It’s that time of year again. The countdown is on! Though the tradition started with Advent calendars for Christmas, we are happy to report that the countdown tradition has expanded to Hannukah. Here are some of our favorite Hanukkah countdown calendars.
Build a Bear
It’s nearly time to CeleBEARate the Festival of Lights and Build a Bear’s 8 Nights of Hanukkah Surprises includes eight windows, each with a fun surprise waiting inside, including 2 mini plushes, with clothing and accessory pieces tucked behind the rest of the windows.
Ika Chocolates
Ika Chocolates is based in Tel Aviv and they don’t ship to the U.S., but you can order for friends and family who live in Israel. They have both Hanukkah countdown treats and a very modern advent calendar that looks super chic!
Sugarfina
Sugarfina has put together delicious collections of treats for Hanukkah and Christmas countdowns. Both boxes include gummies, chocolates, and lots of little treats for your family to share.
There are advent calendars that aren’t overly (or overtly) Christmas themed, so could be used for counting down to Hanukkah or any other of the various holidays at this time of year. Here are a few that we would love to be opening this year:
Insight Editions
For the readers in your life, check out the Book Lover’s Advent Calendar from Insight Editions. While there aren’t any actual books tucked behind the 25 windows, there are bookmarks; a Winter Reading bingo card; gift tags; stickers, and more.
Hidden Games
Professor Charlie’s World Tour Prof. Charlie has disappeared and to find him, you have to solve your way through the puzzles in the advent calendar. The puzzles are presented as letters, complete with envelopes, that Charlie has sent from his world tour. There’s even a map so you can follow along. How do you know which letter to open next? Solve the puzzle in the last one you opened! This is a great family activity, bringing everyone to the table to try to solve the riddles. Each puzzle takes 10-15 minutes to solve, though it may take a little longer if you’re solving it on your own. Too impatient to wait? You can complete the entire puzzle in just a few hours. Another great family activity! This one has 24 days of puzzles, but there’s no overt Christmas theme, so you could use this to countdown Hanukkah (3 puzzles a night) or just about anything you’re looking forward to.
Lego
The Lego Friends advent calendar is mostly winter-themed, with a train, snowboarder, minifigs (are they called minifigs in the Friends collections?), and an adorable dog on wheels. Most of the builds in this advent calendar can be used at any time of year. The Lego Star Wars advent calendar includes various Star Wars characters and vehicles. Like the Lego Friends advent calendar, the theme is more winter than Christmas, though there are some Christmas-leaning decorations. Any Lego Star Wars fan would love these mini-builds for their collection.
https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-Friends-Calendar-Building-Including/dp/B09YVTV39F
Ravensburger
You might know Ravensburger from their beautiful puzzles (see my review of their Witches Kitchen puzzle here), but did you know they also make toys? They have two advent calendars this season. The Brio World advent calendar includes pieces to enhance any Brio world train set, but could also be played with on their own and are not overtly Christmas themed (though there are a couple of pieces that are closely tied to Christmas), so could be used for other countdowns, as well. The Gravitrax advent calendar has no holiday theme, so it can be used for any countdown you like. Gravitrax is an interactive track system and the advent calendar includes pieces that combine to create an intriguing marble maze, but can be used with other Gravitrax sets, as well.
https://www.ravensburger.us/products/brio/brio-railway/advent-calendar-2023-63601500/index.html
We love all the holiday-themed calendars, but let’s normalize countdown calendars for anything we’re anticipating! You can find countdown apps for your phone, but they’re nowhere near as fun as eating a piece of candy; building and solving a puzzle; or creating something new, one day at a time. I want a birthday countdown calendar! Or a birthday month calendar with a birthday treat for every day of the month, so it doesn’t matter which day of the month is your actual birthday. What are you counting down to?
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
yazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I don’t celebrate Hanukkah. But I do have friends that celebrate.
Hi