Christmas Countdown
See exactly how long is left until Christmas Day in your own time zone: a live days, hours, minutes and seconds countdown, plus sleeps, weeks and weekdays to go, with gentle falling snow.
Countdown to Christmas Day
Christmas
Merry Christmas!
Today is Christmas Day. Enjoy every minute of it.
Counts down to midnight at the start of 25 December in your own time zone ().
How to use the Christmas Countdown
- Open the page: the countdown starts at once and ticks every second using your device's clock and time zone.
- Check the numbers below the clock: sleeps (nights) until Christmas, weeks, weekdays and Saturdays left.
- Share the excitement: press Copy countdown text to copy a ready-made message, or Copy link to send this page.
- Switch the snow on or off with the Falling snow checkbox. Your choice is remembered on this device.
- Come back on 25 December for a Merry Christmas message. From 26 December the countdown starts again for next year.
Christmas Day dates for the coming years
| Year | Christmas Day | Christmas Eve | Boxing Day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Friday 25 December | Thursday 24 December | Saturday 26 December |
| 2027 | Saturday 25 December | Friday 24 December | Sunday 26 December |
| 2028 | Monday 25 December | Sunday 24 December | Tuesday 26 December |
| 2029 | Tuesday 25 December | Monday 24 December | Wednesday 26 December |
| 2030 | Wednesday 25 December | Tuesday 24 December | Thursday 26 December |
| 2031 | Thursday 25 December | Wednesday 24 December | Friday 26 December |
How the Christmas countdown is worked out
The target is midnight at the start of 25 December in your device's time zone. The time left is the difference between that moment and the current time, split into whole days (86,400 seconds each), then hours, minutes and seconds. Because it uses real elapsed time, a daylight saving change between now and Christmas is handled correctly: the countdown simply includes the extra or missing hour.
- Sleeps = calendar days from today's date to 25 December. On 20 December there are 5 sleeps left.
- Weeks = sleeps ÷ 7. 45 sleeps is 6 weeks and 3 days, or 6.4 weeks.
- Weekdays to go = Monday to Friday dates from tomorrow to 24 December.
- From 26 December the countdown automatically switches to next year's Christmas.
Christmas countdown milestones
| Milestone | Days before Christmas | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 100 days to go | 100 | 16 September |
| Halloween | 55 | 31 October |
| Start of December | 24 | 1 December |
| One week to go | 7 | 18 December |
| Winter solstice (Northern Hemisphere, usually) | 4 | 21 December |
| Christmas Eve | 1 | 24 December |
Frequently asked questions
How many days until Christmas?
The countdown at the top of this page shows the exact number of days, hours, minutes and seconds until midnight at the start of 25 December in your time zone. It updates every second, so the answer is always current.
How many sleeps until Christmas?
Sleeps are the number of nights left, which is the number of calendar days from today to 25 December. On Christmas Eve there is 1 sleep to go. The Sleeps until Christmas box shows today's number.
What time does the countdown end?
It reaches zero at 00:00 (midnight) on 25 December in the time zone set on your device, so people in different countries see Christmas arrive at different moments.
What day of the week is Christmas this year?
In 2026 Christmas Day falls on a Friday. In 2027 it falls on a Saturday and in 2028 on a Monday. The Christmas falls on box always shows the weekday for the Christmas being counted down to.
What does weekdays to go mean?
It counts the Monday to Friday days from tomorrow up to and including Christmas Eve. It is a handy guide to the working or school days left, although it does not know about public holidays or school breaks.
Why is the snow not moving?
If your device is set to reduce motion, the snow starts switched off. You can turn it on with the Falling snow checkbox. The animation also pauses when the tab is hidden to save battery.