calendar contains 24 car-themed treats behind its doors, including the likes of Cruz Ramirez, Lightning McQueen, and Jackson Storm. Little Cars fans get a racing road set to enjoy too, guaranteeing hours of play throughout December.
Barbie Advent Calendars
Barbie Christmas Advent Doll Calendar
Age suitability: 3 +
This exciting Barbie Advent calendar starts with a Barbie doll on day one and then every day for the next 23 days, little ones can piece together Barbie’s outfit. From a silvery jacket and trousers to a long pink skirt and lots more, there are more than ten different accessories to choose from as including shoes, jewellery, purses, and a feathery boa.
Barbie Bath Bombs Advent Calendar 2021
Credit: Amazon
Age suitability: 8 +
Love Barbie but looking for something a little different? This bath bombs advent calendar is designed for older kids and pre-teens that are seriously into their bath time and beauty. Enjoy 25 days of festive bath fizz – be that the heart or star bath bombs or the bags of bath confetti. Any excuse for a long leisurely soak!
Top Toy Advent Calendars
And here’s the best of the rest when it comes to this year’s must-have toy advent calendars for kids…
Smiggle’s Advent Calendar 2021
Age suitability: 6 +
Kids can’t get enough of Smiggle stationery and this year’s Smiggle advent calendar looks to be the best yet. It’s jam-packed with all the usual stationery suspects, from slap bands and smelly stickers to glitter glue and the ever-popular Smiggle lanyard. By Christmas Day you’ll have a serious Smiggle haul to enjoy. We hope the spy pen is back this year!
Thomas & Friends Fisher-Price MINIS Advent Calendar
Credit: Amazon
Age suitability: 3+
Budding train conductors can look forward to 24 mini Thomas & Friends characters hidden behind each window of this super advent calendar for kids. Collect favourites like Percy, James, and Gordon in addition to trusty Thomas and play with them on the accompanying fold-down track that comes with the calendar.
Super Mario Advent Calendar
Credit: Amazon
Age suitability: 3 +
Is your little one a fan of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, and Toad? Then this Super Mario offering is your answer to the question ‘What’s the best advent calendar for kids?’ Youngsters can collect their favourite characters plus other fun accessories, and act out scenes on the fold-down magical mushroom playground.
L.O.L. Surprise! Advent Calendar 2021
Credit: Amazon
Age suitability: 6 +
Unbox 24 days of surprises with the L.O.L. Surprise! advent Calendar. It includes an exclusive L.O.L. Surprise! Doll and 24 fabulous fashion pieces to unbox in total, including dresses, glam accessories, and cute shoes.
Polly Pocket Advent Calendar
Credit: Amazon
Age suitability: 4 +
Polly Pocket is practically the perfect trinket for an advent calendar for kids. Packed full of 25 pocket-sized surprises, little ones can count down to the big day with a surprise gift every day! Snowy scenes galore, some of the toys in this advent calendar include Polly Pocket dolls, animals, vehicles and more.
Happyland Advent Calendar 2021
Credit: Early Learning Centre
Age suitability: 1 and a half – 5 years
The Happyland 2020 Advent for tiny tots proved so popular that it’s back with a brand new offering for 2021. These chunky figures are perfect for little hands, with festive favourites like Father Christmas and a snowman hiding behind each door. Help them to feed Santa some Christmas pudding or take a ride with Rudolph in the snow.
VIEW AT EARLY LEARNING CENTRE | £29.99
Paw Patrol Advent Calendar
Credit: Amazon
Age suitability: 3 +
One of the most hotly anticipated advent calendars of the year, the PAW Patrol Advent Calendar includes 24 pieces – one for every day leading up to Christmas. Find six main Paw Patrol characters plus mini sleds and figures behind each door. The pieces are the perfect size for little paws and robust enough for even the most energetic play.
VIEW AT AMAZON | £23.06
What are the best kids’ advent calendars?
‘The best toy advent calendars for kids aren’t always the most expensive,’ says our consumer editor. ‘Don’t get sucked in by size or packaging – what looks like a very exciting advent calendar on the outside doesn’t always stack up when it comes to the toys and trinkets inside. Remember the box is quickly ripped to shreds. Does it double as a playset or do you get limited edition or keepsake collectible items inside?’
Toy advent calendars can be expensive, especially if you’re buying for more than one child, but with Lego and Playmobil, for instance, you really get your money’s worth. What’s not to love about a new collection of toys that will be played with long after the advent calendar itself has been forgotten?’