Advent Calendar
A simple calendar plugin to show a list of 24 days before christmas. Each day can be viewed automatically on the current date after it got published.
Consider an alternative
Advent Calendar shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 100+ sites, is rated 4.2/5 and was last updated 4 years ago, and scores 34/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (100+ active installs)
- No update in 3 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.1 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & supportDaily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Advent Calendar stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| advent | #7 |
| calendar | >100 |
| christmas | >100 |
| flexible | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.2 from 5 reviews
About Advent Calendar
From the official readme · v1.0.4Description
This plugin easily outputs an advent calendar for your chosen year (e.g. 2013).
In the current version one entry consits of a title and a featured image, that’s all!
Therefore the plugin provides the following functionality:
- A custom post type called “Advent calendar entry”
- A bulk creation utility to create 24 Advent calendar entries with one click. Each one is automatically scheduled
for 1. – 24.12. - A shortcode which outputs an Advent calendar overview. You can use it with [advent-calendar year=”xxxx”], i.e
for 2013 it would be [advent-calendar year=”2013″] - As long as an Advent calendar entry is not published the entry will not be clickable in the Advent calendar overview.
After automatically publishing (make sure your WordPress virtual cron is running probapbly) the entry will be clickable
and viewable.
Fits perfect for any website to release exclusive picture content on the 24 days before christmas.
Installation
- Install the plugin.
- Activate the plugin.
- Use the bulk creation tool to create the Advent calendar entries.
- Set a featured image for each Advent calendar entry.
- Use the shortcode “[advent-calendar]” to output the Advent calendar overview.
Frequently asked questions
Defaults
Yeb, you are right, by default the Advent calender post type only provides a “title” and a “featured image”. If you want to extend it, read further 😉
Advent Calender Post Type Customization
Advent calender post type customization via the provided “pvb_acal_cpt_params” hook. The following example will extend the advent calender post type with the common post WordPress content / editor box. Youh can use the hook in your themes “functions.php” or in a plugin like function acal_change_post_type_params( $custom_post_type_params ) { $custom_post_type_params[‘supports’] = array( ‘title’, ‘editor’, ