Free Digital Advent Calendar With a Surprise Every Day

The Jen Tried It advent calendar is a free digital advent calendar with 24 doors, one for each day from December 1 to 24. Each door opens at midnight on your own clock and holds a small surprise: holiday printables, party games, gift-giving helpers, a few little tools, and two one-day codes for apps I built. It costs nothing, needs no account, and works on a phone or a computer.

Why I made a digital advent calendar

I’ve always loved advent calendars and the idea of a little gift every day all the way up until the holiday. Most of my childhood memories are from ones with chocolate behind each door, and those were wonderful.

Now there’s an advent calendar for nearly everything, so I love them as an adult too. I try to get one fun one a year and not go too crazy. I went through every door of the Hello Kitty jewelry advent calendar for a review here, earrings and all.

I’d love to make a physical one someday, but I’m not set up for it. A digital one I can make, so here it is.

What’s behind the doors? No spoilers

I’m not naming any doors, since the surprise is half the fun. Here’s the mix you’ll find:

• Gift-giving helpers for the shopping, the wrapping and the returns after
• Holiday printables to fill in, color or hang on the fridge
• Party games for family nights and get-togethers
• A few small tools you save and use in your browser
• Two one-day codes for apps I built

Some doors are useful, and some are just for fun. Even if you don’t use one, there’s a little bit of fun in the reveal itself, and it’s free.

If you’re still sorting out who gets what this year, Admin Arcade has a free holiday gift planner for your budget, a gift stash and order-by dates.

If your crew already does a game night, the party game doors sit nicely next to a card game like Trivia for Everyone, where the expert doesn’t automatically win.

How does the free digital advent calendar work?

• One door opens each day from December 1 to 24, at midnight where you live.
• Missed a day? Earlier doors stay open, so you can catch up.
• You don’t need an account or an email to open a door.
• Printables download as PDFs you can print at home.
• Each open door has a share button, so you can send a friend straight to it.
• The two app codes only work on the day their door opens.

Get a reminder when door 1 opens

Under the stocking on the calendar there’s a box called “Don’t miss a door.” Leave your email there, click the link in the quick confirm email, and you’ll get one more email the day the calendar opens. Check the second box if you’d like a short email each morning when a new door opens, too.

If you’d rather skip email, the buttons under the doors add a daily reminder to Apple, Outlook or Google Calendar instead.

You never need an email to open a door. Still, if you sign up for the reminder or check the box for the Jen Tried It newsletter, it would help me out a lot.

My other three blogs have advent calendars too. Seeding Serendipity has a gentle advent calendar for adults, Admin Arcade has an advent calendar for getting organized, and jen8n has a builder advent calendar with free Claude Code skills. If you’d like to make one of your own, I wrote up how I built these advent calendars on jen8n.

Advent calendar questions

When does the Jen Tried It advent calendar open?

It opens December 1, 2026. Door 1 opens at midnight your time, and one more door opens each day through December 24.

Is this digital advent calendar free?

Yes. Every door is free to open, and you don’t need an account.

Can I open a door I missed?

Yes. Once a door opens, it stays open, so you can catch up on any day you skipped.

Does the advent calendar work on a phone?

Yes. It works on phones, tablets and computers. A printer helps for the doors you’ll want on paper.

Set the reminder or bookmark this page, and come back December 1 to open door 1.