Remember, an advent calendar isn’t just for Christmas. OH WAIT, it is! And this year, British preschool TV channel CBeebies has a digital alternative* to the usual choc-fest cardboard countdowns.

It’s launched a new advent calendar section in its CBeebies Playtime app, which is available here in the UK. It’ll feature a new, interactive surprise every day leading up to Christmas.

“Behind each of the 25 windows seasonal mini games are waiting to be discovered such as; shaking the snow from Tee and Mo to see them laugh and giggle, helping Peter Rabbit and friends to round up all the Christmas gifts, decorating the tree with Topsy and Tim and lots, lots more,” explained the Beeb’s Elizabeth Leadbetter in a blog post.

“We wanted to give children something new and engaging to experience in the Playtime app for Christmas, and an Advent Calendar was ideal to create a fun and magical experience that allows children to delight in the anticipation, and excitement of this time of year.”

And there’s more good news too: Leadbetter writes that there are two new additions coming “soon” to CBeebies’ other app, CBeebies Storytime, which launched earlier this year with a collection of six tales. The seventh and eighth will be based on Peter Rabbit, and Sarah and Duck. Quack!

CBeebies Playtime is a free download for iPhone and iPad, Android or Windows Phone. Meanwhile, CBeebies Storytime is also free for iPhone and iPad and Android.

*Yeah, good luck with getting away with giving your kids a non-chocolate, digital only advent calendar. Perhaps a better word would be a ‘complement’, rather than alternative…