12 Alternative Advent Calendar Ideas for 2026

Last updated: October 2026

A square of chocolate is gone in a second. If you want a countdown people actually look forward to each morning, these alternative advent calendar ideas swap the sweets for a story, a puzzle, a book, a small kindness or ten minutes together. Below, you’ll find how each one works, who it suits, how much time it takes, and how to make a printable one at home in an evening.

We’re Clues at Home, a UK studio that makes print-at-home detective case files, so we have a soft spot for the mystery option. It isn’t right for everyone, though, and we’ll say so where it isn’t.

Key takeaways

• An alternative advent calendar keeps the 24 doors and changes what’s behind them.
• For adults and older children, a mystery or puzzle advent calendar gives you a small daily ritual that builds to a finish on Christmas Eve.
• For young children, activity, book and riddle calendars are cheap, flexible and easy to make.
• Printable calendars can be bought, printed and assembled in one evening, so there’s still time even in late November.
• Whatever you choose, plan for missed days: the best calendars let you catch up without spoiling anything.

What is an alternative advent calendar?

An alternative advent calendar is a 24-day countdown to Christmas that replaces the usual chocolate with something else: an activity, a small gift, a good deed, or a story told one piece at a time.

The shape stays the same. There’s one door for each day from 1 to 24 December, and you open them in order. What changes is what’s inside, and how long it keeps you busy. Some alternatives are bought ready-made; many are easy to make at home with paper, envelopes and a pen.

Which alternative advent calendar ideas are worth trying?

These twelve ideas cover every budget and age, from free and handmade to boxed and bought. Each one says who it suits best.

1. A mystery advent calendar

A mystery advent calendar tells a detective story one door at a time. Each morning you open that day’s letter, clue or document, answer a question, and by Christmas Eve you have enough to solve the case. Most take 10 to 15 minutes a day. It suits adults, teenagers and families with children of about 10 and up who like reading and puzzles. Printable versions usually cost less than boxed ones and arrive the moment you buy them.

2. A puzzle or escape-room advent calendar

Board-game publishers sell boxed puzzle advent calendars, such as the EXIT: The Game advent calendars and a Clue (Cluedo) advent calendar. Each door holds a small puzzle or a piece of a bigger one. They suit puzzle fans who want something physical to open and don’t mind paying more for it.

3. A book advent calendar

Wrap 24 books, or choose one long chapter book and read a chapter each night. Second-hand books keep the cost down. It’s best for younger children and fits neatly into a bedtime routine.

4. A film or episode advent calendar

Write 24 Christmas films or episodes on cards and draw one each evening. It costs almost nothing if you already have the streaming services, and suits teenagers and adults. The catch: it needs an hour or two every evening, and it’s all screen time.

5. An activity advent calendar

Write one small activity on each slip: bake mince pies, walk to see the lights, make a paper chain, phone a grandparent. It’s cheap and flexible. Plan it around your diary, so the busy days get the five-minute activities and you don’t set yourself 24 chores.

6. A reverse advent calendar

Instead of taking something out each day, you put something in: a tin of food, a toiletry or a warm pair of socks goes into a box, and the box goes to a local food bank before Christmas. Check what your local food bank needs first. It suits anyone, and it’s a good way to talk to children about giving.

7. A kindness advent calendar

One small kind act a day, such as a note in a lunchbox, a thank-you card for a neighbour or a donation to a cause. It’s free and works for families, classrooms and offices.

8. A letter advent calendar

Write 24 short notes for someone you love: memories, jokes, reasons you’re grateful. Seal one for each day. It’s lovely for couples and for family who live far away, and it costs a few envelopes.

9. A tea, coffee or hot-chocolate advent calendar

A different drink each morning. You can buy these ready-made, or make your own with 24 sachets in numbered envelopes. It suits adults who like a slow start to the day.

10. A building or craft advent calendar

A small model, ornament or craft each day that builds into a finished scene by Christmas Eve. It’s good for children who like making things, and it gives you decorations to keep.

11. A riddle-a-day advent calendar

Write or print a riddle for each day and reveal the answer the next morning. It’s free, it takes five minutes, and it’s good practice for young detectives.

