It’s no secret that we’re big Playmobil fans round these parts.
I’ve been lucky enough to meet one of the founders of the company on a visit to the Playmobil HQ in Germany, and Flea has been a Playmobil playologist for the last two years, which has involved trying out loads of Playmobil sets. Her top recommendations from 2012 can be found over on her blog, Flea Reads.
This week, we were sent a Playmobil advent calendar.
Now, as it happens, we bought our own Playmobil advent calendar back when Flea was three and we love bringing it out each year. You can get advent calendars from Playmobil with pirate or fairy themes, but we’re old school – our advent calendar allows Flea to build a lovely winter scene over 24 days, featuring cute animals, snow-laden trees, a working music box and Father Christmas himself.
The calendar works in a fairly simple way – you hang a stiff cardboard backing onto the wall, and there are 24 collapsible cardboard boxes that hook onto the backing – each containing one or two small items that can be added to a scene background, which sits comfortably on a shelf in your home. The whole thing is quite sturdy – ours is four years old and still completely intact – but there are a few spare boxes in case of accidents, and you can buy replacement parts, too.
This year, Playmobil sent us a new Christmas scene advent calendar but we’re still very attached to ours, so I’m giving this brand new one away to one of my readers. This set features Santa, an angel, and lots of little woodland creatures. It’s recommended for children aged 4+, because of small parts.
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. 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.
Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About Sally
Sally is a full-time blogger and founder of the Tots100, Trips100, Foodies100 and HIBS100 communities, along with the MAD Blog Awards. She spends a bit too much time on the Internet. She’s also a very happy Mum to Flea, the world’s coolest ten year old.
Silent Night is defo my favourite
Although in some ways it’s terribly twee, I think mine is Away in a Manger – because one of the few things I remember about my grandmother is her singing it to me. I’m still word perfect 😉
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It has to be ‘O Little Town Of Bethlehem’. Always brings back the memories of my school carol service and how I would feel that sense of anticipation and excitement that Christmas was only a few days away. Now I get the same buzz when I take my daughter to her carol service.
I have 2 favourites, The First Noel & Good Christian Men Rejoice
My favourite is Once in Royal David’s City. I love the solo on the first visit.
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Has to be hark the herald angel’s sing
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Oh mine is Away in a Manager for sure! Melts my hear when all the little kiddies sing it 😉
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Mine is Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, so pretty and serene & just makes me feel all Christmassy and happy. I also like all the really high ones which nobody can sing and you all end up trying not too laugh too hard in church with your Nan…
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Mine would have to be “Good King Wenceslas” and a more contemporary one “it was on a starry night”. My daughter’s SN class sing this beautifully (with sign language) every year
I love Christmas carols – my favourite is Once in Royal David’s City xx
Is it wrong that I want to win this for me?! The kids can have the chocolate!!!
My favourite carol is “away in a manger” which I often get quite teary to when listening! Also partial to a bit of “in the bleak mid winter, frost wind may moan” LOVE that line!
Silent Night
Mine is Once in Royal David’s City and Silent Night (but the Welsh Version!)
BNM
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Love away in a manger, can’t wait to start hearing carols, then it will really start to feel like Christmas! ♥
I love we three kings
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Thanks Sally – the calendar looks great but we’ll be sticking to our traditional “build a manger” type nativity calandar too. Whilst the lego, playmobil and other yummy chocolate (Hotel Chocolat one in particualr) ones look fab, paying vast amounts of money just seems silly for a calendar and to me personally, bares little relation to what Christmas is really about. To me a calendar is about counting down to Christmas and enjoying a picture of a pretty bauble, shepherd or angel. It’s about that rush my brother and I used to do down the stairs to see what picture we got today and finding that blasted little door!
Still, looks fun though 🙂
I see your point – I’m not a fan of the themed LEGO advents as – to me – they’re nothing to do with Christmas. But this calendar (and the one we own) is all about Christmas and includes a Father Christmas, an angel, and lots of Christmassy-details – as for ridiculous money, the calendar costs £17, which given ours is about to used for its fifth year makes it pretty good value for money in my book!
