Free Printable Advent Calendars for Kids: Countdown to Christmas

How to use the advent printables

An advent calendar turns the weeks before Christmas into a daily surprise. Everything here prints on US Letter or A4 paper and counts from December 1 to Christmas Day (day 25). It has no religious pictures or text, so it works for any family or class that counts down to Christmas.

1. Choose one main calendar: a poster to color, the doors, the pockets or the paper chain.
2. Add the cards: put one activity card or kindness card in each pocket, envelope or door.
3. Use the number tags on small bags, boxes or stockings if you like to fill them with small gifts.
4. Keep it small: a sticker, a note, a coin, a raisin box, a tiny toy or a "hug coupon" is enough.
5. Count down together: start on December 1 and finish on December 24 or 25.

Printing and cutting tips

Print at 100% (Actual size), not "Fit to page". The cut-and-open doors only line up if both pages are printed at the same scale. Use US Letter in the United States and Canada and A4 almost everywhere else.

• Paper: plain paper is fine for the posters and the paper chain. Use thicker paper or cardstock for tags, cards, pockets and the doors' picture page.
• Margins: posters and cut sheets keep at least 0.25 inch (6 mm) of white around everything, so most home printers will not cut off the edges.
• Sizes of the cut-out items: number tags are 2 inches round, paper chain strips are 1 x 9.7 inches, pocket fronts are 3.3 x 2.7 inches plus 0.25 inch glue tabs, activity and kindness cards are 3.2 x 2.2 inches (they fit inside the pockets), coloring cards are 3.6 x 3.1 inches and the doors are about 1.5 x 1.1 inches.
• Cutting and folding are best with an adult nearby for younger children. Pocket fronts hold flat cards and notes; chunky treats will not fit.

Ideas for filling calendars without lots of sweets

• A sticker, a temporary tattoo or a small eraser
• A note with a joke, a compliment or a family memory
• A "Today we will..." activity card or a kindness card from this set
• A short Christmas story or poem to read at bedtime
• A coupon such as "stay up 10 minutes later" or "pick tonight's movie"

Classroom ideas

• Hang the tree poster and let one helper color the day's ornament each morning.
• Use the kindness cards as a class countdown: read one aloud each day.
• Use the paper chain as a countdown to winter break and tear off one link each day.
• Use the draw-a-day page as a quiet early-finisher activity.

Age and difficulty guide

This is general guidance. Every child is different, so choose what suits yours.

• Ages 3 to 5: coloring posters, mini coloring cards, number tags and activity cards (read aloud).
• Ages 5 to 8: open-the-doors and pocket calendars (cutting and folding with help), the paper chain, draw-a-day and the gratitude journal.