With drawers and doors to hide secret treasures, each day leading up to Christmas morning becomes more and more exciting, thanks to Advent calendars. But who says they’re just for kids? As traditional as holiday snow globes, these are some of the best wooden advent calendars for Christmas this year.
With angels and animals setting the stage for the arrival of Jesus, this adorable wooden Advent calendar strikes the perfect balance between Christmas whimsy and the real story of Christmas. Perfect for a family with kids, or lovely as an early Christmas gift idea for your family or friends, this sweet blue and brown calendar looks homey in any house.
It features a barnyard mural in the center, surrounded by 24 drawers, each containing magnetic figures. These whimsical figures can be played with and then placed around the barnyard, to complete the magical nativity scene. A simpler plain wooden Advent calendar is even more affordable, but doesn’t offer as many options for little kid play.
This Christmas House Advent calendar is thoughtfully designed with 24 numbered doors, behind which small surprises can be hidden for each of the 24 days of Advent. The high quality wooden Advent calendar is super durable because of the excellent wooden construction.
This single piece can be the beginning upon which your family’s holiday collection grows each and every year. Add to the snowy Christmas scene with pretty flocked miniature trees, and a group of brightly painted wooden nutcracker soldiers.
Each year you can continue to build your collection of accessories to display around your beautiful wooden Advent calendar, creating a whole Christmas village that will delight you as well as your family and friends.
A fun and festive way to count down the days, from the beginning of Advent until Christmas day, this Kurt Adler wooden Advent calendar features a large green Christmas tree with 24 small golden hooks. Each is poised to hang one of the included 24 tiny, detailed ornaments. From candy, trees, stockings, and wreaths, to adorable snowmen, and birds, each one is its own holiday surprise.
Standing next to the tree is a snowman wearing a black top hat, a green and white striped scarf, and a red and green coat. This cute guy is holding an actual bristled mini-broom. The base that holds the snowman and tree is a large red wooden chest with 24 numbered doors, one for each of the tree ornaments (and perhaps some other tiny surprises.)
This snowy village will evoke all your memories of childhood Christmas dreams. It features two levels of diorama winter village scenes, separated by two rows of tiny drawers for your Advent surprises. This wooden Advent calendar has a bright shooting star at the top, where Santa and his sleigh are perched for his Christmas Eve deliveries to the children.
To add even more magic, this carefully painted piece lights up brilliantly with LED lights to make it inviting in the evening as well as in daylight. Another plus? This has a super stable base to keep it from toppling over – a key when you know kids will be touching it daily.
We love this festive Christmas tree-shaped wooden Advent calendar because it’s so perfect for your smallest children. The painted tree with sparkling accents stands about 16 inches high, and it’s perched on a sturdy wooden base that doubles as a box to hold the adorable ornament decorations, which are included. Each ornament is decorated differently in holiday patterns and Christmas themes. You and your little ones can choose a special ornament each day leading up to Christmas, to create a sparkling and ever-changing piece of art. Mark the arrival of the big day by topping the tree with the sparkling star ornament. You can add to your family’s holiday cheer by reading aloud the poem on the back of the tree.
This special calendar is sure to be a family favorite because it’s also a great way to help promote and reinforce many developmental skills as children grow from year to year. Use the numbers on the tree to help your youngest children with number recognition and to learn to count both forward and backward.
Because this Advent calendar is so sturdy, once your kids have outgrown it, you can regift it to friends of family with little ones too. Another fun option for your kids this year is the Melissa & Doug Classic Wooden Christmas Nativity Set. Sturdy enough for little hands, it also comes with the Christmas story that you can share during your special family reading time.
A tiny lamb sweetly gazes upon a magical scene, the nativity, the birth of Christ. This lovely wooden advent calendar lights up a traditional nativity scene at the top, including trees, sheep, Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. The multi-layered design creates a three dimensional appearance that captivate kids little and big.
The natural wood box has a beautiful look that can go with any of your other holiday decorations. With 24 tiny drawers to stash holiday goodies from gold covered chocolate coins, to tiny Christmas ornaments and other trinkets and treasures, this pretty wooden Advent calendar is also among the more affordably priced options, which makes it awesome for gift-giving too.
