These advent calendars for teens and tweens are just what you need to make your holiday special. Shop this guide for fun ways to countdown to Christmas fun!
One of my favorite gifts to give my teen is their advent calendar as a Christmas gift each year. This year, we wanted to offer this year’s best calendar ideas for your kiddos in this age category, as well as those college-age kiddos that deserve a fun way to celebrate the season.
We have you covered with a few of our favorite ways to countdown Christmas in 2022.
To keep it economical, be sure to read our suggestions for ways to reuse keepsake boxes or diy advent calendars for the season with our smart ideas for saving.
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Let’s celebrate the 12 days of Christmas with these fun ideas for the season.
Interactive Teen Advent Calendars
Trying to squeeze in some family time over the advent season? We think this advent idea is the perfect option.
Here’s the setup for this one.
Your pre-Christmas ski trip hasn’t gone as planned: Just as you are taking a break and enjoying the crystal-clear mountain air, you hear a noise and see a terrifying avalanche crashing down the mountain towards you.
This advent calendar is both an EXIT game and an adventure story: in order to free yourself from this predicament, you must open a door of the calendar each day.
Behind each door, you will find a new and exciting riddle, the solution that will bring you closer and closer to escaping the cave! Will you solve the mystery of the ice cave and find the exit?
This one has rave reviews, with people sharing how fun and interactive this was for the holidays.
I also zeroed in on one comment that shared it was a great one for “their middle-school boy.”
Don’t love the setup for the location of this game? Check out these this other option (The Hunt for the Golden Book) that the company offers.
Love Christmas movies?
This personalized box would be a fun way to celebrate.
Each box contains 24 Christmas films to watch along with a bit of interesting trivia on each movie. Reviewers praise the quality on this one and this is a perfect option for a budget-friendly option.
If you have a fishing enthusiast, this company makes creative tackle boxes to countdown the season.
Inside you will find a beautiful, compact, water resistant case under door #1. The 23 compartments to follow reveal all sorts of fantastic high quality fishing gear to fill that box up. There’s a gift everyday to help count down until Christmas.
They also make fun advent boxes for fly fishing.
This Christmas-scented candle offers an interactive way to countdown to Christmas. Give this with bags of their favorite candies to countdown the season. Scent options include Christmas Memories, Christmas Tree, Elf Sweat, Hot Cocoa, Mrs. Claus Cookies, Reindeer Poo, Snow Angels, and Wintery Candy Apple.
This would be fun to pair with bath bombs or fun chocolate treats for each day that they can grab out of a big jar!
Your teen and tween has everything…but do they have SPACE SOCKS?
Our team loved these NASA-inspired advent sock collections that include cute designs like Never Forget Pluto & Occupy Mars. We also love the price point on this set at just $16.
Reviewers ADORE this fun embroidery project that celebrates the season with a daily interactive stitch. Honestly, this is the one that I plan my crafty teen this year.
This is designed to be a Christmas Advent project for the month of December. Each day the shop outlines a stitching lesson starting on December 1st all the way through December 24th.
Looking for an affordable advent option? This one-page digital download is a perfect option. Print out this download on watercolor paper and pair it with a watercolor paint set and follow the YouTube class to learn how to watercolor each day as a countdown to Christmas.
The content creator has created a lesson for each day and a holiday playlist to go along with these lessons. This is perfect for a beginner painter who is looking for a quiet way to celebrate the season.
This advent challenge is a scratch-off keepsake brimming with unique adventures that help you explore outside your comfort zone, dive deeper into your relationships, and make meaningful memories.
One reviewer left this meaningful feedback on this one- “I love my family but sometimes we really struggle coming up with things to do, especially at Christmas when we’re together for days in a row. This holiday advent calendar totally alleviates that stress. The activities are fun and creative. 10/10 would recommend.”
If you are looking for a new way to connect with your teen or tween over the holidays, this looks like a winner and costs just $25 for the whole family.
If you have a music lover on your hands, this is such a fun one to do together. Hidden inside this festive menorah design is your new Hanukkah soundtrack.
You’ll scratch off a flame each day to reveal a QR code. Scan the code, and your phone will download a classic song played by an emerging artist.
Click here for a Christmas version of the same scratch-off calendar filled with Christmas carols!
Do we ever outgrow LEGOS? I hope not! Our team loves this one (and own it) because these can be reused year after year.
The kit includes C-3PO and R2-D2 in festive outfits, Darth Vader in a summer outfit, plus Luke Skywalker, a Clone Trooper Commander, Snowtrooper, Battle Droid and a Gonk Droid and 10 vehicles.
Friends: The Official Advent Calendar
Could this *BE* any cuter for the teen that’s discovered how great Friends is?
The One With All the Surprises (Volume 1) ended up being such a big bestseller that decided to issue a second version.
The first volume is packed with 25 days of surprises and over 40 keepsakes, ornaments, and booklets. There’s something for everyone in this set full of fun, nostalgia, and even a Holiday Armadillo!
The sequel version contains twenty-five days of surprises and brand-new unique keepsakes and trinkets ranging from fun paper ornaments to classic Friends-inspired recipe cards and more.
If you have two teens in your house, this might be a fun pair-up for the holidays!
Food Advent Calendar Ideas
I can always get behind food gifts because it isn’t something you have store year after year.
Make this evening magical by pairing it with our favorite holiday tv sitcom recommendations. These bite-sized treats and bite-sized show are a perfect pairing for teens or tweens.
Williams and Sonoma Food Advent Calendars
No one does it better than Williams and Sonoma. Here are a few of our favorite options for this year!
