Once again, 2013 has seen us working with the lovely people at Playmobil to review some great toys.
This year, Flea’s wish-list for Christmas includes the new e-rangers turbo jet, and perhaps also the spy plane. But one of the things I love most about Playmobil is that while there are constantly new things, they’re also timeless – and some of our most beloved Playmobil sets are those we’ve owned longest.
Top of that list is our Playmobil Advent Calendar, which we bought when Flea wasn’t quite three. We love bringing it out each year and setting it up on the kitchen counter – our set builds up into a lovely winter scene over 24 days, complete with trees, animals, angels, sledges and – of course – Father Christmas.
The Playmobil Advent calendars work in a fairly simple way – you hang a stiff cardboard backing scene onto the wall, and there are 24 collapsible cardboard boxes that hook onto the backing – each numbered box contains one or two small items that can be added to a cardboard, 3D advent scene, which sits comfortably on a shelf in your home. The whole thing is quite sturdy – ours is now more than five years old and still completely intact – but there are a few spare boxes in case of accidents, and you can buy replacement parts, too.
Once again this year, Playmobil sent us a new Christmas scene advent calendar but as we’re still very attached to ours, I’m giving this brand new one away to one of my readers. This set features pirates, and comes complete with a treasure chest, a rowing boat and even a little canon that fires. Awesome. It’s recommended for children aged 4+, because of small parts and retails at around £17.99.
How to Enter
If you’d like to win, just leave a comment at the bottom of this post telling me your favourite Christmas carol, and I’ll pick one winner at random on November 16th at 5pm GMT. The calendar will be posted to you in time to use this December (UK residents only, please!). Use the Rafflecopter widget to register your comment, and there are bonus entries to be had, too.
Rules: One entry per person; entries made via automated or online services will be disqualified; users must provide an email address so I can contact you; winner will be contacted by email; in the event the winner cannot be reached in 48 hours, the prize may be re-allocated; competition open to UK residents only; prize will be dispatched using a recorded post service. The name of the winner will be announced on this post after the closing date.Â
Good luck!
Mine changes every year but I always love In the Bleak Midwinter.
Away in a manager but my daughter loves jingle bells
I mis-read the instructions to start with and thought you were asking for our favourite Christmas carrot. Which thinking about it wouldn’t make much sense, would it?
Anyway, my favourite Christmas carol is O Little Town of Bethlehem 🙂
Little Donkey 🙂 x
Has to be “O little town of Bethlehem” – sang the 2nd verse with my best friend in the school carol service when I was 8 – love to hear it sung!
Silent Night
little donkey
We wish you a merry christmas
let it snow xx
Jingle bells 🙂
my favorite is little donkey i remember crying every year we sang it lol
Away in a manger, Love to hear my children singing but this is my favourite 🙂
i adore silent night
I would say my favourite is Silent night as it seems to be such a meaningful song for Christmas x
I love all Christmas carols. But ‘In the bleak midwinter’, the version by Harold Darke, is my absolute favourite.
Mines Silent Night and My sons is when santa got stuck up the chimmney
My favourite carol is Silent Night although I also like In the Bleak Mid Winter too.
We had a Playmobile advent calender last year for the first time last year and my son loved it. He will never go back to a chocolate one again now!
Silent Night
Little Donkey
When Santa got stuck up the chimney
As Joseph was a Walking – i love it x
Is ‘Grandma got run over by a reindeer’ a Xmas carol? It’s my favourite.
Oh Holy Night.
Away in a Manger and my little ones have started singing it already lol
I love Silent Night, always sends a little shiver down my spine, a beautiful song
Little Donkey is our favourite
O Little town of Bethlehem
mine has to be away in a manger 🙂
It has to be Jingle Bells! x
silent night
Silent Night
I like singing Christmas carols and I think my favourite is Ding Dong Merrily on high as its so happy!