The Christmas season is filled with festive treats, and gingerbread houses, which have been around since the 1600s, are always on display, tempting you with sweet scenes and lots of candy and frosting. If you don’t have the energy to make one yourself, get one for the family that can be used every year and take the pressure off you. This adorable wooden gingerbread house features cleverly decorated doors and drawers ready for you to fill with treats and tiny gifts.
Brilliantly painted, it features a gingerbread man, faux gumdrops and candy cane trims. It’s also one of the more affordable options in the category. At just 10.5 x 8 x 9.5 inches, it won’t take up a huge amount of space, but can be a focal point for your holiday decorating.
Is there any image more reflective of Christmas that a scene of children staring longingly into the windows of a toy shop all decorated for Christmas? That’s what’s depicted in this brilliantly painted wooden Advent calendar from Vermont Christmas Company that includes a puppy, kitten, a lovely Christmas tree and plenty of holiday toys. This beautiful piece is a nice size at 15 by 20 inches, so it makes a great centerpiece for a console table or fireplace hearth. You’ll love the quality in this Advent calendar, and it comes gift boxed so you can store it to use for years to come.
As winter falls on a beautiful Bavarian village, you can picture scenes of quaint lighted houses, street lamps and snow-covered trees, all at the ready to instill you with the spirit of Christmas. This Advent calendar has all that along the top, along with a couple of cute characters out dressed for the chilly weather.
In the center of the 24 boxes for each day of Advent, a snowy scene with a cathedral shows that Santa is indeed on his way.
When you add music to the festive scene, the spirit of Christmas comes alive, and that’s exactly what happens with this adorable toy shop Advent calendar. Each time one of the doors is opened, this piece plays Christmas music to add to the fun.
With children our front longingly gazing in at all the toys inside, the holiday scene is played out. A fanciful German nutcracker stands sentry at the door, while Santa beams from the top window taking in the happy scene.
At 18.5 inches tall, this is an impressive piece, and you’ll only need three AA batteries to keep the music playing all season long. (This could also be a cue to parents in case their kiddos were tempted to open more than one drawer per day!)
Does your family tradition include a new book each Christmas that helps to remind your family of the real meaning for the season? Then you might love this wooden storybook Advent calendar that looks almost like a real book, but opens to reveal diorama Christmas scenes at the top and 12 drawers on each side for your holiday surprises. It’s richly lacquered in brilliant red and features touches of gold scrollwork along with reindeer and Santa’s sleigh on the cover.
If you love that old world Christmas look, you’re going to love the vintage style images of Santa Claus on this elegant wooden Advent calendar from Primitives by Kathy. The image on each drawer is different, but all harken back to simpler times reminiscent of kindness and giving. This would be a lovely gift for an adult on your Christmas list, as it takes away the cartoonish images of Santa and looks polished and pretty.
We also think you’ll love the size, which also means larger drawers that measure 2.5 inches square, allowing you to fill them with more substantial gifts. This piece also features two wall mounting hooks if you’d prefer to hang it versus having it on a tabletop.
At Christmas, every child dreams of getting a sneak peek into the happenings at Santa’s North Pole workshop, and this clever Advent calendar allows them to do just that. The two level diorama has Santa and his number one elf up top, while below, a cozy workshop features elves, a fireplace with logs, work tables and various presents in progress. Your kids will love flipping the switch to illuminate these scenes with bright LED lights that really bring them to life. And don’t worry about a plug and cord, the lights run on two AA batteries (not included) so you can set it up wherever you’d like.
Gingerbread and Christmas go hand in hand, so it makes perfect sense that this Gingerbread Train Advent calendar would be headed to your home for the holidays! This old school polar express is guided by the Gingerbread man in the steam engine, while three frosted cookie cars are topped by more gingerbread men and presents.
Each of the train cars features pull-out drawers on both sides, and they’re also decorated with Christmas images from wreaths and bells to Santa and snowflakes. This whimsical piece is adjustable so you can set the train cars in different positions, and the LED lights that illuminate the engine operate on two AA batteries which are not included with the set.
If you’re in search of an advent calendar that adds both light and a touch of animation, the Clever Creations wooden advent calendar adds a beautiful presence to your holiday decor, along with all the fun of daily gifts leading up to Christmas day. Lit from inside with LED lights, this calendar features both drawers and beautifully details holiday scenes that also light up when you’ve turned the lights down low.
