The standard. One door a day to Christmas Eve.
24 doorsEditors’ pickWhen do you start a 12-day advent calendar?
A 12-day advent calendar starts on Sunday 13 December and ends on Christmas Eve; if the box has a door 25, start on Monday 14 December. A 24-door calendar starts on 1 December. The Twelve Days of Christmas are something else again: they begin on Christmas Day and run to 5 January.
Every start date for the 2026 season
First door to last
- 24-door advent calendar
- 1 December → 24 December
- 25-door advent calendar
- 1 December → 25 December
Less common. The last door is Christmas morning.
- 12-day calendar, ending Christmas Eve
- Sunday 13 December → 24 December
How most 12-day beauty and spirits boxes are numbered.
- 12-day calendar, ending Christmas Day
- Monday 14 December → 25 December
If the box has a door 25, this is yours.
- The season of Advent (church)
- Sunday 29 November → 24 December
Moves every year. Fourth Sunday before Christmas.
- The Twelve Days of Christmas
- 25 December → 5 January
Begins at Christmas. Twelfth Night, then Epiphany on 6 January.
Christmas Day 2026 falls on a Friday. Where a box and this sheet disagree, follow the box — door numbering is set by the maker, not by the tradition.
Why 12-day calendars confuse everyone
The Twelve Days of Christmas is a real thing with real dates, and it is not a countdown. It starts on Christmas Day and ends on 5 January, Twelfth Night, with Epiphany the following morning. That is where the carol comes from.
Almost no calendar sold as a “12 days of Christmas” box follows it. They are countdowns like any other, just shorter — twelve doors leading up to Christmas rather than twelve days following it. That is why searching for the answer turns up two completely different dates, and why the honest answer is: open the box and read the door numbers. If the highest number is 24, start on Sunday 13 December. If it is 25, start the next day.
Frequently asked questions
When do you start a 12-day advent calendar?
Most 12-day advent calendars are built to finish on Christmas Eve, so you open the first door on 13 December. If yours has a door numbered 25, or the box says it ends on Christmas Day, start on 14 December instead. The numbering on the box always wins over the general rule.
When do you start the 12 Days of Christmas?
The traditional Twelve Days of Christmas begin on Christmas Day, 25 December, and run to 5 January — Twelfth Night — with Epiphany falling on 6 January. This is the opposite of a countdown: it starts at Christmas rather than ending there. Retail calendars sold as "12 days" almost never follow it, which is the single most common source of confusion.
What day do you start a 24-door advent calendar?
1 December, opening one door a day through to 24 December, Christmas Eve. A calendar with 25 doors runs 1–25 December and finishes on Christmas morning.
Does the religious season of Advent start on 1 December?
No. Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, which moves each year — in 2026 it falls on Sunday 29 November. Shop-bought calendars ignore this and start on 1 December regardless, which is why the two dates rarely match.
What if I start an advent calendar late?
Open the doors you have missed in order, one after another, and carry on from today. The doors are numbered as days rather than dated, so nothing is spoiled by catching up — and beauty and food calendars in particular are often bought after 1 December precisely for that reason.
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If it is a twelve-door box you are after, every 12-day advent calendar for 2026 is on one page, priced and rated. If you are still choosing, start with chocolate calendars or beauty calendars, or browse by who it is for — kids, men, women and teenagers. Every calendar we list says how many doors it has.