How many days until Christmas? Countdown and ways to count down
Christmas Day 2026 falls on Friday 25 December. Here is how to work out the days, sleeps and hours left from any date, with a table of key dates and ideas for counting down at home.
Christmas Day 2026 falls on Friday 25 December. The number of days left changes every midnight, so instead of a figure that is out of date by tomorrow, this page gives you what stays true: a quick formula, a table of fixed dates with the days, weeks and Saturdays left, and ways to count down at home.
How many days until Christmas: the quick formula
You can work out the days left from any date in three steps:
- Take the number of days left in the current month: the days in the month minus today’s date.
- Add the days in each full month still to come before December: 31 for October, 30 for November.
- Add 25 for December.
From 15 October, for example: 31 minus 15 gives 16, plus 30 for November, plus 25, which makes 71 days. Divide by 7 for weeks: 71 days is 10 weeks and 1 day.
In Excel or Google Sheets, type =DATE(2026,12,25)-TODAY() and format the cell as a number. For a version that moves on to next Christmas once the day has passed, use =DATE(YEAR(TODAY())+(TODAY()>DATE(YEAR(TODAY()),12,25)),12,25)-TODAY().
Days until Christmas 2026 from key dates
The table counts to Christmas Day from dates that do not move. “Saturdays left” counts the Saturdays up to Christmas Eve, including the date itself when it is a Saturday, which is handy for planning shopping trips and visits.
| Date | Occasion | Days left | Weeks and days | Saturdays left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 16 September | 100 days to go | 100 | 14 weeks 2 days | 14 |
| Thursday 1 October | Start of October | 85 | 12 weeks 1 day | 12 |
| Saturday 31 October | Halloween | 55 | 7 weeks 6 days | 8 |
| Thursday 5 November | Bonfire Night | 50 | 7 weeks 1 day | 7 |
| Sunday 22 November | Stir-up Sunday | 33 | 4 weeks 5 days | 4 |
| Friday 27 November | Black Friday | 28 | 4 weeks | 4 |
| Sunday 29 November | Advent Sunday | 26 | 3 weeks 5 days | 3 |
| Monday 30 November | St Andrew’s Day (bank holiday in Scotland) | 25 | 3 weeks 4 days | 3 |
| Tuesday 1 December | First advent calendar door | 24 | 3 weeks 3 days | 3 |
| Sunday 20 December | Fourth Sunday of Advent | 5 | 5 days | 0 |
| Thursday 24 December | Christmas Eve | 1 | 1 day | 0 |
| Friday 25 December | Christmas Day | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bonfire Night is always exactly 50 days before Christmas, and 1 December is always 24 days before, so the days until the first door of your advent calendar are the days until Christmas minus 24. If you are counting working days, 1 to 24 December 2026 holds 18 weekdays. Cards and parcels have their own deadlines: check the last posting dates for Christmas before you plan around the table.
How many sleeps until Christmas?
Sleeps and days give the same number: you count one night for each morning left before Christmas, including the night of Christmas Eve. On 1 December there are 24 sleeps to go, on Christmas Eve there is one, and on Christmas morning the count reaches zero.
How long is it until Christmas exactly?
For hours, subtract one from the days left, multiply by 24, then add the hours left until midnight tonight. At 8pm on 23 December there are 2 days left, so the sum is 24 plus 4: Christmas Day starts in 28 hours. Multiply the hours by 60 to get minutes.
Is Christmas on the 24th or the 25th?
Christmas Day is 25 December, and the 24th is Christmas Eve. In several countries the evening of the 24th is the bigger moment: in Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland, presents are traditionally exchanged then. Some Eastern churches still follow the older Julian calendar, so their Christmas falls on 7 January.
In the UK, Christmas Day and Boxing Day are both bank holidays. In 2026 Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, so the bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
How many days until Christmas in Australia?
The number of days is the same, since Christmas Day is 25 December in Australia too. It arrives earlier, though: the UK is on GMT in December, while several Australian states are on summer daylight saving time.
| City | Time zone in December | Christmas Day starts (UK time, 24 December) |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart | UTC+11 | 1pm |
| Adelaide | UTC+10:30 | 1.30pm |
| Brisbane | UTC+10 | 2pm |
| Darwin | UTC+9:30 | 2.30pm |
| Perth | UTC+8 | 4pm |
Ways to count down to Christmas
These countdowns turn the number into something to open, light, tick or tear off each day:
- An advent calendar: 24 doors from 1 December to Christmas Eve. Our advent calendars range covers chocolate, LEGO, beauty and toy calendars.
- An advent wreath: light one candle on each Sunday of Advent, which in 2026 means 29 November and 6, 13 and 20 December. You can find candle sets in our advent candles and wreaths collection.
- A numbered advent candle, burnt down to the next number each evening.
- A paper chain: one numbered link per day left, and a link comes off each morning.
- A sleeps board: a small chalkboard with the number rubbed out and rewritten at breakfast.
- A December chart with 25 squares to tick off, stuck on the fridge.
- A book countdown: 24 wrapped books, library ones included, with one opened at bedtime.
- A Christmas Eve box as the last “door” on the 24th, with pyjamas, a film or a hot chocolate for the final evening.
For homemade versions you can fill yourself, see our DIY advent calendar ideas.
After Christmas: the countdown to 2027
Christmas Day 2027 falls on a Saturday. On Boxing Day 2026 there are 364 days to go, and on Christmas Day 2026 itself there are 365, since 2027 is not a leap year. The same formula works for next year: days left this month, plus the full months, plus 25.
Frequently asked questions
How many sleeps until Christmas?
Count one sleep for each night left before Christmas morning, which gives the same figure as the days left. On 1 December there are 24 sleeps to go, and on Christmas Eve there is just one.
How many days until Christmas in Australia?
The same number as in the UK, because Christmas Day is 25 December there too. Christmas simply starts earlier: in Sydney it begins at 1pm UK time on 24 December, and in Perth at 4pm.
How long is it to Christmas exactly?
Take the days left, remove one, multiply by 24 and add the hours until tonight’s midnight. At 8pm on 23 December, for example, Christmas morning is 28 hours away, or 1,680 minutes.
Is Christmas on the 24th or 25th?
Christmas Day is 25 December; the 24th is Christmas Eve. In countries such as Germany, Poland and Sweden, presents are traditionally opened on the evening of the 24th, and churches that follow the Julian calendar celebrate on 7 January.
How far is 1 December from today?
Take the number of days until Christmas and subtract 24, because 1 December is always 24 days before Christmas Day. From 15 October 2026, for example, there are 71 days to Christmas and 47 to the first advent calendar door.
When was Jesus’ actual birthday?
The date is unknown: the Gospels tell the nativity story without giving a day. The earliest document to put the birth on 25 December is the Chronograph of 354, in a section historians date to Rome in AD 336.
