Playmobil North Pole Advent Calendar (72226)

Playmobil North Pole Advent Calendar 2026 (72226): building Santa’s post office one door at a time

The Playmobil North Pole Advent Calendar 2026 spends its 24 doors building a single scene: Father Christmas’s post office at the top of the world. Behind door one you might find a sorting elf, behind another the reindeer’s harness, and by 24 December the whole thing stands up as a play set. Two elves sort the letters, Santa clips on his skis, the reindeer waits by the sled. It’s a proper Playmobil build, over 90 pieces, an advent calendar for children aged 4 and up, girls and boys alike.

Playmobil is about acting out a story

A Playmobil calendar hands over a figure, a bit of scenery and a reason to make up a story, which is what sets this toy advent calendar apart from a chocolate one. Two touches carry that idea further this year. There’s a foldable paper diorama that props up as a backdrop, so the post office has somewhere to sit; and a Santa-topper pen that, stood over the counter, lets a child write a real letter to Father Christmas on the greetings card in the box. The figures are standard Playmobil scale, so they slot straight into a farm, a fire station or whatever set is already on the shelf.

Contents and value

Twenty-four doors, one growing scene. The build breaks down like this:

• 4 figures: Father Christmas, two elves and a child
• 2 animals: a reindeer and a mouse
• a full post office: sorting table, sorting boxes, letterbox, letters, postcards, stamp and a clear display stand
• a loadable sled with harness, two pairs of skis, ski poles and a snowboard
• festive extras: gift sack and presents, hay, wheelbarrow, hats, football, toy car, game controller, teddy bear and more

What keeps it going past Boxing Day isn’t the piece count, it’s the animated functions: Santa skis down the slope, the sled loads up with presents, the reindeer raises and lowers its head. Those small moving parts give a four-year-old something to do with the set in January, which is the real test of a toy calendar. Playmobil doesn’t publish a content value for the box, and with over 90 small pieces the honest note is that this sits at the entry-to-mid-range end of the toy calendars, a build for a child more than a collector’s showpiece.

The door-by-door breakdown sits in the SPOILER tab.

Where it sits in Playmobil’s 2026 line-up

There’s no earlier North Pole box to compare it against: this is a new theme for the 2026 season, so the fair comparison is the range it launches with. Playmobil put out three fresh advent calendars this year, a Dino Expedition set and a Fire Rescue Operation set alongside this one. Where those two lean on a single big idea, dinosaurs or a rescue, the North Pole box is the most Christmas-specific of the three. That’s its strength through December and its limit afterwards: the dino and rescue sets fold back into everyday play more easily once the tree is down.

My verdict on the 2026 edition

What wins me over is that the box does more than count down. The paper diorama and the letter-writing pen turn 24 doors into a small ritual a child takes part in, writing a letter, standing the scene up, not simply unwrapping a piece and moving on. The animated skiing and the loadable sled are the parts that will still get used once the tree comes down, which is exactly what I want from a toy calendar.

Where it gives me pause is the theme. This is North Pole through and through, so it rejoins the toy box far less readily than a Playmobil farm or building site once the season is over. And with over 90 small pieces, a stamp and a mouse are easy to lose: I’d have a storage box ready before December is out. Fans of Playmobil’s Christmas sets will take to it quickly; anyone after a set that plays all year round should look at the range’s everyday themes instead.

My honest read: ‘the pen and the diorama are what make this one worth picking over a plain countdown calendar’.

The Playmobil idea, small figures and open play

Playmobil has built its name since 1974 on the 7.5cm figure with movable arms and a fixed smile, sold as open-ended play with no screen tie-in. This Playmobil Christmas advent calendar follows that idea rather than a licence.

Because every figure and accessory is standard scale, the calendar isn’t a closed one-off: the elves and the reindeer join a collection that’s already on the shelf. That’s the through-line from the brand to the box, a Christmas scene that doesn’t stay boxed away.

Practical information and where to buy

The Playmobil North Pole Advent Calendar suits ages 4 and up, needs no complicated assembly, and its figures work with other Playmobil sets. Compare offers at the top of this page, and browse more toy advent calendars if you’re weighing it against another build.