Advent calendars are used to count down the days between December 1st and Christmas Eve. Often shaped like a thick book or plank, advent calendars are typically filled with chocolates or other small gifts that can be revealed as the days are counted. 

Traditional advent calendars were first used in Germany in the 19th century; today novelty advent calendars are most often filled with small chocolates. Increasingly, special niche advent calendars can be purchased. There are wine and beer advent calendars, calendars filled with dinosaur toys, makeup and jewelry, tea, LEGO sets, and much more. 

But there doesn't seem to be a commercially available advent calendar for runners. 

That's ok -- there are plenty of empty DIY advent calendars that can be filled with anything you can imagine. If you're looking to give an advent calendar to a runner friend, here are some ideas to fill those 24 boxes.

Empty Advent Calendar or other means of gathering and wrapping the gifts

First, you'll need a vessel for your collection of advent calendar gifts. There are ready made calendars in the shape of a box, or more unique ways of wrapping the daily gifts -- you can go totally DIY with paper bags, reusable containers, or other options. Below are some empty calendars you can purchase to get started.

Gift Ideas for a Runner Themed Advent Calendar

Since advent calendar boxes or containers are limited in size, look for small gifts. Keep in mind that you don't have to keep up the runner theme for 100% of the daily gifts. Think about your recipient and include things they might like that are not necessarily running related. Here are some ideas for filling those 24 little spaces.

More! More! More Runner Advent Calendar Ideas

Here are some more ideas for filling your runner advent calendar. It's okay to include items like socks or race nutrition on multiple days.

Conclusion

Of course, there are plenty of pre-made advent calendars that would suit many runners, like the aforementioned beer and wine calendars!

I mean, Runner's World came out with a list of advent calendars for runners a while back, and none of them are actually for runners specifically. So you can definitely have fun with your DIY runner advent calendar. Heck, throw a beer or chocolate in there, too!

The supermarket chain Aldi has decreed today, November 3rd, to be Advent Calendar Day. That's because today is the release date for many of their extremely popular calendars, some of which typically sell out on day one (today!). That also makes today the perfect date for posting a list of runner advent calendar gift ideas. :)