I agree re £17 if you can use and re-use year after year, but I know my kids would take the figures out and play with them and the calendar part would be forgotten and most likely not used again. I do like that the Playmobile one is Christmas themed though 🙂
To be fair, you could say that about any advent set – don’t your children want to play with the nativity figures? I do love this set – considering we’ve had it since Flea was 3, and we’ve not lost a single piece or box, and it gets used every year, I think they’re a great buy.
My two LOVE figures – normally character ones though – e.g. Harry Potter figures or little lego ones that they can change the bodies and heads on lol. It’s not the re-using thing that frustrates me (frankly I love to see my two creating games and scenes using their imagination) and I like that the playmobile figures are at least Christmas characters, but it’s the getting a toy a day type thing. It’s unlikely that they would be able to put these figures back into the calendar to take out next year – or am I wrong? Maybe one could put them aside and into a storage type calendar with boxes for each day (?!).
I guess I’m just harking back to my days as a child when just opening the door to see and appreciate the picture was the thrill and trying not to over comercialise it – Christmas = every day treats and more….
Do you know what I mean? Maybe I’m just old fashioned and tight LOL.
silent night love this carol
Good Kings Wenceslas
It’s a tough choice but I’m going with Once in Royal David’s City as I remember that being my favourite to sing as a child.
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My favourite is “Once in Royal David’s City” 🙂
Silent Night
Silent Night or Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Away in a manger. Love it.
It has to be ‘We Three Kings’ purely for the puerile entertainment value of the ‘one in taxi, one in car, one his scooter beeping his hooooooter’ alternative school days version 😉
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Oh come all ye faithful! An oldie but a really good sing along carol!
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we three kings
Little Donkey because it always reminds me of my first school play x
It has to be Silent Night. I love that Christmas carol and can sing it all over Christmas! xx
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My favourite Christmas Carol is Silent Night 🙂
Jingle bells, I like all the different variety’s of it too 🙂
Adeste Fidelis……..aka Oh Come All Ye Faithful
My favourite Christmas Carol is ‘O Holy Night’ (Night Divine) I absolutely love it and always play it at Christmas!! Beautiful song and always makes me feel like it’s truly Christmas when it plays 🙂
Thank you! My little Oscar would LOVE this!! 🙂
@SaladScoffer
Laura Williams
the holly and the ivy
Hark the Herald Angels Sing (I am going to have that in my head for hours now and truly feel CHristmassy!)
Thanks! xx
In The Bleak Midwinter: the school choir used to sing it every winter term at Nine Lessons and Carols. The guy who did the solo always used to have me in tears. Wish I had a copy actually.
Silent night
Hmmm I think I would have to say silent night!
Little Donkey is my favourite christmas song the melody is lovely reminds me of life – got to keep on plonding onwards with your precious load.
Hark the Herald Angels
My favourite carol has to be Oh Come All Ye Faithful. Christmas isn’t complete without a stirring rendition of it, mainly out of tune!
My fav carol is Whilst Shepherds Watch there Flock by Night for 2 reasons…. It’s the only thing that I can play on a piano after my teacher taught it to me be over 30 years ago. I also cannot help but sing whilst shepherds wash their socks instead . Brings out the kid in me every time.
We Wish You A Merry Christmas because it’s the only one I can ever remember the words to.
once in royal davids city
little donkey
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Another vote for Once in Royal David’s City – I sang the first verse in church, although as 10 year olds in needed 3 of us to be loud enough for the solo!
It has to be Little Donkey sung by little children
Silent night
Away in a Manger
i love away in a manger
Good King Wenceslas. Looks a great calandar x
My favourite is We Three Kings.
jingle bells
Little Donkey
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Silent Night
Jingle bells is our favourite 🙂
My all time favourite is ‘O Holy Night’
O Come All Ye Faithful
Am hoping that Fairytale of New York counts as a modern Christmas carol because it’s my favourite!
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I would love to win this for my children, fingers crossed then.
Oh and of course my favourite carol is Little Donkey.
Away in a manger….Remember it as a child and now my children sing it at christmas 🙂
I love Silent Night
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Little donkey is my favourite because I used to sing it as a child and last year I watched my daughter who has severe speech & language disorder sing and sign it in her first big carol concert!
