advent calendar blues

I'm feeling a bit behind already and it's only December 5th.

I've got lists made, presents half way complete, decorations underway and meals/parties planned but I'm slacking in one area. The advent calendar.

We have a lovely felt calendar we pull out each year, and each year I feel under pressure to find stuff to fill each day. So I usually end up buying a bunch of crappy little things to hand out that break an hour later or I give the girls candy and treats when they already get enough of that at this time of year.

Pottery Barn Kids

I tried going to Pinterest for some inspiration, but have you ever done a search for 'advent calendar' in Pinterest? It's like googling 'mysterious cough'. You are going to get way more information than you'll even need.

I love the idea of filling each day with an activity or something, but it's hard to find an activity that works well for both a 5 year old and a 20 month old.

So I'm all ears. Do you do an advent calendar? How do you do it? What do you fill it with? Want to come take care of mine?