What this calculator does
How many days until Christmas is one of the most searched countdown questions of the year, and the answer changes every single day between Boxing Day and the next 25 December. This calculator works it out from today by default, or from any starting date you choose, so the count is always right for the day you are actually asking on.
The figure moves daily: check again tomorrow and how many more days until Christmas will be one lower, unless today happens to be 25 December itself, in which case the countdown simply resets and starts counting down to next year’s instead. There is no need to remember what day of the week Christmas falls on either, since that is worked out alongside the day count.
The formula
The calculator finds 25 December in the same year as your starting date. If that date has already passed, it moves the target to 25 December the following year instead, then counts the whole days between the two.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Starting date | The date the countdown is measured from, defaulting to today. |
| Target | The next 25 December on or after the starting date. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Starting date | The date to count from. Leave it on today for the live countdown, or pick another date to check the count for that day. |
When to use it
Planning shopping and shipping deadlines
Knowing the exact day count left makes it easier to work backwards from postal cut-off dates or a personal shopping deadline.
Building a countdown for a website or classroom
A daily-updating day count is a common small feature for a seasonal page or a classroom countdown chart; this calculator gives the exact figure for any date without having to work it out by hand.
Settling an argument about how many days to Christmas
The count includes the day of the week Christmas falls on for that year, which is often the second thing people want to know once the number of days is settled.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
How the countdown changes as the starting date moves through the year
The same calculation run from a series of starting dates spaced through the year.
| Starting date | Days until Christmas | Christmas falls on a |
|---|---|---|
| today | 134 | Friday |
| today+30 | 104 | Friday |
| today+60 | 74 | Friday |
| today+90 | 44 | Friday |
| today+120 | 14 | Friday |
| today+150 | 349 | Saturday |
Questions
How many days until Christmas this year?
That depends on today’s date, which is exactly what this calculator works out: leave the starting date on today and the figure updates automatically for whichever day you load the page.
How many days to Christmas if I check after 25 December?
The calculator automatically points at next year’s 25 December instead, so the count keeps making sense even in the days right after Christmas has passed.
Does the count include today?
No. The figure is the number of whole days between the starting date and 25 December, so it reaches zero on Christmas Day itself rather than the day before.
Can I use this for a different date, not just Christmas?
For any other target date, the countdown calculator works the same way but lets you pick the target date and time yourself.
For a countdown to any date and time, not just Christmas, see the countdown calculator. To count the days between two dates you choose yourself, use the days between dates calculator.