Funny Advent Calendars: Christmas Vacation, Home Alone and Die Hard

Most funny advent calendars are built on Christmas comedies. JAKKS Pacific makes a National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation calendar of 24 tiny figures, Insight Editions made an official Home Alone pop-up calendar, and a wooden Die Hard tower lets Hans Gruber fall a little further each day. Pick the movie the person quotes every December.

Funny advent calendars compared

The calendars below are humor through film and TV rather than gag jokes. Most are collectibles or decorations rather than candy, so they last past December and can come out again next year.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation calendars

Christmas Vacation fans have the most choice. JAKKS Pacific added a Christmas Vacation calendar to its holiday range in fall 2023, according to The Toy Book. It has 24 windows holding 1-inch figures and pieces that build one more figure, and pop-up diorama pieces set the scene as December goes on. The Toy Book listed it for ages 4 and up.

PureWow described a different version in 2022: a Griswold house made of MDF, an engineered wood board, with an LED backing that lights it up and hidden numbered doors to fill for 25 days. PureWow gave its size as 23 inches wide and 17 inches tall.

Home Alone and Die Hard calendars

Home Alone. Insight Editions published Home Alone: The Official AAAAAAdvent Calendar in September 2021. Bibliophile Books describes a 13-inch pop-up tree across a double-page spread, 24 doors holding keepsakes to decorate it, and a booklet of harmless pranks inspired by the film. Some listings count 25 paper ornaments instead, so check the description on the one you buy.

Die Hard. Mental Floss covered a wooden calendar by Daniel Brandt of Brandt Builds in 2022, shaped like the Nakatomi Plaza tower. Over 25 days, a Hans Gruber figure drops a little further down the building. Mental Floss said it stands 11 inches tall and is made of birch plywood. It is a small maker’s product, so stock comes and goes.

TV comedy calendars: The Office

Funko made a Pocket Pop! advent calendar for The Office in 2021, with 24 small vinyl figures of characters such as Dwight and Jim. ToyWiz lists it as out of stock, so it sells mainly on resale sites. Check the year and the figure list on any resale listing, since Funko has made many calendars in the same box style. For a fan who likes solving things as much as laughing, our puzzle and game calendar guide covers mystery and escape room calendars.

Buying a past funny calendar on eBay

Several of these calendars are past releases: the Home Alone pop-up calendar came out in 2021, and The Office Pocket Pop! calendar is out of stock at ToyWiz. Resale listings are often the only way to find them. Before you buy:

• Look for a sealed box in the photos, since a figure calendar with opened doors may be missing pieces.
• Check the version. Christmas Vacation calendars come from more than one maker, so match the photos to the one you want.
• Ask about the box condition if it will be a display piece, because crushed corners show on a pop-up or house calendar.

How to make your own funny advent calendar

A homemade calendar lets you aim the jokes at one person. Ideas that work:

1. A quote a day. Print a line from their favorite Christmas movie on each door, with a small treat behind it.
2. Inside jokes. Fill the doors with items that call back family stories, like the burnt cookie or the lost car keys.
3. A slow reveal. Hide one part of a bigger gift each day, so the punch line arrives on day 24.

Our advent calendar filler ideas list small gifts by size, and our reusable advent calendar guide covers drawers and pockets to fill.

Picking a funny calendar for the right person

Funny calendars land best when the joke is one the person already tells. A few checks help:

• Match the movie, not the genre. A Home Alone fan may not care about Christmas Vacation, so pick the film they quote, not just “a Christmas comedy”.
• Decide between display and play. The Christmas Vacation figures and the Home Alone pop-up tree build a scene to leave out, while the Die Hard tower is a single piece that changes a little each day.
• Check the space. A figure calendar fits on a shelf, but the Christmas Vacation house is nearly two feet wide, so measure first.

More calendars for grown-ups

For grown-up calendars by hobby, see our advent calendars for adults. Character socks make another lighthearted pick, covered in our sock advent calendar guide, and every type is in the best advent calendars of 2026.