12. A memory or photo advent calendar

Each day, one printed photo from the year with a line about it. By Christmas Eve you have a small album of the year. It suits couples and families, and grandparents love receiving one.

How do these alternative advent calendars compare?

The quickest way to choose is by who’s opening the doors and how much time you have each day. Times are typical, not fixed.

How does a mystery advent calendar work?

A mystery advent calendar splits one case across 24 days. Each door holds that morning’s evidence and usually one question, so you build the solution a little at a time instead of in a single evening.

Our own, The Ashford Advent, is set at Ashford Manor in Yorkshire in December 1925. Every morning an unsigned letter in block capitals arrives for Lady Ashford. Each one tells a secret from her household and promises to name “the liar at your table” before Christmas Eve. You play an enquiry agent in York, and the butler, Mr Thornton, sends you everything he can.

• One door a day. Each door holds that morning’s letter, the papers that came with it and one question worth 2 points.
• Yesterday’s answer is printed at the top of the next door, so you can mark your own score as you go.
• Sundays are checkpoints. There’s no post on a Sunday, so doors 6, 13 and 20 hold a quiz on the week instead.
• Christmas Eve is the final accusation: who wrote the letters, how they knew, and why. Then you open the sealed Christmas morning file for the answers and the full story.
• Hints are printed upside down at the back, one for each door, and cost a point each.

It’s scored out of 100, works for 1 to 6 players aged 10 and up, and has no murder in it: just secrets, an anonymous letter-writer and a household that would rather you didn’t ask.

How do you make a printable advent calendar at home?

You make a printable advent calendar by printing the pages, sealing each day’s pages so they can’t be read early, and numbering the outside. It takes one evening.

1. Print single-sided at 100% scale. Single-sided matters: double-sided printing can put tomorrow’s page on the back of today’s.
2. Choose how to seal each door. Fold each day’s pages inside a wrapper sheet and close it with a sticker or a little tape, or put them in an envelope.
3. Number and date the outside. If you’re using envelopes, address labels make this quick. The Ashford Advent includes a wrapper sheet for every door and a page of 30 labels in the Avery 5160 layout, so you can do it either way.
4. Display them. Stand the doors in a row on a shelf, peg them to a string, or keep them in a basket or a box.
5. Keep the extras separate. Anything you need all month (rules, a notebook, a map) stays out. Hints stay face down. The final answers stay sealed until the very end.

For a homemade calendar, the same steps work with any content: riddles, activity slips or letters.

Which alternative advent calendar is best for adults?

For adults, the best alternative advent calendars give you a small daily ritual you’ll look forward to: a mystery or puzzle calendar with your morning coffee, a drink calendar, or a letter calendar for your partner.

A mystery advent calendar works well solo or as a couple, because the 10 to 15 minutes a day fit before work and the story keeps you coming back. If you prefer one big evening to a daily habit, a single-sitting case is the better fit; we compare the options in our guide to games for couples to play at home and our guide to solo detective games.

Which alternative advent calendar is best for families?

For families, pick something everyone can do together in under 15 minutes: an activity calendar for young children, a book calendar at bedtime, or a mystery advent calendar if your children are 10 or older.

With a mystery calendar, one person can read the letter aloud at breakfast and everyone argues about it on the way to school. Younger children can still join in with the activity or riddle ideas above. If you’d rather solve one festive case in a single evening, The Twenty-Fifth Door is our family Christmas mystery, set at an Edinburgh Christmas market, with no violence and no gore. There are more ideas in our list of family games to play at home.

When should you start an alternative advent calendar?

Have it ready by the evening of 30 November, because most advent calendars run from 1 to 24 December.

The church season of Advent starts on Advent Sunday, which falls on 29 November in 2026, but calendars almost always begin on the 1st. A printable calendar can be bought, printed and assembled in an evening, so it works even as a late idea. Boxed calendars can sell out close to December, so order those earlier.

What if you miss a day?

Nothing breaks if you miss a day: open two doors the next morning and carry on.

With a story or mystery calendar, the only real rule is not to read ahead. In The Ashford Advent, missed days are expected: open two together, and the letters will wait.

Frequently asked questions

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