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The 2021 Christmas Calendar

Looking for a copy of this reading advent calendar? Pop in your email below and it’ll come right to your inbox!

It’s hard to believe that this is the THIRD year of a Christmas Calendar!

All summer, as I’d been thinking about the upcoming holiday season, my dream designer for this year’s calendar was Apryl Stott (I learned who she was after her spectacular debut picture book, Share Some Kindness, Bring Some Light, came out last fall and then I discovered she’d done all the illustrations for our beloved Grandpa Beck games!).

When I finally got up the nerve to ask her if she’d be willing, I was THRILLED when she immediately responded with an enthusiastic yes.

And then when she started sending me drafts? I was even more thrilled.

I love love love this Christmas Calendar so much and I hope you will too!

(P.S. Last year’s Rad Reader Christmas Calendar and the Camp Castle Advent Calendar are also both still available for download here!)

Free Christmas Calendar

Let me tell you a bit about this Christmas Calendar.

  1. It’s 100% free! You can download as many copies as you’d like for your personal use (pop in your email address at the bottom of this post and it’ll come right to your inbox). You’re welcome to pass them out to friends, give them as gifts, offer them at your library or print one for all your grandkids! As long as you’re not selling them, you’re welcome to use it however you’d like!
  2. You can print it at whatever size you’d like! I have a personal preference for the 36×48 engineering print which costs less than $7 to print (instructions for printing engineer prints here).  But it’s also really great at a 24×36 size or in an 18×24. You can even print it on a regular sheet of paper with your home printer!
  3. It’s the most epic coloring project of all time!  Hand over some crayons or pencils or makers and a copy of this advent calendar printable and go to town – there are so many delightful details and it’s so much fun to color. You can color it all at once at the beginning of the month or do a bit every day as you read along!
  4. There is a reading activity every day from December 1 – December 24. Obviously the highlight of this Christmas Calendar is reading daily with your children. At the bottom of the calendar there is a suggested activity for each day. You can do them in any order you’d like and if you need suggestions for books to read, I have general lists and themed lists here, so if you need some suggestions for reindeer books or nativity books or snowman books, I have you covered!

Fun Ways to Use Your Free Christmas Calendar

There is no right or wrong way to use this Christmas Calendar, but here are a few ideas to get you started.

A few suggestions:

Give it as a gift. If you add a new Christmas book to your collection each year roll up a copy of the printable advent calendar and tie it on top! (this also makes a perfect neighbor gift!).

Make one giant copy of the advent coloring calendar and let your children color it on a snow day leading up to December!

Have a coloring party! It’s not just for kids – adults can get in on the fun too. Plus, it’s surprisingly relaxing. Turn on some Christmas music and enjoy the together time. You can make one big one to work on together or print off smaller copies for each person. Bonus points if you pick up some fresh new crayons or pencils.

Use it as wrapping paper for a Christmas book. Or, once your family is done with it, use it to wrap those last few gifts on Christmas Eve – it’s no waste and your child will love seeing their coloring adorning a gift under the tree on Christmas morning!

Use it as holiday decor. This kids advent calendar is so fun and festive it makes for really beautiful holiday decor. Hang it somewhere your whole family can see it and be reminded to make reading a wonderful part of your holiday festivities!

Sign up to get the Advent Coloring Calendar

Ready for a free copy of the advent coloring calendar? Pop your email address in below and it’ll come right to your inbox so you can get printing!

I am SO thrilled with how it turned out and I can’t wait to see your families using it this holiday season.

And if you share it on Instagram, please tag me (@everydayreading) so I can see them out in the real world.

Happy holiday reading!

If you liked this free reading Christmas Calendar, you might like these posts too:

Photos by Heather Mildenstein

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46 Comments

  1. Hi Janssen,
    LOVE the Christmas reading calendar! I’ve put my email in a few times over the past few hours and the email has not come through. I checked spam too. Any ideas what I could be doing wrong?
    Thanks so much!

    Reply

  2. I love your summer reading calendars so I don’t know how I missed these the past two years! So excited to download and starting coloring and reading.

    Reply

  4. Hi Janssen!
    I just sent the reading calendar to be printed at Staples. They called me and asked if I have the copyright permission to print this. Should I just refer them to this blog post? Or is there something else?
    Thanks so much!
    Melody

    Reply

    2. I just loooove this, thank you! Unfortunately i accidentally deleted mine, any chance someone could email it to me again please and thank you!

      Reply

  5. This is so DARLINg and we have been focusing on nature and poetry tea parties as a family this year so this is PERFECT!

    Reply

  6. This calendar has become one of our favorite ways to celebrate advent! We just adore this fun activity! Thank you so so much!

    Reply

  7. Hello! I filled out the subscription. Still no email with calendar. I think I have subscribed several times to your newsletter! lol I don’t know what is happening.

    Reply

  8. Hi Janssen,
    I really LOVE the Christmas reading calendar! I am an English teacher in Taiwan. I will use it as a classroom decoration for Christmas this year.
    Thank you so much!

    Reply

  9. Hello! Sorry to leave a comment again. I filled out the subscription and waited for two days. But Still no email with calendar. I checked spam too. What should I do now? Thank you.

    Reply

    3. Hello! I love the Reading Calendars and Logs. They are beautiful and so engaging. I am looking for an Advent Coloring Calendar. There is mention of one, but I was unable to find it.
      Thank you for sharing your love of literacy with us!

      Reply

  10. Hi. Thank you for these calendars.
    I got a copy of this year’s in my email, but how do I get the old ones? I went to the post you linked and it said to put in my email address – which I did, but I have not received the old calendars. Thanks!

    Reply

  11. I signed up for emails and still haven’t recieved one with the Christmas calendar! This is our third year colouring your calendars! My boys love them!!

    Reply

  14. I’ve done this calendar every year so far, and I think this year’s design is my favorite. I’m having trouble getting the calendar. It’s not showing up in my email.

    Reply

  15. I’m also having troubles getting it. I’ve entered my email a few times but haven’t received it. I think this is my favorite calendar yet! It’s so beautiful and we love this book at our house. Thank you!

    Reply

  16. Hello! I’m having trouble receiving the calendar, I’ve requested it a few times now. Would it be possible to send a copy directly to my email address? Thank you!

    Reply

  17. I can’t believe I haven’t stumbled upon you sooner! Thank you so much for making this! I am so excited to do this with my kiddos. Merry Christmas! 🎄

    Reply

  18. Hi there. This is beautiful. I tried a few times to get this years calendar but no luck. Is there another way I can access it?

    Reply

  20. Hi! I subscribed and I’m receiving your emails (yay!) but haven’t received the calendar. What else should I do?
    Thanks!

    Reply

  21. Hi! I love these advent reading calendars! I was hoping to do one of the older ones and I put my email in a week ago, but didn’t receive anything. Any idea what I am doing wrong?
    Thank you!

    Reply

  22. Hi! First let me start off by saying how much I love love love these holiday calendars. My daughters are now 3 and 5 and I’ve gotten so much tips from you and they now love reading. I just wish I had more time to read myself! ☺️
    I signed up for the Christmas calendars and never got them in my inbox. Can someone please send me a copy please?
    Thank you.

    Reply

  24. Hi there! I filled out the subscription form multiple times and I still haven’t received the email with calendar. Is there anything you can do?

    Reply

  25. I dont understand what a “reading” calendar is. I like the drawings and particukarly the price, but is there a book to go along with them? I just dont know why they are called reading calendars ? ?

    Reply

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