Advent calendars and boys--need help!

[MEmama]

It's that season again...I know it gets rehashed every year, but the advent calendar is by far the most stressful thing about the holidays for me (the only stressful thing, actually).

 

When DS was very small, Grandma made him a beautiful advent calendar to fill, and every year I struggle with finding interesting treats. I know it would be simple enough for some kids, but for this one...not so much.

 

He doesn't like many sweets--as in, one per week is kind of a lot for him--and doesn't at all like candy canes or other obvious choices. He doesn't play with toys, even matchbox cars are out now (old standby. Clutter and plastic junk would not be appreciated--by him or me.

 

I have in the past tried homemade coupons for activities like baking cookies, but honestly he's aged out of all that. The interest just isn't there. This is not and has never been a "magical" time of year for him, but the calendar is one tradition I'm not sure he would want to see go by way of.

 

So with December 1 looming and 24 (!!) small and inexpensive things to purchase weighing on me heavily...I need help!

 

Tell me your best ideas! :)

[ktgrok]

Pens, maybe the gel kind or different colors? Gum? zip ties? super glue? screw driver? compass? hair product? comb? cheap thumb drive? extra phone charging cord if he has a phone? (you can get cheap ones at gas stations often). comic? 

[Garga]

I get a Lego set and put a few pieces into each box. I suppose if I thought ahead better, I'd also put in the instructions for those pieces page by page. (Actually, that's a good idea--rather than making them wait to the end to put it together.)

 

If they were small Lego sets you could put two in there so he'd have 2 sets to put together, either day by day or at the end.

[bettyandbob]

1. Look around the dollar store (you probably already do this)

2. Get a small lego set and break up the parts and directions into sections that can in several boxes, do he builds a little each day.

3. Get small things that go with a hobby brushes, model paint... Guitar picks, pick case, guitar strings, ... Mouth guard, bungee shoe string...

[Garga]

How big is the space for each day?

[Storygirl]

Is this tradition important to him? If he doesn't care much about it, you could stop doing it.

 

If you are religious, you could put in a scripture verse for each day. Divide up the verses of the Christmas story, so that he reads the entire story by the end.

 

Put in a note about a Christmas activity you will be doing that day (baking cookies, shopping for grandparents, decorating the tree, etc.).

 

Put in a clue each day for a special gift he will receive at the end or a surprise event.

 

Write a special little love note to him for each day.

 

Put in a variable amount of money each day, so the surprise is to see how much he will get. You could put in one amount for him to keep and one amount for him to give away, either to a charity or to use to purchase gifts for his friends or family. It wouldn't have to be much -- $1 a day would be $25 by the end. Put a larger amount of money on the last day.

 

Give him a little tree for his room, and put a new tiny ornament for it in each box.

 

 

Edited November 24, 2015 by Storygirl

[Aiden]

Would he respond well if you totally changed it up--instead of gifts, there were things like riddles to solve or codes to break? Or jokes? Maybe even if most of the days still held gifts (I like the Legos idea), you could fill out a few days with something completely different and see how he responds.

[Plink]

We get a new puzzle and each day brings a couple of new pieces.

[MEmama]

How big is the space for each day?

It's small, like an inch squared. Perfect for those candy canes he doesn't like. ;) In the past we have placed many things underneath it (the calendar hangs on the wall), like holiday books or favorite holiday movies. But now we already have all those things and don't need more.

 

These are great ideas. I forgot to mention he doesn't build or do things with his hands--no Legos, etc. His primary interest is sports--expensive sports like hockey and cycling that don't require many extras that he doesn't already have. He's a tough one!

 

I've honestly been thinking maybe this is the year we can stop...and then he got out of bed all excited it's almost December. When I teasingly asked him why that was important of course he said The Advent Calendar! Ugh.......

 

Keep 'em coming! :)

[MEmama]

Put in a variable amount of money each day, so the surprise is to see how much he will get. You could put in one amount for him to keep and one amount for him to give away, either to a charity or to use to purchase gifts for his friends or family. It wouldn't have to be much -- $1 a day would be $25 by the end. Put a larger amount of money on the last day.

