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With their cute, huggable designs, it’s hardly a surprise that Squishmallows have become such a popular stuffed toy among both children and adults. Fans of these adorable characters will love counting down to the holidays with an Advent calendar that celebrates them, and with many options to choose from, there is sure to be one that appeals to every taste.
The Best Squishmallow Advent Calendars provide a mini Squishmallow character for each day leading up to the holidays. However, you can also find options with Squishmallow-themed beauty products or magnetic ornaments that allow you to resume the calendar year after year to count down to the big day. And while nearly all Advent calendars are designed for celebrating Christmas, you can even find some Squishmallow calendars to count down to Halloween.
At BestReviews, we researched a dozen Squishmallow Advent calendars to help us find the best options. Our favorite, the Squishmallows Micromallows Original 24-Day Plush Advent Calendar, offers 24 Christmas-themed mini plushies, so there’s a new character to open up for each day until Christmas Eve.
Editors’ Favorite
Number of Days: 24 | Surprise Inside: 2.5-inch mini plushies | Holiday: Christmas
The Squishmallows Micromallows Original 24-Day Plush Advent Calendar is sure to delight all Squishmallow fans, children and adults alike. It contains two dozen 2.5-inch mini micro plush characters, so there is one for each day of December, leading up to Christmas Day.
The characters included in this calendar are all holiday-themed, too, for a truly festive experience. Among the adorable mini plushes you receive are Brooke the Polar Bear, Manny the Snowman, Tom the Christmas Tree and Lucille the Seal. You also get Nick and Nicolette, adorable Santa and Mrs.Claus plushies.
The calendar features whimsical Christmas-themed packaging as well. It unfolds from the middle and has a window with the date for each plushie. It makes a lovely pre-holiday gift for children or even the adult Squishmallow fan in your life.
Great value
Number of Days: 13 | Surprise Inside: 2.5-inch mini plushes | Holiday: Halloween
The Squishmallows Micromallows Halloween Countdown Calendar is a nontraditional “Advent” calendar, counting down to Halloween rather than Christmas. It contains 13 2.5-inch mini plushies that are all outfitted for spooky season to help little ones — and adults alike — mark the days until October 31.
The Squishmallow characters feature a mix of costumed animals and spooky items. They include Alva the Coffin, Livingston the Potion, Kyra the Black Cat and Stix the Skeleton. Paige the Pumpkin and Wilma the Witch are other favorites.
This calendar’s packaging is on point, too. It’s decorated with adorable Halloween-inspired artwork and unfolds in the center to reveal the 13 windows that conceal the mini Squishmallows. Marked with a number for each day, you can open them one by one to reveal each new character.
Best Beauty Advent Calendar
Number of Days: 7 | Surprise Inside: Beauty products | Holiday: Christmas
If your Squishmallow collection already has plenty of plushies, the TONYMOLY x Squishmallows Seven-Day Advent Calendar is a fun alternative. This collaboration with skin-care brand TONYMOLY features a sampling of hydrating sheet masks, blemish patches and a plush Cam the Cat headband, all decorated with adorable Squishmallow characters. It contains seven days’ worth of items, too, making it an ideal stocking stuffer.
In addition to advertised products, it also contains a few surprises. Each calendar comes with a hand cream, a bag charm key chain lip gloss and a key chain charm, but there are five hand cream variations, six lip gloss variations and four key chain charm options, so you don’t know which one you’ll receive.
While it has the fewest days among the Squishmallow Advent calendars we considered, it still features adorable holiday-themed packaging. The box opens in the middle and has a window for each of the seven included items.
Best Variety
Number of Days: 24 | Surprise Inside: 1-inch plastic characters | Holiday: Christmas
The Squish-A-Longs Holiday Countdown Calendar offers a slightly different take on the Squishmallows characters. Instead of the usual plush toys, these 1-inch characters are made of squeezable plastic, making them highly durable and easy to clean. The set includes 24 toys, one for each day in December leading up to Christmas, as well as a ring attachment that allows you to wear the mini Squishmallows.
Each of the characters is holiday-themed to help celebrate the season. They include Falala the Pink Fawn, Carrigan the Pink Christmas Tree, Den the Gingerbread Axolotl and Guri the Gnome.
This calendar also stands out for its adorable packaging. It comes in a tree-shaped box that’s perfect for display. Each Squishmallow character has a window with the date on it, allowing you to reveal the toys day by day.
Most Durable
Number of Days: 24 | Surprise Inside: 24 magnetic ornaments | Holiday: Christmas
The Kurt S. Adler 16-Inch Squishmallows Advent Calendar is an ideal option for those who want a Squishmallows Advent calendar that they can use year after year. Made of wood composite and iron, it features a Christmas tree adorned with lights, garland and ornaments. It even has a pile of presents beneath its branches.
To count down to the holiday, though, it includes 24 magnetic ornaments that each mark a day until Christmas. They are adorned with a mix of adorable animals and holiday figures, and kids can add one each day to count down to the holiday.