My favourite carol is “O Little Town of Bethlehem”.
I bought a Playmobil advent calendar for the geekdaughter a couple of years ago, but it was clearly an inferior one as it didn’t come with any little boxes and certainly wasn’t reuseable. I like the idea of being able to bring the same calendar out year after year, it’s like setting a new tradition 🙂
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Silent Night
Away in a Manger
Hiya,
I like Silent night while in the church, but Last Christmas, always means time to shop!!
Away in a manger. Ekkk can’t believe its almost Christmas
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Oh come all ye faithful has been my favourite since I learned it in school…
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O Christmas Tree – I learnt it in French in primary school and it just stuck with me. I can still remember all these years later!
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Most Christmas carols bring a tear to my eye for some reason but I love hearing the children sing Away In A Manger – so cute! Awesome giveaway, we absolutely love the Playmobil advent calenders xx
Definitely Away in a Manger. It’s just so simple & melodic and small children get it. Used to sing the John Rutter version at school – beautiful
Away in a Manger, by far my favourite Christmas Carol.
Away in a manger
Silent Night
it has to be Little donkey, listen to my little ones sing it is heartwarming 🙂 especially when my daughter songs “lickle donkey” awww…
Ooooh I don’t know – I love all of them… The solo from Once in Royal David’s City holds memories of chorister days, Calypso carol is quite cool… little children singing Away in a Manger or Little Jesus Sweetly Sleeps always make me cry and I love listening to O Holy Night
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I love little donkey! Reminds me of being at Primary school and all the excitement and magic Christmas brings
My favourite one is Silent Night…or Stille Nacht actually, as I’m German- and a Playmobil addict!:-)
Don’t know who would appreciate this prize more- my kids or I?
silent night!
Good King Wenceslas
I absolutely adore O Come All Ye Faithful and my eldest loves Away in a Manger. Christmas songs are amazing! x
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem – always makes me stop and ponder the holiday season. Brings back memories of Christmas past!!!
Silent Night, love it
Silent Night is my favourite as it;s the only one i can sing in tune for some strange reason lol.
away in a manger, first one I remember singing at primary school
It has to be silent night, that always gives me a Christmas feeling 😀
ROCKING AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE..
Away in a manger.
Mine is ‘Little Donkey’ – happy and sad at the same time. I remember singing it at Primary School and I can’t wait to teach it to my little boy this year 🙂 Ho Ho Ho XX
silent night
Have to be the odd one out here and say I dunno about these things – while Playmobil is good value for money, you look at the Moshi Monster one and the Lego Star Wars and you wonder how many kids are going to be upset that they can’t get the £20 advent calendar.
Or perhaps I’m just a miserable Scot.
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Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the palace garden
Tripped over a brussel sprout
Said ‘I beg your pardon’
He had had a glass or two
And was feeling merry
You would do do the same if you’d
Been drinking all the sherrrrryyyy!
I think this used to do the rounds at school when I was little, and I love it! The idea of tripping over a brussel sprout still cracks me up 😉
Would love this, my favourite Christmas Carol is Good King Wenceslas. Sam x
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Mine is In the Bleak Midwinter. Just gorgeous and never fails to make me blub. Brings back memories of carolling with my junior brass band in motheaten old Victorian outfits (this was in Hebden Bridge – I think the poor kids still have to do it every Christmas).
Good King Wenceslas
It has to be Away In A Manger for me, I used to love singing this in the school plays when I was little. 🙂
Silent Night so lovely
Silent night, my grandad built a stable and it plays silent night still, sorry to say its not here anymore but still lives on in the song
Carol of the Bells if that’s a carol if not O Little Town of Bethlehem
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It came upon a midnight clear – very atmospheric on Christmas Eve.
3 Kings From Persian Lands Afar.
Used to sing this at school in the annual carol concert for the parents.
It’s a beautiful song
In the Bleak Mid Winter. I sing this in a choir and the alto part is very moving.
I love Little Donkey
Away In A Manger , it’s the first one i remember singing at school.
Mistletoe and wine 🙂
Mistletoe and wine (:
Silent night
Once in Royal David’s City for me, it reminds me to being 14 and singing it solo at a concert for 2000 people, ekk!