 

 

I like this. He saves 1/3 of his allowance to give away to charities of his choosing. It's very important to him and he is very proud of being able to help others. Typically I'll put in $ or a grocery store gift card for him to buy groceries for the food bank; this year in addition to that I could give him a bit of cash to keep and some to save for investing (he invests in the stock market). That could fill several days at least. :)

[Pippen]

Would he respond well if you totally changed it up--instead of gifts, there were things like riddles to solve or codes to break? Or jokes? Maybe even if most of the days still held gifts (I like the Legos idea), you could fill out a few days with something completely different and see how he responds.

 

Or $1 bills?

 

If not, I'm sorry to say it would probably be far less stressful if you opted to spend a little more.

 

Beef jerky

Smoked or sugared nuts

Small tools

flash drive

spare gloves

Silly Putty (or Thinking Putty)

carabiner for backpack

Lego key chains (my oldest used his childhood ones once he got his license. He's 22 now and STILL uses Lego keychains)

Tickets--movie

$5 gift cards for eating out

Edited November 24, 2015 by Pippen

[katilac]

Instead of a matchbox car, just put in the dollar that it would cost. My teens love money, lol. Or a little certificate good for an itunes song, also about a dollar, or the same money towards an app. 

 

Other days could be a a letter that spells out a bigger treat after two weeks or however much time. Or a puzzle piece that does the same, using those blank puzzles from the craft store. 

 

 

[bettyandbob]

Make the dollar fun. Try to find different dollar coins. Give different combinations of change that adds to a dollar.

[linders]

I like the break-up-a-Lego-set idea, but here's another thought...

 

As he is getting older, perhaps the Advent calendar can become less about him and more about others. So why not fill it with slips of paper containing other-centered ideas? A handwritten note or picture for Grandma. Cookies to the fire department. A bag of dog food taken to the animal shelter. A hand-made ornament for a special neighbor or family friend. Do a chore unasked for dad.

 

And every few days, maybe the slip is about something for him.

[MEmama]

I like the break-up-a-Lego-set idea, but here's another thought...

 

As he is getting older, perhaps the Advent calendar can become less about him and more about others. So why not fill it with slips of paper containing other-centered ideas? A handwritten note or picture for Grandma. Cookies to the fire department. A bag of dog food taken to the animal shelter. A hand-made ornament for a special neighbor or family friend. Do a chore unasked for dad.

 

And every few days, maybe the slip is about something for him.

We did a lot of this when he was younger. :)

[MEmama]

Or $1 bills?

 

If not, I'm sorry to say it would probably be far less stressful if you opted to spend a little more.

 

Beef jerky

Smoked or sugared nuts

Small tools

flash drive

spare gloves

Silly Putty (or Thinking Putty)

carabiner for backpack

Lego key chains (my oldest used his childhood ones once he got his license. He's 22 now and STILL uses Lego keychains)

Tickets--movie

$5 gift cards for eating out

It's not so much the $ amount as it is finding things that are useful to him that he doesn't already have. He doesn't use much, to be honest. Therein my dilemma. :)

[MEmama]

Make the dollar fun. Try to find different dollar coins. Give different combinations of change that adds to a dollar.

Great idea. Last year we gave him Euros in preparation for an upcoming Europe trip.

[8circles]

Why don't you ask him what kind of things he would like to get?

[ondreeuh]

I'd do origami dollars - the treat is the same but the presentation is different. Or go to the bank and get a bunch of $2 bills to fold.

 

Hmm, I have an advent calendar to fill too, so maybe I'll do that.

[Pippen]

It's not so much the $ amount as it is finding things that are useful to him that he doesn't already have. He doesn't use much, to be honest. Therein my dilemma. :)

 

I have a minimalist son age 19, so I get it. Unless he has a specific request, we don't even mess with the gift cards anymore and go straight for the cash.

[MEmama]

Why don't you ask him what kind of things he would like to get?

Because the other part to this horrible tradition is that ADVENT ELVES fill the pockets each night. Why oh why did we ever come up with that?!? Lol.

 

(Of course he knows there are no advent elves. This is a kid we actually spent two years convincing that Santa is real. At age 2 and 3, it took the REAL SCIENTISTS on the NORAD Santa Tracker to get him to buy in at least a little bit. In hindsight, it would have been fine not to introduce it, but he's always been so literal I think DH just wanted to get to have *some* fun. The Advent Elves are a holdover and it would be kind of sad to see them go...)

Edited November 24, 2015 by MEmama

[MEmama]

I'd do origami dollars - the treat is the same but the presentation is different. Or go to the bank and get a bunch of $2 bills to fold.

