Hi all!
I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful festive season with your loved ones! I am starting a new tradition with my child, where we test out and review different kids’ advent calendars each year. In September, I shared some excellent toys for sensory play (which you can check out here) so I decided to invest in one that offers a different fidget item per day. I found it on Amazon for a very reasonable price. If you’re interested, you can purchase one for your family here. There are 24 products in total, leading up to Christmas Day. Without further ado, let’s see what was behind the numbers and whether it was worth the money…
* December 1st *
Day 1 was this mini golden spring that linked together as a circle. Abi loved rolling it onto her finger, pretending it was a ring. Unfortunately, a few days later, I accidentally sucked it up in the vacuum cleaner at the car wash. Whoops! A simple but cute start!
* December 2nd *
Day 2 was one of my favourites. It was a keyring that you squeeze to make the peas appear out of the pod. I loved the cute faces that popped out at the top. Adorable!
* December 3rd *
Day 3 was a very squishy bear-like creature. Abi called it her baby. I was not a massive fan of this one. The eyes and nose faded instantly, and it absorbed so much dirt, I ended up throwing it out.
* December 4th *
Day 4 was another favourite. It was a set of squares joined with connectors that roll into a cube/different shapes. I really liked the cosmic design. It’s so much fun to bend and twist.
* December 5th *
Day 5 was a plastic cube-like maze that you can manipulate to roll the silver ball around the passageways. It’s a bit tricky but a good way to concentrate and use your motor skills.
* December 6th *
Day 6 was what I dubbed the fidget snake. It’s so fun and satisfying to bend and shape at your will. It may look simple but it’s the one I fiddle with the most.
* December 7th *
Day 7 were these two tubes in Christmas colours. They are sealed at the top and bottom, with a marble in the centre. The aim is to push them up and down with your fingers. You don’t realise how satisfying these items are until you have them in your hands.
* December 8th *
Day 8 was a fun pink, stretchy unicorn! You would not believe how far it it actually stretches.
* December 9th *
Day 9 was a strange looking but fun fidget toy. You place your fingers on the rubber grips and move the circles around and through each other. I am a big fan of this one.
* December 10th *
Day 10 was a bit similar to Day 6 but with several more connectors that allow the object to bend any way you want it to.
* December 11th *
Day 11 was one of Abigail’s favourites. It was a mini poppit in yellow and blue. There was a keyring you could attach to the hole on the end, but I didn’t like the design, so I left it off.
* December 12th *
Day 12 were a pair of purple and pink squishy noodles. Believe it or not, it was quite difficult to get a photo of these. I apologise for how blurry it came out. They move a lot and stretch quite far.
* December 13th *
Day 13 was declared an octopus poppit by Abigail, although I thought it resembled the Pokémon: Diglett. It’s very cute and fun to pop.
* December 14th *
Day 14 was a ball made up of different coloured shapes. You have to pull it apart and put it back together again. It’s tricker than it looks!
* December 15th *
Day 15 was a poppit bracelet! Abi loves it. I had to immediately put it on her. It’s one of easiest toys to pop so far.
* December 16th *
Day 16 was a slinky with a smiley face on it! To be honest, this one was pretty cheap. Not the best toy of the batch.
* December 17th *
Day 17 was a plastic tube that stretches and connects. It makes a loud noise when you pull it.
* December 18th *
Day 18 was a bummer! It was the same squishy bear from Day 3, just in white. I think it would have been better if they had used a different design. I also threw this one out.
* December 19th *
Day 19 was more for mummy than child. It’s like a stress, fidget toy that you squeeze to make the suction caps touch. Abi doesn’t quite have the strength to push them together.
* December 20th *
Day 20 was a mini controller, like one for a video game. It has lots of buttons and levers to pull and push. I’m a fan!
* December 21st *
Day 21 was a pair of green and pink spiky balls. There really wasn’t that much to them.
* December 22nd *
Day 22 was very similar to Day 2. However, instead of a pea pod, it’s a peanut! You can squeeze the shell and pop out the peanuts. Very cute!
* December 23rd *
Day 23 was a soccer ball that spins if you keep your finger on the top and bottom of it. The perfect fidget toy!
* December 24th *
Christmas Eve was the big-ticket item and definitely Abi’s favourite of the lot. It was a poppit Christmas tree, complete with star on top! I know for a fact that this toy comes in different colours. I’m glad we got the white, yellow, green and brown. A fantastic way to end!
OVERALL THOUGHTS
My overall thoughts were that this advent calendar was 100% worth every dollar spent. We were given a wide variety of fun, fidget toys to play with. I absolutely recommend it. It was a great success.
Thank you so much for reading! Please suggest more kids’ advent calendars that are reasonably priced. I will be purchasing another one for review late 2023.
Peace & Love xoxo