In the bleak midwinter for me, mostly for the last verse.
away in a manger always takes me back to my childhood
Oh Holy Night is my favourite,first heard when watching Home Alone for the first time,when I was a child. I’m not proud. 😉 x
Good king wenslas
o little town of Bethlehem
The Holly and the Ivy
I love ‘Once in Royal David’s City’, especially if there is a soloist on the first verse.
silent night
My favourite Christmas carol is Silent Night.
Hark the herald angels sing
the holly and the Ivy
Frosty the Snowman
12 Days Of Christmas
Silent Night
I love away in a Manger
Good King Wenceslas
Good King Wenceslass, it’s very jolly and carol singer-y 🙂
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
Silent Night
Hark the Herald Angels 🙂
Silent Night!
oh little town of bethelem
Does frosty the snowman count?
Away in a manger – when little children sing it I challenge anybody not to well up!
Silent Night……..so evocative
O’ Holy Night is just beautiful.
Carol of the bells x
Hark the Herald Angels Sing!
Silent Night
Oh come oh come Emmaneul
Good King Wenceslas!
God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen
silent night allways brings a tear to my eye
Once in Royal David’s City
I love singing Jingle bells with my children! Is that even a christmas carol? Not sure 🙂
Silent Night
A classic – God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen
silent night
Silent Night
Little Donkey
Little Donkey, love it.
little donkey
“I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Little town of Bethlehem
Little Donkey as it reminds me of my Nan
silent night
Frosty the snowman!
Once in Royal David’s City – David is my Dad’s name 🙂
away in a manger xx
when i hear the kids singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas, it just makes it feel so Christmasie!!!! Love it!!!
Away in a manger
GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN
I love the upbeat Calypso Carol.
That’s a tough one. As you asked for a carol rather than a song, I will have to say Silent Night.
Little donkey!
The First Noel
O come O ye faithful
Silent night is my favourite. I want to go carolling now 🙂
Silent Night is my favourite Christmas carol x
12 Days Of Christmas
Silent Night
Jingle bells
O come all ye faithful
Silent Night – gives me goosebumps
Away in a manger, of course!
Away in a manger
little donkey
Jingle bells! My son sings/hums it constantly lol
Mine is Hark the Herals angels sing, although it should probably be jingle bells seeing as my daughter sings it ALL year long! 🙂
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” – this has been my favorite since hearing my children sing this at preschool.
Away In A Manger
Silent Night
Hark! the herald angels sing
silent night
Jingle bells
I love Little Donkey always reminds me of school nativity 🙂
silent night
I like Once in Royal David’s City 🙂
the holly and the ivy
silent night
Jingle bells 🙂
O Holy Night
Frosty the Snowman!
mine is silent night
silent night
My favourite is O Little Town of Bethlehem
Ding dong merrily on high. I had this at my wedding.
I love Silent Night (although we are a bit partial to Dominic the Donkey! 😉
I like Hark the Herald Angels Sing.
Away in a Manger as it is one of the first ones I learnt at primary school
Little Donkey
Away in a manger
Away in a manger
Silent Night
I love the Frank Sinatra version of the Santa Claus is coming to town
Silent Night
Silent Night
Silent Night
Little Donkey, only because of the memories of our school plays.
Silent Night
Jingle bells
I love silent night, not that I get many of those with 5 year twins and an 8 month baby!!
It’s gotta be White Christmas absolutely love it!
But if that doesn’t count as a Carol then Silent Night!
Silent Night
Deck the Halls
Away In A Manger
Little Donky
Silent night
‘I Saw Three Ships’ as it’s jolly!
Silent Night
oh little town of bethlehem
Silent night
Silent Night
silent night
little donkey 🙂
Silent night a beautiful Christmas carol
Silent Night
once in royal david’s city
The Sussex Carol it reminds me of the Tailor of Gloucester
It’s always been Silent Night x
We Wish you a Merry Christmas
Has to be “Once in Royal David’s City” but my 3 year old who is currently learning songs for her Christmas concert would say “Jingles Bells” – who is Jingle ?
