How many days until Christmas: live countdown

Worked example

Say it's Friday, November 13, 2026. Christmas is Friday, December 25, 2026, so the countdown reads 42 days: 6 weeks and 0 days. Of those days, 30 are weekdays and 12 are Saturdays or Sundays. If you have six people to buy for and want gifts bought two weeks early, count back 14 days from Christmas and divide what is left: that is your shopping window, and the weekends inside it are your big shopping days.

Christmas dates for the next few years

Christmas is fixed on December 25, so only the weekday changes. In 2027 it falls on a Saturday, and the Office of Personnel Management's federal holiday schedule lists Friday, December 24 as the observed holiday for federal workers.

Countdown to Christmas 2026 from key dates

The Mondays column counts Mondays still ahead, not counting that day itself.

December countdown to Christmas, day by day

Every date in December 2026 with the days left until Christmas Day and the weekdays (Monday to Friday) left before it. The weekday count starts the day after the date and stops at Christmas Eve, and it does not remove holidays or days off.

Count the days until Christmas in a spreadsheet

In Google Sheets or Excel, =DATE(2026,12,25)-TODAY() returns the days left, and =DATE(2026,12,25)-A1 does the same from any date typed in cell A1. To count weekdays only, use =NETWORKDAYS(TODAY()+1,DATE(2026,12,24)). For hours, multiply the days by 24.

How the countdown works

Christmas Day, December 25, is a federal holiday under 5 U.S.C. 6103. The countdown counts whole calendar days from today to December 25, not including today, using the date on your own device. After Christmas it rolls over to next year. Nothing you type or see here is stored or sent anywhere.

Make the most of the time left

Set a number first with the Christmas budget calculator and our holiday budget guide, then write a Christmas gift list with a limit for each person. Planning the meal? Start with the Christmas dinner menu planner. Looking for things to do while you wait? Try our Christmas activities and advent calendar ideas. For a week-by-week checklist across Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve, use the holiday countdown planner, and if Thanksgiving comes first, the Thanksgiving countdown has the day-by-day plan for that meal.

Christmas without the January bill

Plan every gift and dollar in one evening

The Christmas Budget & Gift Planner keeps your total budget, every person on your list and what you have spent in one place, so you know where you stand before you check out.

• Total budget and category split
• Gift list with a limit for each person
• Running spend tracker and card list

Buy · $4.99See inside

Planning the whole season? Get the Holiday Season Bundle, $15.99 (instead of $25.94 bought separately).

Questions, answered

How many days until Christmas? As of Friday, November 13, 2026, there are 42 days until Christmas, which is on Friday, December 25, 2026. That is 6 weeks and 0 days, including 12 weekend days. The countdown at the top of this page updates itself every time you open it.

What date is Christmas? Christmas Day is always December 25. In 2026 it falls on a Friday, in 2027 on a Saturday and in 2028 on a Monday. Christmas Day is one of the 11 federal holidays listed in 5 U.S.C. 6103. When it lands on a Saturday, as in 2027, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management lists the Friday before (December 24, 2027) as the observed holiday for federal workers; private employers set their own schedules.

How is the Christmas countdown calculated? The countdown takes today's date on your device and counts the calendar days until December 25. Today is not counted and Christmas Day is, so on Christmas Eve it shows 1 day. Once Christmas is over it switches to next year's date. The hours, minutes and seconds count down to midnight at the start of Christmas Day in your own time zone, so it is right wherever you are.

How many sleeps until Christmas? The number of sleeps is the number of nights left before Christmas morning, which is the same as the number of days on the countdown. On Christmas Eve there is 1 sleep left. Kids often find sleeps easier to picture than days, so the panel at the top of this page shows both, and you can copy the line to send to family.

How many weekends are left before Christmas? The countdown shows how many weekend days (Saturdays and Sundays) are left before Christmas. Divide by two for the number of full weekends. Weekends are the best time for the big jobs: shopping the larger gifts, putting up decorations, writing cards and doing a freezer cook-ahead for the holiday week.

How many Mondays are left until Christmas? From Wednesday, November 11, 2026, there are 6 Mondays left before Christmas: November 16, 23 and 30, and December 7, 14 and 21. Using each Monday as a short weekly check-in is an easy way to keep gifts, cards, food and the budget on track without a December rush.

When should I start planning for Christmas? Eight to ten weeks out is a comfortable start for most families, which means late October or early November. Set the budget and the gift list first, because those two decisions shape everything else. Then shop the big gifts, order anything that ships, send cards in early December, and keep the last two weeks for wrapping, groceries and the Christmas dinner plan.

When does Advent start in 2026? Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. In 2026 that is Sunday, November 29, 2026, so Advent calendars that start on December 1 and run to December 24 are counting a slightly different window. Either way, December 1 is the day many families start a daily countdown with kids.

How many days are there between Thanksgiving and Christmas? It depends on the year, because Thanksgiving moves and Christmas does not. In 2026 there are 29 days from Thanksgiving (November 26) to Christmas (December 25). In 2027 there are 30 days, and in 2028, when Thanksgiving falls on November 23, there are 32 days. That window is the main Christmas shopping season.

How much should I budget for Christmas? There is no single right number. Start with what you can pay in cash by January without touching savings, then split it across gifts, food, decorations, travel and the little extras such as cards, postage and wrapping. Our free Christmas budget calculator splits a total for you, and the Christmas Budget and Gift Planner keeps a running total per person so nothing ends up on a card you can't pay off.

Can I put this countdown on my phone or share it? Yes. Bookmark the page or add it to your home screen, and it will show the right number every time you open it. The Copy countdown button copies a short line, such as "Christmas is in 58 days", with a link you can paste into a family group chat or a class newsletter.

✦ Free printable

Plan a cozy December without overspending

A Christmas activities bucket list plus a week-by-week December planner. You'll also get our weekly HomeBase email with simple holiday planning, budgeting and hosting tips.

Email address Email me the Christmas bucket list + December planner

We'll start with a short welcome series, then the weekly email, plus new printables and the occasional sale. Unsubscribe anytime. We never sell your email. Privacy policy.