Here you will find and discover some of the best and newest toys and products on the market, perfect for your Christmas shopping this year. We hope you will find it helpful and it will give you lots of inspiration for your Christmas shopping over the next month!
Please know that the price shown in this guide is the RRP and many of these items are much cheaper than this in current sales. Please find direct links to all the items featured underneath the guide.
Happy browsing!
Holly xx
If there’s anything here that has caught your eye, please use the links below to take you straight to the items.
Inside you will find some of the best and newest toys and products on the market, perfect for your Christmas shopping this year. You will be sure to find something suitable for the whole family, with gift suggestions suitable for babies, toddlers, young children, mum, dad and even a section of ideas for a whole family gift!
We hope you will find it helpful and it will give you lots of inspiration for your Christmas shopping over the next month!
Please find all links for the items featured underneath the guide x
Christmas traditions are always evolving and the tradition of advent calendars is no exception. We have already seen picture-based calendars be replaced with chocolate ones, but over recent years more and more brands have released their own version of advent calendars and I’m here for it! It now means there are plenty of options on the market that offer people something different to chocolate and instead people can choose to have advent calendars full of surprises that can be enjoyed beyond Christmas. These alternative options are becoming more and more popular, in particular with parents who wish to limit their child’s sugar intake or avoid sugar in the mornings. They are also seen as more sustainable options as the contents are intended to be kept for longer and don’t usually require plastic inserts like chocolate ones.
Here are my top 10 alternative advent calendar suggestions for 2022 that offer families something a bit more special than traditional chocolate:
1) Paperchase: Mr Men Little Miss 2022 Stationery Advent Calendar
This advent calendar is a fun collaboration between Mr Men Little Miss and Paperchase that has 24 stationery essentials hiding inside. It includes a variety of notebooks, paperclips, stickers, washi tapes, pens and even a key ring. Each item is characterful, bright and fun as per Mr Men Little Miss typical style. This would be perfect for primary school aged children to replenish their school supplies over December!
RRP: £35. Click Here *Sold out online, check in store.
2) Lindex: Squeezy Toys advent calendar
This advent calendar is perfect for children who like sensory toys or fidget toys. Behind the 24 doors are a variety of squishy animals and shapes in a range of colours. They are friendly in appearance and super satisfying to squeeze!
RRP: £14.99. Click here *Check in Lindex London store.
3) BRIO world 2022 Christmas Advent Calendar
Brio is a brand that any train-loving child will already be familiar with and this advent calendar is the perfect opportunity to add some festive pieces to a train collection! It includes track pieces as well as Christmas themed people, signs, trees and even a train with carriage decorated in a gingerbread style! The front of the advent calendar folds open to create a Christmas scene that children can add their new pieces to each December morning.
Super Wings is a popular children’s TV series that sees a variety of transforming characters save and rescue people. This advent calendar includes a variety of those much-loved characters in the form of planes and mini figures, as well as a few Christmas decorations too! Children will be super excited to open the new door each morning to see which character is joining the gang that day in the lead up to Christmas.
This advent calendar may seem small, but it is packed full of pretty little jewellery items! There is a range of items inside; from a necklace to clip on earrings and lots of cute charms and pendants inbetween. Children will love to build their own charm bracelet and necklace by adding something new to it each morning.
RRP: £9.99 Click here *Check in Lindex London store.
6) Find Me A Gift: Harry Potter Advent Calendar Cube
This is an absolute must-have for all Harry Potter fans (big or small!) The fact that this advent calendar is a cube already makes it interesting and unique, but it is also packed full of Harry Potter characters and wands. By Christmas Day the owner of this advent calendar will have a full collection of wand and character keyrings and a couple of special pins too. If that’s not enough to tempt you, then on the 24th is a very special surprise ……. SPOILER: it’s a Harry Potter snow globe!
If your child loves marble runs and even already has a collection of GraviTrax pieces, then they need this advent calendar! It is packed full of 36 track pieces and accessories to help children build new routes and create crazy trick shots. GraviTrax is unlike typical marble runs in that it’s a brand that allows children experiment with gravity to power their ball through twists, loops and turns!
This gorgeous gingerbread house style advent calendar is full of stationery essentials and favourites and even includes a £5 voucher. Other items included are pens, paperclips, washi tapes, highlighters, pencils, sticky notes and more. The contents are worth £100 and although the advent calendar is usually just £45, it’s currently on sale for just £30!! Plus if you’re lucky enough to find a golden pen inside yours, you can win a £200 voucher too – how exciting!
