December 1 to 24, 2026
The 24-day Christmas drawing countdown for kids
One small drawing a day from December 1st to Christmas Eve, with a free printable sheet for every day. Each takes about 10 to 25 minutes, and the days get a little harder as Christmas gets closer.
Start gently: trace the smiling candy cane, then color the stripes. Print the sheet
About 10 minutesNow draw one yourself in six small steps. Give it a different face from yesterday’s. Print the sheet
About 15 minutesTry grid drawing: copy the candy cane one square at a time. Print the sheet
About 20 minutesTrace the penguin and give it a hat and scarf in your favorite colors. Print the sheet
About 15 minutesTrace the snowman with his top hat and twig arms, then add falling snow. Bonus: the snowperson page. Print the sheet
About 15 minutesFollow the six steps to draw a snowman face. Bonus: the cute snowman in a bobble hat. Print the sheet
About 15 minutesGive the snowman a face. Happy, sleepy or silly? Bonus for grid fans: the snowman grid. Print the sheet
About 15 minutesMake a gingerbread person of your own: a face, icing and buttons. Then draw them a candy house. Print the sheet
About 20 minutesCopy the gingerbread man square by square. Compare him with day 8. Print the sheet
About 25 minutesTrace the smiling Christmas tree and light up every bulb in a different color. Print the sheet
About 15 minutesDecorate the bare tree: every ornament gets a different pattern. Print the sheet
About 15 minutesCopy the Christmas tree square by square, then add presents underneath. Print the sheet
About 25 minutesTrace the reindeer, then choose the color of its nose and write its name on the collar. Print the sheet
About 15 minutesDraw an elf with curly shoes. Give it striped stockings. Print the sheet
About 20 minutesCopy the smiling present square by square, then invent your own wrapping paper. Print the sheet
About 20 minutesDraw a happy mug of hot cocoa with marshmallows and steam. Print the sheet
About 15 minutesDecember 21 is the longest night. Copy the cozy teddy bear grid. Bonus for older kids: the Christmas yeti. Print the sheet
About 25 minutesDesign your own stocking and fill it with the toys you hope for, ready for Christmas Eve. Print the sheet
About 15 minutesCopy Santa’s face square by square. Compare it with your Santa from day 14. Print the sheet
About 25 minutesInvent your own Christmas character on the blank grid and leave it out for Santa. Print the sheet
About 20 minutesHow to run it
- Print the 24-day PDF at the start of December, or print each day’s sheet as you go.
- Pin the wall calendar up and color in a door each day.
- Keep a folder or a shoebox for the drawings, so you can look back at them on Christmas Eve.
- Missed a day? Double up, or skip it. It is meant to be fun, not homework.
- Siblings of different ages can share a day: the youngest traces while older ones draw or do the grid.
Teachers: the countdown works for a classroom advent calendar too. See the Christmas drawing page for teachers.
Want more?
Each Christmas book has fifty festive activities, enough to keep going long after the countdown ends. Compare the three books or browse 30 Christmas drawing ideas.
Sheets drawn by Kevin CoulstonCartoonist, member of the National Cartoonists Society, and author and illustrator of more than 100 books for kids. About Kevin