Twenty-four small surprises, one a day
An advent calendar turns waiting into a ritual: every morning there is one more door to open. Here you fill the doors yourself. Behind each window you can put a heading, a message, a photo from your phone or a link, and send the whole calendar as one short link.
Choose the day the first window opens, how many windows there are (24 for December, 25 for Christmas Day, 31 for a whole month, or any number up to 31 for a countdown to a birthday or a trip) and the time zone. Each window opens at midnight in that zone.
The calendar is a page of its own in your colours, without the Roliq menus. Doors are scrambled like on a printed calendar, today's door glows, and the doors the person has already opened stay open on their phone.
How to make an online advent calendar
Fill the windows, then sign in to get the link.
Write the heading, choose the background, and set the start date, the number of windows and the time zone. Pick a colour for the doors and the numbers.
Open each window in the list and fill it: a heading, a short message, a picture from your device or an https link with its own label.
Sign in and press Create the link. Send it; later you can edit any window, even one that is already open, and see how often the calendar was opened.
What you can change
Every door and what is behind it.
- Heading and optional description
- Background: colour, two-colour gradient or your own picture
- Start date and time zone for midnight openings
- Anywhere from 1 to 31 windows
- Door colour and number colour
- Heading, message, picture and link behind each window
- Doors scrambled like a printed calendar, with today's door highlighted
- Opens and opened windows counted for each link
Where people use it
Any countdown that deserves more than a number.
A December calendar for a partner, with a memory from each month of the year.
A countdown to a holiday, with a packing tip behind every door.
Ten days before a birthday, one compliment a day from the whole family.
A teacher's calendar with a riddle each morning for the class.
A long-distance couple counting down to the day they meet.
A team calendar with a small thank-you to a colleague each day.
How the windows open
Every time the page is opened, the server works out today's date in the calendar's time zone and sends only the windows whose day has come. The others travel as empty doors with a number, so there is nothing to discover in the page code before the right day.
Opening a door swings it aside and shows its contents, with a little confetti. The doors someone has opened are remembered in their browser, so tomorrow they see yesterday's doors still open. Tapping a closed door shows the date it opens.
Good to know
You need an account to create a link, so you can edit or delete the calendar later. Your calendar stays in this browser while you sign in.
Pictures can be JPG, PNG, WebP or GIF up to 2 MB, and links must start with https. Each window holds a heading of up to 80 characters and a message of up to 600.
Calendar pages are not shown in search results. Anyone with the link can open the windows whose day has come, so do not put anything private behind them.
Tips
- Mix the windows: a photo one day, a joke the next, a small plan for the weekend after that.
- Save the biggest surprise for the last window.
- Check the time zone if the person lives somewhere else: midnight is counted where they are.
Advent calendar questions
Does the calendar cost anything?
Yes. Making advent calendars and links is free; you only need an account.
Can they open tomorrow's window early?
No. Closed windows are never sent to their browser; a closed door only shows its date.
Does it have to start on 1 December?
No. Pick any start date and from 1 to 31 windows, for example a countdown to a birthday.
Can I change a window after sending the link?
Yes. Edit it in your list of calendars; the link stays the same.
What happens after the last day?
All windows stay open, so the whole calendar can be looked through again.
Will they need an account?
No. Only you need one to create the calendar; they just open the link.