The holiday season for us is all about traditions. While we’ve done Advent calendars to count down to Christmas before, it was one thing when it was just the two of us. We didn’t always remember to open a window each day–it was more just a thing to do to get into the spirit of the season. (Updated July 10, 2025.)
We originally wrote this post prior to last Christmas partly as the fruits of extensive research we had done into Advent calendars and partly to solicit feedback from seasoned parents about which ones your kids love. The consensus was that ones with books were best and that was 100% correct. We did a few different calendars and, without a doubt, the one with books was the top pick.
Not every story was a winner, but about 75% were hits, and the illustrations were lovely in all of them. Not all of the stories were holiday-themed, which I didn’t love at the time, but that has meant we’ve gotten mileage out of them post-holidays. They’re the perfect length and just all-around winners with Baby Bricker. So we’ll definitely be picking up more of those for Christmas.
July 10, 2025 Update: We’re back with another update that a lot of Advent Calendars are on sale. In particular, last year’s LEGO Advent Calendar is 33% off for Prime Day! Since this is last year’s model (it’s not like it expires or has 2024 emblazoned anywhere on it–you’d never know by looking at it), this is probably Amazon’s way of clearancing out inventory before the 2025 edition arrives.
Similarly, the
Beyond the Prime Day deals, here are the Disney-related Advent calendars I’ve found that are interesting. Note that we receive a small commission from Amazon for your purchases, so buying through these links helps support the site. However, neither the price you pay nor our recommendations (or lack thereof) are impacted by that. Let’s dig into the list from last year…
Mickey & Friends Advent Calendar Box – Family Christmas Traditions – This Disney Mickey & Friends Advent calendar celebrates family holiday traditions and features a large hardcover picture book with an all-new original story. Notations throughout the book will prompt the reader to join in the fun with their family as Mickey and the gang swap holiday stories and share their favorite Christmas traditions with one another.
Each of the 12 Advent calendar perforated windows holds a single ornament that correlates to a Christmas tradition discussed in the story. As each family tradition is completed, you can hang the included ornament to decorate your very own 3D Christmas tree. This one is tempting for us, probably in no small part due to “traditions” being right there in the name. But for that, this one probably wouldn’t be in the conversation, since it sounds like a bunch of paper.
This countdown to Christmas features 24 books, each of which are 24-pages. Unwrap a new tale every day from December 1st through December 24. Includes both holiday-themed and everyday stories featuring beloved Disney and Pixar characters.
Star Wars LEGO Advent Calendar – This one is also awesome, perhaps the best of the bunch–but probably only if you have a bunch of other Star Wars sets.
Other LEGO options include:
Sometimes past-year versions will pop-up at a deeper discount, so it’s worth checking the LEGO Advent Calendar listings on Amazon to see everything that’s available.
LEGO Disney Advent Calendar – Surprise kids aged 5 and up with a 253-piece buildable toy packed with 24 days of characters, activities and surprises. Each day offers a new festive build or character to inspire play, plus the Advent calendar box turns into a game board. This Advent calendar includes Elsa, Tiana, Ariel, Mirabel and Moana LEGO Disney micro doll figures, plus Pua, Snowgie and Sven characters, presents and much more.
If Megatron were “aged 5 and up,” this would be an instant-buy. Thankfully (I guess, maybe?), she is not. Right now, here favorite toys are this talking teapot, empty boxes, articles of clothing, and an old television remote. So as fun as this would be for future-her, we’ll stick to the LEGO City Advent Calendar that speaks more to current-Tom.
Mattel Disney Princesses Advent Calendar – This brings 24 days of Disney Princess surprises to the holidays, including 4 Princess small dolls–Tiana, Cinderella, Ariel and Belle–with removable holiday-themed skirts and winter capes. It also offers 4 friend figures: Flounder and Sebastian from The Little Mermaid, Jaq from Cinderella, Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast, and Naveen from The Princess and the Frog.
This looks cool and has incredibly positive reviews, but it’s too ‘old’ for Megatron at this point. Many of the figures and other gifts look like choking hazards. Just bringing it to your attention–especially since it’s 33% off for Amazon Big Deal Days and has such great reviews.
Funko Pop! Disney Advent Calendar – I won’t rehash my thoughts on the dead-eyed Funko Pops. (Suffice to say, we will not be buying this!) Setting aside personal aesthetic preferences, it’s impossible to deny the quality of the Funko figures. It’s with that in mind that we recommend this.