The calendar is 16 inches tall, so it makes an ideal centerpiece for a mantel or a console table. Its base also features a compartment where you can store the ornaments until it’s time to add them to the tree.
To find the best Squishmallows Advent calendar, we considered customer reviews from multiple online retailers to determine which options best met expectations. In particular, we evaluated how many days the calendar covered, the type of items it included and how collectible the items are. Ultimately, we analyzed a dozen calendars and chose our favorites based on the number and quality of the items, the packaging and presentation and the overall value.
The majority of Squishmallow Advent calendars feature toys that depict popular Squishmallow characters, but they obviously don’t contain full-size Squishmallow toys. Instead, they usually have miniature versions of the characters. These mini versions come in two variations: Micromallows and Squish-A-Longs.
Micromallows are miniature versions of the traditional Squishmallow plushies. They are 2.5 inches tall and made of the same soft plush material as the full-size Squishmallows. Jazwares sells special storage displays for these mini plushes that allow you to showcase the toys from your Advent Calendar.
Squish-A-Longs are also mini versions of the Squishmallow characters, but they are made of squeezable plastic rather than a plush material. They are also smaller than the Micromallows, measuring just 1 inch tall. They are designed for portability and can even be worn with special ring and hat accessories. Jazwares also sells various playsets that fit these mini characters perfectly.
Because they are so small and pose a choking hazard, Squish-A-Longs are only suitable for children ages 6 and up. The larger Micromallows are suitable for children ages 3 and up.
While the Squishmallow Advent calendars that feature disposable packaging and allow you to reveal a new character for each day of the holiday countdown are usually the most popular, some people prefer a magnetic option that can be used year after year. These calendars feature a base with magnetic pieces featuring Squishmallow characters. Each day, you add one of the characters to the base to mark off the days until Christmas.
These calendars are often slightly more expensive than the reveal-style, one-time use calendars. However, the benefit is that you are making a one-time investment for a calendar you can use to count down to the holiday every year. There is no fun element of surprise with these calendars, though, which may disappoint children.
While most reveal-style Squishmallow Advent calendars feature toy surprises, you can also find some that have beauty products. These calendars are a collaboration between Squishmallows and a beauty brand, such as TONYMOLY. Instead of revealing a unique toy for each day of the holiday countdown, these calendars have a beauty product, such as a sheet mask, a lip gloss or a headband. These calendars are an ideal option for older Squishmallows fans, including preteens and teens.
As their name would imply, the majority of Squishmallow Advent calendars follow the tradition of counting down the days until Christmas. However, the brand also offers options that celebrate Halloween. Instead of Christmas and winter-related artwork and characters, these options have a spookier vibe, though they still celebrate the same adorable Squishmallow characters you know and love.
Squishmallows certainly have fans of all ages, but it’s important to consider whether a particular Advent calendar is age-appropriate when buying for children. The Squishmallow toys included in most calendars are miniature versions that may pose a choking hazard for little ones. In particular, be careful with Advent calendars that feature the Squish-A-Long toys — they are only 1-inch tall and may be a choking hazard for children under the age of 6. The Micromallow toys are larger and generally safe for kids over the age of 3.
A seven- or 12-day Squishmallows Advent calendar is usually more affordable than those with longer countdowns. It also allows you to get a later start on your holiday festivities without feeling like you’re spending more than you need. However, the shorter countdown period may not build up as much anticipation for the holiday season. It also means fewer items included, which increases the chance of disappointment.
Squishmallow 24-day Advent Calendars are generally more expensive, but they provide more items and an extended countdown period to get you excited for the holiday. The overall value of the calendar may be greater, too, since the price is divided among all the included items. These calendars also offer a wider variety, increasing the chances that you’ll get items that you genuinely like.
The Squishmallow Advent Calendars are limited-edition products that vary from year to year, making them highly collectible. They usually feature exclusive holiday characters that you can’t purchase on their own, which makes them very appealing to collectors. The Advent Calendars often sell out quickly, too, so their availability is more limited than for the Squishmallow toys in the main line.
A. Squishmallow Advent calendars generally cost between $25 and $70. Prices vary based on the number of days that the calendar covers and the types of items included. Calendars with 24 days’ worth of items are the most expensive, ranging from $50 to $70. However, calendars with fewer days that contain plushies can also be somewhat pricey — these can go for $30 to $50.
A. Study the packaging details for the calendar to look for any obviously misspelled words or typos, and look for the brand listed. Squishmallows are manufactured by Jazwares, LLC, so authentic calendars have the brand and its website on their packaging. While you can usually expect to purchase an authentic Squishmallows calendar from reputable retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target, it’s possible to find fakes on these sites. Compare the images of any calendar you’re considering purchasing on those sites with the photos on the official Squishmallows website to make sure that the colors, designs and characters included are all the same.
Jennifer Blair has covered home, kitchen and lifestyle products for BestReviews since 2017. She has written more than 100 articles on topics like air fryers, robot vacuums, backpacks and more. She doesn’t personally own any Squishmallows but has purchased several for her cousins.
