… Days Until Christmas

Christmas is … days away. The timer at the top of this page counts down in real time — days, hours, minutes and seconds — so whenever you visit, the number you see is the number that is true. No refreshing old articles, no doing calendar maths on your fingers.

Counting down is half the fun of December. There are … weeks until Christmas, or … sleeps if you are counting with children, who tend to prefer their countdowns in sleeps. Christmas Eve arrives one day sooner, on 24 December, and if presents are still on your list there are … weekday shopping days left to sort them.

A live countdown is also a gentle planning tool. It tells you when to order gifts so they arrive in time, when to book travel before prices climb, and when the supermarket shop really cannot be put off any longer. Check back whenever you like — the count is always current, all year round, and the moment one Christmas passes we start counting to the next.

Below you will find a page for every way of counting: the full-screen timer, the week-by-week view, sleeps for the kids, the Christmas Eve countdown and the shopping-days planner. And for the youngest countdown fans, there is a free, personalised letter from Santa you can make and print in about a minute.