Mich x
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Silent Night
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Away in a Manger is my favourite
My favourite carol has to be O’ Little Town of Bethlehem – it reminds me of happy school days and the end of term Christmas concert!
I’m not too sure why but mine is In The Bleak Midwinter.
Silent Night
O Come All Ye Faithful – even though I now sing it *properly*, I still have to fight the urge to bellow it out like I did as a kid in Christmas assembly at school – usually getting told off in the process!
Silent Night, I love it traditional 🙂
Oh little town of Bethlehem 🙂
In The Bleak Midwinter
Mine has to be Away in a Manger. I think every child in the UK has been made to sing it at some point in time! Brings back some very fond memories.
Mine is The First Noel , very christmassy and not a traditional christmas song but I’m dreaming of a white christmas – my Grandad and me used to play this as a duet – happy days 🙂
The little drummer boy, from xfms its a cool cool Christmas album, lovely carols rocked up by some very cool bands x
Mine is Little Donkey, I love it so much I hum it year round, crazy but true!
little donkey reminds me of the nativity play at school
I love Once in Royal David’s City- so simple and lovely- to be honest I love all carols though!
The drummer boy song is my favourite.
Silent Night 🙂 always sing it to my kids when they can’t get to sleep 🙂
O come all ye Faithful – Triumphant! The verses and the chorus are equally strong and everyone is able to sing, sing, sing with out wondering slightly on tune or words too much.
The Holly and the Ivy
O’ Holy Night…… always gives me goosebumps especially if young children are singing it
Little Donkey, because it is the first one I can remember being sung to me at home and at school. I am looking forward to singing it to my daughter this year – she loves animals and I think she will love this calendar. Talking of donkeys…. I need to check their is one at the Santa’s grotto we have booked to go to – there may not be as it is at a zoo!
little donkey x x x x x
My favourite Christmas Carol is We Three Kings.
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Definitely Silent Night as I am singing it now
In the past, I’ve been called pretentious for liking this but I love the Coventry Carol. No, it’s not one we’ll all be singing, and being based on the story of Herod’s massacre of the innocents, it’s a bit ‘heavy’ for some people. But it’s more than 500 years old. And to me, it’s always felt like a connection with the past, and that’s something Christmas ought to do.
Here’s a link to a Wikipedia page about it, in case anyone’s interested – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry_Carol
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Currently loving Little Donkey, but only when belted out at full volume and completely tunelessly by my son. Makes me giggle.
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I love little donkey , or once in royals davids city .
I love “It was on a Starry Night” – the kids sing it every year at their Carol concert, and it’s fab.
I don’t know if it is classed as a carol or hymn, but Little Donkey is my favourite! I was singing it the first time my baby boy kicked (in october) and it was his get to sleep song anytime of the year!
It has to be ‘Silent Night’ – so sweet and serene.
I nearly put “Andy Carroll” (sorry – wouldn’t mind him for Christmas lol) but Silent Night is the fav (properly). Good luck to everyone 🙂 😀 x
Away In A Manger
Jingle Bells!
Good King Wenceslas. My little boy, aged 6, took a fancy to it in November last year. He learnt all the verses off by heart and sang it numerous times everyday whilst plonking radomly and loudly on the piano. The obsession lasted well into January!
Away in A Manger as I actually know all the words!!! I think it’s quite a relaxing carol too.
Oh Holy Night
It has to be Oh Come All Ye Faithful. I just love it.
And I expect I will be singing it all day today!
Once in Royal David’s City…
Good King Wencelas, I know all the words!
White Christmas is my favourite 🙂
Silent Night has to be my favourite.
Away in a manger
Silent Night wins my vote. Such a beautiful song!
My favourite has to be O’Holy Night
Away in a manger is my favourite. My son sang this as a solo at his first nativity. He is now 10 and loves his playmiobil
Jingle Bells
Batman smells
Robin flew away
Kojack lost his lollipop
but found a milky way
Mary’s Boy Child
I like Silent Night
In the Bleak Midwinter is probably my favourite but I like most of them, they make Christmas for me as opposed to Christmas songs which ruin it!
once in royal davids city
Mine is Silent Night
Not sure if it counts as a carol but I love “little donkey” but if it doesn’t I love “O come all ye faithful” too
In the Bleak Mid-Winter
Away in a Manger- sends me into floods of tears, especially when song by children at a nativity play.
o christmas tree
SILENT NIGHT
It has to be Hark the Herald, or O Come All Ye Faithful – with the descants, of course!