Christmas Popcorn Advent– Over the course of 24 days, follow the poem on the back and collect all the elements to create a popcorn party you can enjoy on Christmas Eve. Behind each door, you’ll discover top-quality popping corn and seasonings from family-owned Wabash Valley Farms.
Harry Potter Advent Calendar– Starting December 1, discover everything from Lemon Sherbets and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans to gummy candies shaped like owls, cars and lightning bolts. The confection-filled calendar makes a great gift for Harry Potter fans of all ages.
Peppermint Bark Advent Calendar– Open one of the 24 doors every day to reveal a snowman, toy soldier, Christmas tree or Santa. Each crunchy treat is made of rich semisweet chocolate and creamy white chocolate with crushed peppermint candy.
Holly Dolly Advent Calendar– Have a Dolly Parton fan on your hands? This adorable advent calendar is made for them! Every day from the first of December until the night before Christmas, you’ll discover a different treat hidden behind one of the windows. The colorful, individually wrapped candies are some of Dolly’s favorites, including chocolates, caramels, gummies and mints.
Drink Advent Calendar Ideas
I have a teen who loves to unwind with a cup of tea and this advent calendar option couldn’t be more perfect for her.
The Brew Company (a small business selling on Etsy) offers this gorgeously packaged bestseller option with these flavors inside: Nordic Berries and Chai, Good Morning Quince, Green Refreshment, Black Tea Chai, Lovely Liquorish, Tasty Berry, Raspberry and Fruit Basket, Japanese Sencha, Fruity Figs and Pineapple, Sweet Chamomile, Blueberry-Mint, Cool Mint, Earl Grey, Cranberries and Grenadine, Red Berry Dream, Ginger Lemon, Sweet Sea Buckthorn, Pink Grapefruit, Detox Tea, Fruity Passion, Revitalizing Treat, Rooibos Blood Orange, Mulled Wine, and Spicy Turmeric.
If these tea flavors don’t work for you, check out this landing page for loads of varieties of tea brews to celebrate the season. Not only will your teen love it, you also get the chance to support a small business.
Beauty Advent Calendar Ideas
The best way to reuse these calendars year after year is to hang on to those keepsake boxes.
Consider making this a diy advent calendar by refilling it with travel size items from your favorite budget-friendly beauty shop spot!
Did someone say TWENTY-FOUR BATHS to count down the season? This affordable advent option has 24 days of scented bath soaps & bath bombs to countdown to Christmas.
Reviewers praised the fast shipping with this company and the great value for the experience on these. It would be fun to pair with a bath pillow or bath tray for a month of self-care.
This gathering of skincare essentials includes eye and face masks for extra pampering through this busy season.
This set includes 16 sheet masks designed to hydrate, soften, soothe and brighten all skin types.
If your child loves a good makeup fix, this advent calendar offers 12 of Benefit Cosmetics bestsellers in a travel-size. It features fun-sized versions of their brow top-sellers, mascaras, pore primers & face powders.
DIY Teen Advent Calendar Ideas
You serious, Clark?
This movie never gets old, does it?
These advent bags have 24 unique images inspired from the classic holiday movie Christmas Vacation.
Keep it budget-friendly by heading to the local wholesale club to fill it with treats to pair with your favorite Christmas movies. You could also add fun beauty items for a self-care advent spin.
Personalize an Advent Pocket Calendar
A pocket calendar like this one can allow you to personalize it with your own treat ideas. Consider filling this with fun (and useful) items like lottery cards, gas station gift cards, coffee shop gift cards, bookstore gift cards, iTunes gift cards, beauty masks, mini nail polishes, favorite treats, and MALL MONEY.
Store this calendar and use it year after year.
Don’t love this design? Head here to find one that fits your kiddo’s style perfectly.
Looking for a free option that will give you new ways to connect over the holiday season?
Make Christmas unforgettable with this cute DIY Advent Calendar. Assemble it quickly with this free printable template and easy tutorial.
This Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar is a favorite family tradition!
Practice a small act of kindness with your family every day to bring some true meaning to your Christmas season.
Need a starter activity? Make these blessing bags for the homeless.
Do you buy a fresh wreath each holiday season? You can turn it into a fun Christmas Trivia Advent Calendar, perfect for a tween in your life.
We provide all the free printables and instructions for the world’s cutest diy advent wreath.
This free printable advent calendar includes fun Christmas themed trivia questions for the holiday season.
Have a teen that loves to bake? This cookie cookbook is a fun way to diy the advent fun for the season. Select a few of the recipes to do together in your kitchen. Throw on your favorite holiday records or playlist.
Don’t forget the perfect apron to go with this fun culinary twist on the season.
Be sure to scroll down for our favorite teen and tween gift guides and fun teen stocking stuffer ideas. We have updated all of our gift guides this year to make shopping this season a breeze!
Pet Advent Calendars (For Teens to Open)
My daughter would love opening this up for our pet as much as she would enjoy receiving a calendar for herself.
These kitten playset contains a cat collar with bell, scat teaser wand, interactive feather toy, fluffy mouse, crinkle balls, and cat springs.
Perhaps with so much entertainment, the tree will lose its appeal! Haha!
Have a favorite furbaby that needs to be spoiled? This contains freshly baked dog treats that are hand-decorated and made with locally sourced human grade ingredients.
Each box comes with a variety of cookies that are big and small and are either frosting drizzled, enrobed, contain plain yogurt cups, etc. to satisfy all doggie sizes and taste buds.
This is the highest rated by reviewers and the highlight for many pets over the holiday season.
Priced accordingly, but I’ll close out with this easy diy option if you are on a budget!
Looking for more holiday inspiration? Check out these posts!
100 unique and useful stocking stuffers (another great list to reference if you are making a diy advent calendar this year!)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS, FRIENDS!
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