 

Hmm, I have an advent calendar to fill too, so maybe I'll do that.

That's a fun idea. Will have to google instructions tonight! :)

[8circles]

Because the other part to this horrible tradition is that ADVENT ELVES fill the pockets each night. Why oh why did we ever come up with that?!? Lol.

 

(Of course he knows there are no advent elves. This is a kid we actually spent two years convincing that Santa is real. At age 2 and 3, it took the REAL SCIENTISTS on the NORAD Santa Tracker to get him to buy at least a little bit. In hindsight, it would have been fine not to there, but he's always been so literal I think DH just wanted to get to have *some* fun. The Advent Elves are a holdover and it would be kind of sad to see them go...)

 

How about "What do you wish the Advent Elves would bring you this year?"  "What do you hope to find from the Advent Elves this year?"  No need to give up the pretense.

[TechWife]

I had a thought - does he like art or have any other hobbies? Perhaps you could get some type of craft/hobby kit and give him part of it each day until he has the complete kit at the end? 

 

If he likes crafts in general, AC Moore usually has a ton of inexpensive Christmas themed craft kits. By inexpensive, I mean around $2, I think. You could get some of those for him to do, maybe. They are things like ornaments, door hangers, etc.. 

 

How about a LEGO kit and giving different pieces on different days. Would he have the patience for that? I think it would have driven my son crazy, so maybe it's not such a good idea. 

[Garga]

Last year we filled some of the days with events. Baking cookies. Driving around to see Christmas lights. Buying a new ornament at the store. Stuff like that.

 

It was a great idea, but really hard to follow through. Things kept derailing our plans. It was unbelievable how a simple thing such as planning to make cookies that evening would be interrupted. Or, we thought we could get out to the store for the ornament, but something would come up.

 

So, maybe fill a couple of days with some events that you were maybe going to do anyway, but make it part of the advent calendar.

 

I like the idea of filling the rest of the days with dollar bills folded in different ways or given in different forms: paper, coin, multiple coins.

[JaneEyre]

We do riddles to find candy and a paper with a project ( make gingerbread cookies, drive around and look at Christmas lights, watch The Grinch [old version], etc.)

 

If you wanted to do something with money, we got a bag of real foreign coins from the Little Passports site for around $20, I think.

[baileygirl]

Hockey: wax, tape, laces, tape tool, puck (I have been considering comet puck but don't want to pay 20*2)

 

Hex wrench or bike multitool, energy stuff from stinger or Skratch labs.

 

Grooming stuff, small gift cards for starbucks, donuts, ice cream, small flash light, finger lights, gum

[MEmama]

Last year we filled some of the days with events. Baking cookies. Driving around to see Christmas lights. Buying a new ornament at the store. Stuff like that.

 

It was a great idea, but really hard to follow through. Things kept derailing our plans. It was unbelievable how a simple thing such as planning to make cookies that evening would be interrupted. Or, we thought we could get out to the store for the ornament, but something would come up.

 

So, maybe fill a couple of days with some events that you were maybe going to do anyway, but make it part of the advent calendar.

 

I like the idea of filling the rest of the days with dollar bills folded in different ways or given in different forms: paper, coin, multiple coins.

Yes! I usually do some stuff like that, but much less so now than when he was younger. Between school and sports we have very little time, and what if no ones in the mood to bake cookies? We rarely actually want to eat them, and no one appreciates receiving them. I should see when local communities have Santa come to town by lobster boat, I think that would be fun and totally silly. :). We missed the big tree lighting--who does that in mid November, and on a day we had 5 other things going on?!

[MEmama]

Hockey: wax, tape, laces, tape tool, puck (I have been considering comet puck but don't want to pay 20*2)

 

Hex wrench or bike multitool, energy stuff from stinger or Skratch labs.

 

Grooming stuff, small gift cards for starbucks, donuts, ice cream, small flash light, finger lights, gum

Oh yeah, I always forget a gift card to the local doughnut place. Excellent!

 

(have to save a couple of the other items for the stocking. ;) )

[Kareni]

My husband is the one who did the advent calendar for our daughter.  He'd use small chocolate treats on most days, some money on several other days, and notes for about five days.  Those notes would be for larger physical gifts ~ pajamas, paperback books, a magazine, a small puzzle, etc.

 

Regards,

Kareni