Making the calendar your own
- Give the calendar a title, such as your family name or the name of a class. Without one it prints as Advent Calendar.
- Open Ideas for each day and go through the 24 lines. Keep what fits, change what doesn't, and empty a line if you want to write that day by hand.
- Pick the pages: the calendar to color in, the cut-out cards, or both. On the calendar, the doors can show the idea or only a big number, in mixed order or from 1 to 24.
- Choose your paper and colors, download the PDF and print it at 100 % or actual size.
Choosing ideas that fit your December
Lay the calendar next to your own plans before you print. Busy days, such as a school concert, a work party or a travel day, are a good place for the shortest ideas: a song, a story, a drawing. Save the ideas that take an afternoon, like baking or a long walk, for weekends and days off.
Most of the ideas we filled in need little more than what is already in the house: paper, scissors, blankets, a flashlight. If a day asks for something special, such as icing for cookies or a pine cone, write it on your shopping list early.
Ways to use the cut-out cards
The cards print twelve to a page, framed by dashed lines, with the number and the date on top. Cut them out and keep them in order, then pick one way to reveal them:
- Fold each card and put it in a small envelope with the number on the front.
- Hang them with clothespins on a string, number side out.
- Put them in a jar or a box and take out the card for the day each morning.
- Tape them face down to the matching doors of the printed calendar, so lifting the card reveals the door.
With Numbers only on the calendar page, the doors keep the surprise: the idea is on the card, and the door is colored in once the day is done.
Printing tips
Print at 100 % or actual size so the doors and cards keep their shape. Thicker paper makes cards that stand up to little hands; check in your printer's settings which paper weight it takes. If you want to go easy on color ink, pick black and grey; the doors still leave plenty to color in. Cut the cards with scissors or a paper trimmer along the dashed lines; the gap between the lines and the text leaves room for a slightly crooked cut.
Tools for the countdown
The countdown timer counts the days, hours and minutes to a date you pick and can be shared as a link, so relatives far away can count along. When several children want to open today's door, the random name picker draws one name fairly from your list. If you prefer to pick the day's idea at random, type a few into the wheel spinner and spin. For the bingo day, the bingo card generator prints custom word bingo cards with a caller sheet.
Frequently asked questions
Is the advent calendar free?
Yes. Print it every year, for your own family, a classroom or a group, as often as you like. There is no signup and no watermark; one small line at the bottom of each page names our website.
Can I write my own ideas?
Yes. Open Ideas for each day and change any of the 24 lines; each one can be up to 80 characters. Reset brings back our ideas, and Clear all empties every line. A day without text prints with blank lines, so you can also fill in the doors and cards by hand.
What is the difference between the calendar and the cards?
The calendar is one page with 24 numbered doors, to color in or cross off as the days go by. The cards are two pages with twelve cards each, one per day, to cut out and open one at a time. Print both, or only the part you need.
Why are the numbers mixed up?
In mixed order, finding today's number becomes part of the fun. Choose 1 to 24 under Door order if you want the doors in a row from the first to the last. The cards are always printed in order, which makes them easy to sort after cutting.
Why are some characters missing from my ideas?
The PDF uses a standard font that covers English and most Western European letters, but no emoji and no other scripts such as Greek, Cyrillic or Chinese. Those characters are left out, a few rare accented letters lose the accent, and a note under the fields tells you when that happens. The preview shows the text exactly as it will print.
Should I print on Letter or A4?
Use the paper that is in your printer. The page starts on US Letter when your browser is set to US or Canadian English or Canadian French, and on A4 for every other language, and you can switch before you download. A4 is a little taller, so the doors and cards get a little taller too.