The top features a lovely 3D villages with a street light and home, both of which light up, as well as a revolving Christmas tree! And this all operates on three AA batteries (not included.)
If you’re looking for an Advent calendar that can sit on a tabletop or your kiddos’ dressers, this clever Christmas tree calendar is an ideal option. This three-dimensional calendar features little drawers conveniently scattered as presents beneath the wooden tree.
The branches are adorned with tiny jingle bells, and an LED lighted garland wraps around for a magical effect. At 15 inches tall, it would make an equally pretty holiday centerpiece for your table. The lights operate on two AAA batteries which are not included.
This DIY advent calendar features six different top decorations with which you can make nine different decorative combinations. We think that’s a seriously clever idea because it allows you to change the out top parts according to your preferences and mood every day, and each day you’ll have a fun new design. Made from high-quality wood materials, you can choose from a winter village, trees, deer, snowmen, and others. In fact, you can even use them in combination.
If you’re trying to keep your partner’s spirits high for the holidays this year, you could fill each drawer with individual tea bags for a tea lover, or an assortment of coffee k-cups for your caffeine addict. Also, think about mini-self care items to make sure you’re encouraging their pampering during a stressful season.
Are you more interested in teaching your kids about the birth of Jesus than in giving them candy and treats? This stunning Precious Moments wooden advent calendar will give you a unique and lovely way to do that. Each drawer holds a little figurine and a special reading for each day of advent. By the time they reach Christmas, they will have 24 figurines including Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus, along with the three kings, shepherds, and animals. The top of the calendar removes to create the full Nativity scene and has angels on the top reaching toward that star of wonder. Naturally, you can also put a tiny treat in the drawers to make it even more special.
If you’re looking to create a fun family activity around what seems like a different holiday season this year, this DIY wooden advent calendar has all the potential to be a huge amount of fun. It comes with all the cute wooden handles to add, as well as number embellishments, but it’s easily paintable, or you could even hot glue different paper fronts on the drawers before adding numbers and handles.
For a rustic look, you could paint the case green and leave the drawers natural, embellishing them with little pine cones and branches. For a child, you can add stickers and other fun decorations.
From the minute this tiny train chugs into the station in Christmas town, your holiday spirit will be revved up and ready for Santa. This cute wooden Advent calendar features Santa as the conductor, grinning from ear to ear with what’s in store for the kids.
Each of the two boxcars features super cute Christmas themed graphics on their 24 drawers. This Advent calendar would be a great gift for your kids, but you could also use them to create a special series of surprises for your husband by filling the drawers with sweet, sentimental and romantic gifts from cool cuff links and chocolates, to scented tea lights and massage oil.
This Advent calendar features a scene that feels like it’s right out of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Built to last out of high-quality wood, 24 little doors with the tiniest knobs open up to reveal the surprises behind. A sleeping pooch in an old-time Christmas scene, plus stockings at the hearth, and a beautifully decorated tree, all create a heartwarming scene that will keep everyone excited about the big day to come. One of the things you’ll love about this calendar is that it comes with a sturdy wooden storage box to keep it safe once the holiday has passed.
Christmas feels like such a rustic time, and this shabby chic Christmas house Advent calendar would be so cute on the mantle or coffee table. The snow-covered roof and chimney give you that holiday feel, while a lighted scene of Santa and his reindeer adds to the festive look. This wooden advent calendar features 24 doors, 23 small ones, and a larger one on the 24th for a bigger Christmas Eve surprise!
At nearly 16 inches tall, it makes an impressive start to the season and will have your little ones giddy hoping to find each day’s surprise.
Two lighted holiday scenes, one in the snowy countryside and one in town, animate the front of this pretty Advent calendar from Clever Creations. Each of these scenes is created with layers of wood in different tones to give them a three-dimensional appearance.
With lighted windows below the roof, one can imagine the children inside as they anxiously await Christmas day. 24 pull-out drawers, each shaped like cathedral windows add a bit more magic to the house design which is embellished in the center with an etched greeting of Merry Christmas.
Advent is a time of anticipation, and nothing builds more excitement at Christmas than a wooden Advent calendar filled with 24 days of tiny gifts and surprises.