While we aren’t the target audience, we nevertheless think this looks like a better option than all of the Advent calendars with too many stickers and paper items. For only a few dollars more, the Funko option appears to be much, much nicer.
Funko Pop! Pixar Advent Calendar – As its name suggests, this is one of the brand-new Advent calendars. It’s the exact same idea as the Disney one above or Star Wars one below, but Pixar. And despite being a new release, it’s already on sale. (I feel like Funko has perpetual discounts–never pay full price for Funko.)
Star Wars Funko Pop Advent Calendar – Same idea as the above, but with a fun Star Wars-meets-Christmas Advent calendar. These aren’t the only Funko Advent calendars–here are other options that look cool:
The Funko style actually “works” pretty well with Nightmare Before Christmas! I’m not a fan of either brands, but if I were, that’d be the one I’d get.
Ceaco Disney100 Mickey & Friends 12 Days Of Christmas Advent Calendar Puzzles – This one seems a bit atypical, but it’s intriguing because it’s: 1) cheap, and; 2) has a practical element in being puzzles that you can assemble. Much better than stickers or other random junk-paper.
Here’s the description: Mickey’s 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar contains one 300 piece Christmas tree shaped puzzle and eleven 100 piece ornament shaped puzzles. Featuring your favorite Disney characters – Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Woody, Simba, Elsa, Moana, Buzz Lightyear, Tinker Bell, Tiana, Sulley, Lightning McQueen and more!
Mickey and Minnie Mouse Plush Advent Calendar – As the name suggests, this is a plush Christmas tree Advent calendar that can be hung on the wall. It features a ruffled base with embroidered Mickey and Minnie art, and 25 pockets with embroidered numbers.
I love mid-century style of this Advent calendar, and would absolutely go for it if the price were lower. It’s too much for me–especially without more clarity about what’s inside. Are all of the prizes little plushes? If, that makes it more appealing…but a mix of plushes and paper goods or other junk would not.
Bluey’s Advent Calendar – I don’t know if this technically counts as Disney, but whatever, it’s on Disney+ and everyone seems to love Bluey. (We’ve watched a couple of episodes and are already fans–saving the rest for a little later.) This seems like a nice option in that it’s reasonably priced and has actual accessories and items…and, unfortunately, several stickers. Can’t win ’em all.
Disney Munchlings Advent Calendar – I’d sooner buy the weird Funko calendar than this despite the Munchlings being absolutely adorable. For us, it all comes down to price. There’s literally no Advent calendar that’s worth $150 to us…unless it’s one filled with $10 bills.
On the plus side, if you’re looking for something with actual collectible keepsakes rather than throwaway items…this is a great option. The Munchlings are cute and this calendar is huge–I saw it at Walt Disney World and was surprised by the size!
The bottom line is that every possible Advent calendar you can possibly imagine, exists. Back in my day, they only made like one Advent calendar, and every kid had that. It was filled with little pieces of candy. If you didn’t like candy, too bad (every kid likes candy, so it worked out).
This isn’t entirely accurate. Advent calendars have been common in the United States since President Eisenhower popularized them while being photographed opening an Advent calendar with his grandchildren. In the ~70 years since, Advent calendars have proliferated, setting new Guinness World Records for price and size, among other things. (If you care, here’s an interesting history of Advent calendars.) Regardless, there are a lot more Advent calendars than there once were.
Nowadays, there’s an Advent calendar for every person and niche interest: coffee, jams, lipstick, cat/dog treats, jerky, “cheesemas,” wine, soap, and so forth. This is also the bad news. It can be difficult to find just the right Advent calendar, especially if you’re indecisiveness and spend inordinate amounts of time doing product research on the internet. We hope this list helped the Disney fans out there find the right Advent calendar for their family’s Christmas countdown!
For more on the holiday season in the parks, see our Guide to Christmas at Walt Disney World or our Guide to Christmas at Disneyland. We also have tons of content in our Christmas category of posts!
If you are planning a Walt Disney World or Disneyland vacation, check out our planning resources! The best place to start is our comprehensive Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide or Disneyland Trip Planning Guide to make the most of your experience!
YOUR THOUGHTS
If you have experience with Advent calendars, are there any recommendations that you or your kids love? Have you already bought your Advent calendar to count down to Christmas? If so, which one did you buy? Anything on this list, or something else? Adding any to your shopping lists? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
