Free printable · December 2026
The printable advent checklist: 24 films.
One a night.
Every door of our advent calendar on one sheet: a family film for each night from 1 to 24 December, its certificate and a box to tick.
The advent checklist December 2026
One film a night, 1 to 24 December. Tick the box once you’ve watched it. Skip a night or swap a film: it’s a plan, not homework.
- 1Dec December
Elf UK certificate Parental Guidance
Elf does the difficult thing: it is sincere without being sickly, and it holds up on the fifteenth watch.
- 2Dec December
The Polar Express UK certificate Universal
The animation divides people — the faces sit in a valley some find eerie and others never notice — and where…
- 3Dec December
Nativity! UK certificate Universal
Largely improvised, frequently shambolic, and far warmer than it has any business being.
- 4Dec December
The Santa Clause UK certificate Universal
A surprisingly cold premise handled warmly: a man is conscripted by a contract he never read, and the film…
- 5Dec December
Home Alone UK certificate Parental Guidance
The premise is a child's daydream — the empty house, the freedom, the shopping — and the film is smart…
- 6Dec December
White Christmas UK certificate Universal
The cosiest film on the list and the least plotted.
- 7Dec December
Jingle All the Way UK certificate Parental Guidance
A film about the specific horror of Christmas Eve shopping, which is a better subject than it usually gets…
- 8Dec December
Arthur Christmas UK certificate Parental Guidance
Aardman doing Christmas at scale, and the scale is the joke: a military-grade delivery operation with a…
- 9Dec December
Scrooge UK certificate Universal
The definitive one, and it is not close.
- 10Dec December
Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger! UK certificate Universal
The sequel does what sequels of this kind do: more plot, more shouting, and rather less of the loose charm…
- 11Dec December
Fred Claus UK certificate Parental Guidance
A broad studio comedy that spends most of its running time on a sibling grudge and only occasionally on…
- 12Dec December
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York UK certificate Parental Guidance
The same film again in a bigger city, which works better than it has any right to.
- 13Dec December
Miracle on 34th Street UK certificate Universal
The case for believing, argued in a courtroom, and it still holds.
- 14Dec December
The Grinch UK certificate Universal
The gentlest of the screen versions and the one most interested in why he is like that.
- 15Dec December
Meet Me in St. Louis UK certificate Universal
Not really a Christmas film, and here because its Christmas section is one of the great sequences in the form.
- 16Dec December
Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey?! UK certificate Universal
The third one, and the formula has thinned.
- 17Dec December
A Christmas Carol UK certificate Parental Guidance
The Dickens that goes hardest on the ghost story.
- 18Dec December
Gremlins UK certificate 12
Two films in one, and it never pretends otherwise.
- 19Dec December
Scrooged UK certificate Parental Guidance
The angriest Carol and, when it lands, the funniest.
- 20Dec December
It's a Wonderful Life UK certificate Universal
Darker than its reputation, which is exactly why it still works.
- 21Dec December
The Holiday UK certificate 12A
A cottage fantasy first and a romance second, and it knows it.
- 22Dec December
The Santa Clause 2 UK certificate Universal
A sequel that knows its premise is thinner and leans on the silliness instead.
- 23Dec December
The Muppet Christmas Carol UK certificate Universal
The best Carol on film, and it is not close.
- 24Dec December
The Snowman UK certificate Universal
Twenty-six wordless minutes that do more than most features manage in two hours.
Every film here is a U, PG, 12 or 12A. Not every film suits every child: each film’s page has our family notes.
cineclaus.com/advent-checklist
How the list is chosen
These are the films behind the doors of our advent calendar, in the same order. Every one has a family certificate. If a door’s own film isn’t available, the sheet shows the stand-in the calendar would show.
The sheet reads in black and white and prints on two pages of A4. No sign-up needed.
Want a short email a week from November, with what to watch and whether the kids can join? Meet Saturday Matinée.