Is the advent calendar really free?

Yes. There is nothing to buy and no app to install, and nobody needs an account. The doors come by email, and everything in them works in a phone or tablet's browser or on paper.

Door 1 arrives on the morning of December 1. The elf's hello and the fridge calendar come as soon as you sign up, and a short reminder comes on November 30.

Can we join after December 1?

Yes, like a paper calendar you start late: every door so far is open, and one email brings them all, with the missed sheets in one file so you can catch up. The Christmas Eve hunt works whenever you join.

Three to nine. The elf's notes are written to be read aloud, so a three year old can join in with a grown-up, and most doors give a nine year old something to do on their own.

Is the elf a toy I have to move every night?

No. Our elf lives in the emails. Nobody has to move a doll at midnight, and nothing has to be bought for it.

It helps, but most doors don't need one: they happen on a phone or tablet or at the kitchen table. The fridge calendar, the clue cards and the weekend things to make are one page each.

What time do the doors arrive?

Each door is sent at 10 in the morning, UK time. In the US and Canada it is waiting at breakfast, in the UK it comes mid-morning, and in Australia in the evening.

What do you keep, and how do the emails stop?

Your email address, where you signed up and your answer to the news box. Nothing about your child: the name on the fridge calendar is written with a pencil. After door 24 the emails stop by themselves, and every email has a link to unsubscribe in one click.

Free advent calendar · ages 3 to 9

24 Doors: an advent calendar that comes by email

One door every morning from December 1 to 24, from the elf who wrote our Christmas hunt clues.

Behind each door: a short note to read aloud, and five minutes of Christmas to share. A riddle, a joke, something to make, an animal or a snowfall that comes into your room. By Christmas Eve your child has filled a calendar of their own drawings and collected six clue cards for a bedtime hunt.

Get the doors, free

The elf's hello and the fridge calendar come at once. Door 1 opens on December 1.

How it works

A calendar on the fridge, a door in your inbox

1
Sign up with a grown-up's email. The elf's hello comes at once, with a fridge calendar to print.
2
Put the calendar on the fridge. It has 24 empty boxes, one for each morning.
3
Open a door every morning. Five minutes together, a little more at weekends. Then draw what the elf asks for in that day's box.
4
Keep the clue cards. Every fourth door brings one. On Christmas Eve the six cards make a bedtime hunt that ends at the bookshelf.

The fridge calendar: 24 numbered boxes to draw in, and box 24 for the Christmas Eve hunt — The fridge calendar, in US Letter and A4. It comes with the welcome email.

December 2026

The 24 doors

Still shut. School days get a five minute door, the weekends a bigger one, and every fourth door a clue card.

Tue1
Wed2
Thu3
Fri4Clue card
Sat5Weekend
Sun6Weekend
Mon7
Tue8Clue card
Wed9
Thu10
Fri11
Sat12Clue card
Sun13Weekend
Mon14
Tue15
Wed16Clue card
Thu17
Fri18
Sat19Weekend
Sun20Clue card
Mon21
Tue22
Wed23
Thu24The hunt

Behind the doors

No two mornings the same

We keep what is behind each door a surprise. Here is what kinds of things are waiting:

Visitors for your room
An animal, a dinosaur or a snowfall that appears in your room on a phone or tablet.
Riddles and jokes
Rhyming “who am I?” riddles and new Christmas jokes to read aloud.
Things to make
Paper snowflakes, gift tags, a letter to the elf and your own wrapping paper.
Kind missions
Two secret jobs to do for someone else, without being asked.
Games
A dragon times tables level, and a picture hunt for little ones.
Six clue cards
Collect them through December. On Christmas Eve, they make the hunt.

Questions

Grown-ups ask

Want a hunt now? The elf's clues are on our Christmas scavenger hunt page, free to print.

Is the advent calendar really free?: Yes. There is nothing to buy and no app to install, and nobody needs an account. The doors come by email, and everything in them works in a phone or tablet's browser or on paper.
When does it start?: Door 1 arrives on the morning of December 1. The elf's hello and the fridge calendar come as soon as you sign up, and a short reminder comes on November 30.
Can we join after December 1?: Yes, like a paper calendar you start late: every door so far is open, and one email brings them all, with the missed sheets in one file so you can catch up. The Christmas Eve hunt works whenever you join.
What ages is it for?: Three to nine. The elf's notes are written to be read aloud, so a three year old can join in with a grown-up, and most doors give a nine year old something to do on their own.
Is the elf a toy I have to move every night?: No. Our elf lives in the emails. Nobody has to move a doll at midnight, and nothing has to be bought for it.
Do I need a printer?: It helps, but most doors don't need one: they happen on a phone or tablet or at the kitchen table. The fridge calendar, the clue cards and the weekend things to make are one page each.
What time do the doors arrive?: Each door is sent at 10 in the morning, UK time. In the US and Canada it is waiting at breakfast, in the UK it comes mid-morning, and in Australia in the evening.
What do you keep, and how do the emails stop?: Your email address, where you signed up and your answer to the news box. Nothing about your child: the name on the fridge calendar is written with a pencil. After door 24 the emails stop by themselves, and every email has a link to unsubscribe in one click.

The elf is getting the doors ready

One email field, and the fridge calendar is yours today. Made Of You is a small picture book studio: our books step into your room too.

Get the doors