How many days until Christmas?

Christmas Day 2026 is Friday, December 25. The clock below shows how many days until Christmas, plus the hours, minutes, seconds, weeks and sleeps, counting down to midnight on Christmas morning in your own time zone. Tap Christmas Eve if your family opens presents the night before, and the whole countdown switches to December 24.

Updated by the Frugal Santa elves

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Christmas Day 2026 is Friday, December 25.

Every Friday before Christmas 2026 is a whole number of weeks away.

How much of the year has gone by.

When is Christmas this year?

Christmas Day is always December 25. In 2026 it falls on a Friday, and Christmas Eve is Thursday, December 24. The countdown above runs to 12:00 a.m. on December 25 in the time zone your device uses, so it reaches zero at the moment Christmas morning starts where you are. December 25 is the 359th day of 2026, with six days of the year left after it. Christmas Day is a federal holiday in the United States, so a Friday Christmas makes a three-day weekend for many workers.

Most churches in the West, and most countries, keep Christmas on December 25. Many Orthodox churches still follow the older Julian calendar for church holidays, so their Christmas falls on January 7. In the Western church year, the four Sundays of Advent lead up to Christmas, and in 2026 Advent begins on Sunday, November 29.

YearChristmas EveChristmas Day
2026Thursday, Dec 24Friday, Dec 25
2027Friday, Dec 24Saturday, Dec 25
2028Sunday, Dec 24Monday, Dec 25
2029Monday, Dec 24Tuesday, Dec 25
2030Tuesday, Dec 24Wednesday, Dec 25
The North Pole village at night under green northern lights, with snowy cottages, the red toy workshop and elves carrying presents
The North Pole on a snowy night, a few sleeps before Christmas.

How many weeks until Christmas?

Divide the days left by seven. The weeks line under the clock does it for you and keeps the leftover days, so it might read "9 weeks and 4 days." It counts calendar days, the same way as the sleeps, so it ticks over at midnight where you are. In 2026, Christmas falls on a Friday, so every Friday before it is a whole number of weeks away: Friday, October 16 is exactly 10 weeks before Christmas, and Friday, December 18 is exactly one. Halloween leaves 7 weeks and 6 days. Thanksgiving, on Thursday, November 26, leaves 4 weeks and 1 day, and Advent begins on Sunday, November 29, with 3 weeks and 5 days to go. The table has the count from the first of each month and from the big dates in between, handy for planning when to mail a letter to Santa.

An elf on a wooden ladder tucks a small wrapped present into one of four red knit stockings hanging from a mantel over a crackling stone fireplace, with candy canes hooked along the mantel and a toy train on top
The stockings go up, one week at a time.
Date in 2026Days leftWeeks left
Tuesday, September 111516 weeks and 3 days
Thursday, October 18512 weeks and 1 day
Friday, October 167010 weeks
Saturday, October 31 Halloween557 weeks and 6 days
Sunday, November 1547 weeks and 5 days
Thursday, November 26 Thanksgiving294 weeks and 1 day
Sunday, November 29 Advent begins263 weeks and 5 days
Tuesday, December 1243 weeks and 3 days
Friday, December 1871 week
Thursday, December 24 Christmas Eve11 day

How many sleeps until Christmas?

A sleep is one night in bed. Count the nights between tonight and Christmas morning and you have the sleeps. Before Christmas Eve, the number of sleeps is the same as the number of days left on the calendar: on December 24 there is one sleep to go, and on December 23 there are two. On December 1 there are 24 sleeps, and many Advent calendars start that day, with one little door for each morning.

Younger kids often find sleeps easier than days. A number like 70 days is hard to picture; "70 more bedtimes" is something they can tick off. Some families make a paper chain with one link for each sleep and tear one off every night, or open one door of an Advent calendar each morning. The sleeps line under the clock changes at midnight, so it always matches the number of bedtimes left.

Things to do while you wait

Two children in striped pajamas kneel by a decorated Christmas tree in the morning sun, one unwrapping a toy train and one hugging a toy reindeer, with a puppy in a red bow beside open presents
Zero sleeps to go: Christmas morning.

Put this countdown on your own site

Teachers, bloggers and families can add the countdown to any web page for free. Copy this code into your page. It shows the days until Christmas and updates by itself.

Christmas countdown questions

How many days until Christmas Eve?

One day fewer than until Christmas. Tap Christmas Eve above the clock and every number, from days to weeks to sleeps, counts down to midnight on December 24 instead. In 2026, Christmas Eve is Thursday.

Does the countdown use my time zone?

Yes. It reads the clock on your phone or computer, so it hits zero at midnight on December 25 where you are, not at a fixed time somewhere else.

Is Christmas always on December 25?

For most people, yes. Many Orthodox churches celebrate Christmas on January 7 because they use the Julian calendar for church dates.

What happens after Christmas?

On December 25 the countdown says it's Christmas. From December 26 it starts counting to next Christmas.

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