Oh Holy Night
Away In A Manger
Little Donkey 🙂
See him lying on a bed of straw
O holy night
Jingle bells!
O little town of Bethlehem
The Holly and the Ivy
O Come All Ye Faithful.
Away In A Manger such a beautiful song xoxox
I have quite fond memories of singing Once in Royal David’s City as a child in school.
A Spaceman went Travelling
The Holly and the Ivy A lovely carol
Silent Night
Silent Night for me- it epitomises everything about the traditional Christmas
Silent Night 🙂
Little Donkey
I love Hark the Herald
Away in a manger
I love Little Donkey!
Away in a manger ..love it grown up singing it at xmas time
Once in Royal David’s City
Little Donkey evokes wonderful childhood Christmas memories.
In the bleak mid winter
I just love the Calypso Carol – sends me right back to primary school. See him lying on a bed of straw…….
Silent Night <3 x
Away in a manger
In the Bleak Midwinter …..that’s going to be stuck in my head all day now!
silent night, always has been since i sang it as a solo at school 🙂
Jingle Bells, it’s such a jolly one 🙂
Good King Wenceslas
Jingle bells is ace
Not sure it’s really a Christmas Carol but I love We wish you a Merry Christmas as it’s one of very few I can do in British Sign Language.
Silent night 🙂 it’s so beautiful
We have lots of favourites but when I read the question the 1st xmas song that popped in my head was ”Xmas pudding, xmas pudding, really hot, really hot, sprinkle it with sgar, sprinkle it with sugar, eat the lot, eat the lot”. When you hear this every day for a year, it really sticks in your brain lol!
Silent night
I want it! My 4 year old would love this, I’ve been eyeing them up for ages as we love play mobil so much xx
Oh, and my favourite Christmas carol is rocking around the Christmas tree – I like the lively songs xx
Silent Night
Ive always loved Little donkey
O Come All Ye Faithful
Silent Night
Away in the Manger, as its probably the one I have the earliest memories of
silent night
I really like ‘Three Ships’. I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas Day in the morning!!.
Silent Night
We Three Kings of Orient Are is my favourite Christmas Carol
silent night always sends a shiver of Christmas excitement thru me x
Hark the herald angels sing
Little donkey. X
O come all ye faithful
Away in a Manger
Silent night
silent night
The 12 days of Christmas x
away in a manger
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Love anything that’s christmasy but think i would have to choose In the Bleak Midwinter.
Away in a Manger
away in a manger
O little town of Bethlehem
Silent Night
silent night
Silent Night
Away in a manger
Away in a Manger, I think this was one of the first Carols I remember learning at infant school.
Away in a manger
silent night
O Come All Ye Faithful
Mr Blobby’s Christmas song of course!
Hark The Herald Angels Sing
Silent Night
Santa clause is coming to town
My favourite carol is The First Noel
Once in a Royal David City
Away in a manger
Little Donkey
oh christmas tree 🙂 always sing it while putting the tree up, usually to stop me from shouting at it when it wont sit how i want it to 😀
The holly and the ivy
Away in a manger
O come all Ye Faithful
Kel x
O little Town of Bethlehem is my favourite
Silent night 🙂
Deck the halls
Silent Night for me too 🙂
So many great ones but probably Away in a Manger especially if children are singing it!
silent night
silent night
silent night x
Silent Night
Away in a Manger
silent night
ding dong merrily on high 🙂
Silent Night
Little Donkey
Silent Night
silent night is my fav
We wish you a merry Christmas.
Deck The Halls
I like Hark the Herald Angels Sing, but would pick Little Donkey if singing myself!
Away In A Manger.
I love to hear the little ones singing it, but it makes me cry every time
Silent Night 🙂 x
Silent Night
Little donkey, little donkey, on the dusty road 🙂
My favourite christmas carol has to be Away In A Manger 🙂 xx