1FamilyTue, Dec 1 · about 10 min
Hooray, December is here!
Take the silliest photo you can with your family — crossed eyes, reindeer ears, anything goes — and stick it on the fridge where everyone will see it all month.
Free · no sign-up · 56 illustrated activities
Free printable advent calendar for kids, with your child's name
One small adventure behind every door, from December 1 to Christmas: bake, make, give, explore, and a few surprises that only the grown-ups know about. Add your child's name and what they love — every card is written for them.
Emma's advent calendar
Longer activities land on weekends. Don't like one? Tap ↻ Swap on the card.
1Family
2MakeWed, Dec 2 · about 30 min
A Christmas capybara
I know how much you love capybaras, Emma. Let's draw a Christmas capybara together — with a Santa hat, a scarf, or riding a sleigh. Frame the best one!
3CozyThu, Dec 3 · about 30 min
Quiet coloring hour
Put on some Christmas music and color a picture — then hang it on the tree or give it away.
4MakeFri, Dec 4 · about 35 min
Design your own wrapping paper
Stamp or draw on plain paper to make wrapping paper for the presents you give this year.
For the grown-up: Brown paper or the back of old wrapping paper works well; potato halves make great stamps.
5SurpriseSat, Dec 5 · about 15 min
Polish your boots tonight
Clean your boots until they shine and put them by the door or the window. St. Nicholas visits tonight — and he only fills shiny boots!
For the grown-up: Tonight, after bedtime: put a clementine, a chocolate coin and a small treat in the boots.
6MakeSun, Dec 6 · about 40 min
Make an ornament
Make an ornament for the tree — paper, salt dough, pinecones, buttons, whatever you find. Write the year on the back so you'll find it again every Christmas.
7OutsideMon, Dec 7 · about 30 min
A feast for the birds
Roll a pinecone in peanut butter and seeds, hang it on a tree and watch who comes to eat.
8MakeTue, Dec 8 · about 30 min
A card for someone special
Make a Christmas card and give it to anyone you like — a friend, a neighbor, your teacher, the bus driver. You choose!
9PlayWed, Dec 9 · about 30 min
Christmas scavenger hunt
Follow the clues around the house — the last one leads to a surprise!
For the grown-up: The night before: print the scavenger hunt clues and hide them.
10MakeThu, Dec 10 · about 25 min
Snowflakes on the windows
Fold paper, cut, unfold — no two snowflakes are ever the same. Make at least five and stick them on the windows.
For the grown-up: Have paper and child-safe scissors ready.
11CozyFri, Dec 11 · about 20 min
Three wishes for next year
Write or draw three wishes for next year — not things, but adventures: learning to swim, seeing the sea, a sleepover. Keep them until next Christmas.
12MakeSat, Dec 12 · about 40 min
Painted Christmas rocks
Paint smooth rocks into snowmen, Santas and penguins. Hide one outside for someone else to find.
13OutsideSun, Dec 13 · about 45 min
Winter treasure walk
Go for a walk and collect winter treasures — pinecones, a twig with berries, an interesting leaf. Make a little display at home.
14PlayMon, Dec 14 · about 10 min
Seven red things
Find 7 red things at home and line them up. Which one is the reddest?
15OutsideTue, Dec 15 · about 20 min
An ice lantern
Freeze water with berries and leaves in a bowl overnight. Turn it out, put a tea light inside, and put it by the door.
For the grown-up: Needs a freezing night outside or a spot in the freezer; use an LED tea light.
16PlayWed, Dec 16 · about 10 min
Your elf name
Every child at the North Pole has an elf name. Find yours — and one for everyone in the family.
17SurpriseThu, Dec 17 · about 10 min
Are you on the list?
Let's check Santa's Nice List together. Fingers crossed, Emma!
18CozyFri, Dec 18 · about 20 min
Winter story night
Tonight there's a winter fairy tale before bed — pajamas, cocoa and the coziest blanket in the house.
19MakeSat, Dec 19 · about 40 min
Snow in a jar
Make a snow globe from a small jar: a little figure glued to the lid, water, a drop of glycerin and glitter. Shake it — it's snowing!
For the grown-up: Help with the glue and the lid. Glycerin is sold at pharmacies.
20CozySun, Dec 20 · about 45 min
Blanket fort night
Build a blanket fort, bring in fairy lights and a flashlight, and read a winter story inside it.
21SurpriseMon, Dec 21 · about 5 min
Look under your pillow
Something appeared under your pillow in the night. Who could have left it?
For the grown-up: The night before: slip a small treat, a note from the elves or a sticker under the pillow.
22KitchenTue, Dec 22 · about 20 min
Hot cocoa taste test
Make hot cocoa and set up a topping bar — marshmallows, cinnamon, whipped cream, a candy cane stirrer. Rate every mug out of ten.
23MakeWed, Dec 23 · about 25 min
The countdown chain
Make a paper chain with one link for every day left until Christmas. Every morning, tear one off — watch it get shorter!
24FamilyThu, Dec 24 · about 30 min
Santa is on his way!
Follow Santa's sleigh across the world, leave cookies and milk by the tree — and a carrot for Rudolph. Then straight to bed, Emma: he only comes when you're asleep.
For the grown-up: After bedtime: nibble a cookie, leave crumbs, and bite the carrot.
25FamilyFri, Dec 25 · about 10 min
Merry Christmas, Emma!
Give everyone in your family the biggest hug and tell them you love them. Then look under the tree — someone has been here in the night…
The grown-up's cheat sheet
What to prepare, and when. It prints on its own page, so the cards stay a surprise.
- Dec 4: Brown paper or the back of old wrapping paper works well; potato halves make great stamps.
- Dec 5: Tonight, after bedtime: put a clementine, a chocolate coin and a small treat in the boots.
- Dec 9: The night before: print the scavenger hunt clues and hide them.
- Dec 10: Have paper and child-safe scissors ready.
- Dec 15: Needs a freezing night outside or a spot in the freezer; use an LED tea light.
- Dec 19: Help with the glue and the lid. Glycerin is sold at pharmacies.
- Dec 21: The night before: slip a small treat, a note from the elves or a sticker under the pillow.
- Dec 24: After bedtime: nibble a cookie, leave crumbs, and bite the carrot.
Questions
- What is an advent activity calendar?
- Instead of a chocolate behind each door, every day from December 1 to Christmas has a small activity to do together — bake gingerbread, make a card for someone, a blanket fort night, a surprise under the pillow. It turns the countdown into 24 little memories.
- Is it really free?
- Yes. No sign-up, no email and no watermark. Your child's name and details stay in your browser; nothing is sent to us.
- How do I use the printed cards?
- Print, cut along the dashed lines and put one card in each pocket, envelope or box of your advent calendar — or pin them to a string with numbered clothespins. The grown-up's sheet prints on its own page, so the surprises stay secret.
- What if we're busy on weekdays?
- The calendar puts the long activities — baking, movie night, a walk to see the lights — on the weekends of December, and short ones on school days.
- What ages is it for?
- Ages 3 to 12. Pick your child's age and the activities adjust: little ones get simple crafts and treasure hunts, older kids get science experiments, quizzes and kindness missions.