9) Baylis & Harding: Luxury 24 days of beauty advent calendar
This is the perfect advent calendar for you – Yes, YOU! I’m talking to all you mums out there reading my blog right now in search for the best advent calendar for your children – you deserve one too. This Baylis and Harding one is perfect for mums that deserve some pamper time with some gorgeous products. Inside it is full of bath and shower creme, bath bubbles, hand cream, body lotion, foot lotion, body wash, foot soak crystals and lots more, each infused with gentle blends of jojoba, rich vanilla and sweet almond oil.
10) Baylis & Harding: Signature For Him Advent Calendar
Oh go on then, let’s throw an advent calendar suggestion “for dad” into the mix because I suppose he deserves a treat too….. haha! This Baylis and Harding one includes a variety of toiletries that are not just suitable for use at home, but also a great size for dads who work away or have to travel a lot. Contents include aftershave balm, shower gel, face wash, hair and body wash, foot lotion, muscle soak, shampoo, conditioner and more! The items come in 2 fragrances: citrus, lime & mint and black pepper & ginseng!
I hope this article has helped to give you some inspiration for buying your advent calendars this year. Please do let me know in the comments which one you think is your favourite!
Hi everyone and welcome to our Christmas gift guide for 2021! These gift suggestions come from a wide variety of big and small businesses and have been chosen to fit in with different budgets. We hope you love what we have selected and that the gift guide provides you with lots of inspiration for your Christmas shopping this year.
Please scroll below the gift guide for direct links to the items if you’d like to order online.
If, as a parent, you’re anything like me then the arrival of the beloved Elf on the Shelf on December 1st is as much daunting as it is exciting! Don’t get me wrong, I love our elf Jingles and the fun that he brings with him, but I would be lying if I didn’t say some mornings I’m running around in a stress as I hear Otis’ footsteps coming down the stairs because I’ve forgotten to position the elf and can’t think of anything!
I’ve gotten together with a group of amazing (and creative!) Mummies to bring you these ideas, tried out in our own homes last year! I hope you will find them useful and this blog post will help you bring the magic of Christmas to your home (without the stress!)
Scroll down for photo inspiration ⬇️
Our Elf On The Shelf ideas:
Our Elf on the Shelf ideas:
Elf arrives with advent calendar and a note
Elf ties up cuddly toy with loo roll
Elf does a little drawing
Elf brings (Tesco) Christmas cookies to decorate
race track Elf (or just riding a toy car if no track at home)
Elf makes minion bananas
Elf plays football (goal made of straws and string – you could use anything as two goalposts)
Elf hijacks Santa’s sleigh (or any Christmas ornament)
Elf reads to toys
do you want to build a snowman Elf (Out of loo roll)
Snap, Crackle and Elf! (Could be any cereal box!)
Christmas tree decorating Elf
Marshmallow toasting Elf (with candle, marshmallows, cocktail sticks and other toys)
crumpet breakfast Elf
snow scene play Elf
All aboard the Shoe Shoe Train Elf
taped up Elf (by another toy)
Elf hospital (with first aid kit / doctor dress up kit)
Elf car wash (cars, soap and water)
Cereal dump truck Elf
This tree is pants Elf (pants / nappies on tree)
stair slide Elf (in loo roll)
Elf wrapping (doesn’t have to be big furniture, even the child’s toothbrush would be fun!)
Elf stew
Elf zipline to tree (add candycanes for more fun!)
Egg decorating Elf (include a kinder surprise for an extra treat)
help me! elf (stuck in a balloon tied to the ceiling)
Elf snowball fights (cotton wool balls or even scrunched up loo roll / paper)
Upside down Elf (could be on any furniture or shelf, but the tree is great!)
taped TV Elf (could use ribbon, loo roll, newspaper)
loo roll tinsel elf
hanging around Elf (hang from any switched off light)
hot chocolate Elf (add mess to worktop to be extra realistic)
Going for a ride Elf (attach to pet’s collar)
Funny magnets Elf
I hopefully you and your little ones have lots of fun with your Elf this December and that these ideas help make your run-up to Christmas more magical!
Please do comment below if you want to share any more!
Christmas Shopping is a little different this year and many people are shopping online and choosing to support small businesses. I have created this gift guide based on our experiences and opinions of toys we have put to the test in 2020 to give you our top gift recommendations for babies aged 0-12 months old, 12-24 months old and toddlers aged 2-5 years old.
Please have a flick through and if you see anything you fancy checking out for yourself a bit more, please find the direct links on this page, below the gift guide.
Our Daycation Life 