When Santa got stuck up the chimney
It’s a choice between Away in a Manger and We Three Kings.
I adore ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ and have loved it since I was in infant school. Christina Rossetti is an amazing poet and it always makes me feel a bit weepy.
The Holly and Ivy What a wonderful carol, it reminds of carol singing when we were kids! Something that no longer seems to happen! 🙁
Away in a Manger
Our families favourite Christmas carol is We Three Kings, even if the childrens version can sometimes be different to the original 😉
hark the herald
Silent Night
I *love* Christmas carols… Not sure if Guadete counts as a Christmas carol, but it’s definitely my favourite.. Otherwise, I’m with the innocence of Away in a Manger – particularly now Moo has started singing it!
ding dong merilly on high
gives me the shivers
Frosty the snowman
I love Jingle Bells
Ding Dong merrily on high
Away In A Manger, I shed a little tear whenever the kids sing it
O Come All Ye Faithful x x x
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silent night
Jingle Bells, the slow ones seem sad and Christmas is supposed to be happy and fun
silent night
In the Bleak Mid Winter
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
I love “Deck the Halls” nice and jolly 🙂
Silent night 🙂
Kayleigh Mayhew
silent night!!!!
I love Ding Dong Merrily on High. I can’t sing for toffee but belt this one out pretty mcuh all through the year, much to the digust of everyone I know. 🙂
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It has to be for me O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM i
I love Away in a Manger x
Away in a Manger, I love it! So beautiful and brings back memories of Christmas from when i was a child! x
Partridge in a Pear Treeeeeeeeeee. Is that a carol??
Little Donkey has become my favourite this year as my nearly 4 year old now know all the words. I can’t wait for Christmas so he can sing it for everyone.
Little Donkey – I used to love singing it in the school nativity when I was a child.
Away in a Manager played by the local sally army
The First Noel
Good King Wencles !! I love it 🙂 x
In The Bleak Mid Winter
Silent Night, heartbreakingly simple and brings tears to my eyes (in a good way!) xx
We Three Kings
silent night
Silent night!
Constantly singing & (trying to) harmonise it every Xmas!
Away in a Manger I love hearing the kids signing it at there christmas nativity plays
we wish you a merry christmas
Away in a manager – reminds me of the nativity I was in as a child
My little one is learning Little Donkey, I think it’s a great xmas carol and listening to him sing it makes my heart swell!
My favourite is a little unconventional. When we were children my mum had a cassette (which was then replaced with a CD) with a story on it that was sung, Whoops-A-Daisy Angel. It was about a very clumsy angel and it came out every Christmas for us to listen to on our way to school. I can probably still sing you every word to the main song “Whoops-A-Daisy Angel”.
If I had to choose a conventional song it would be O Little Town Of Bethlehem, my sisters and I often used to put on our own four person nativity on Christmas day, complete with programmes and hymn sheets for the oldies. This is the hymn I always chose to play (badly) on my recorder/clarinet.
Silent night, it reminds me of gentle snow falling on a dark cold night
Away in a manger
My favourite Christmas carol of all time is
‘What Child is this’ sung at the same time as ‘Child of the Poor’ gorgeous.
‘Silent Night’ is truly beautiful. It makes me cry! x
Silent Night – its such a gentle peaceful carol
entered
O Little Town Of Bethlehem’ is my favourite x
It has to holidays are coming better than any Xmas carol
On the first day of Christmas is great even tho is still get them mixed up
My favourite is ‘Oh little town of Bethlehem’ for sure. It reminds me of carol services at school.
I love the Playmobile advent calendar but I am a bit of a stickler for traditional, magical christmas scenes with nativity and Father Christmas. Just found great company for traditional advent calendars and cards- orchardcards.
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, is a massive favourite for me.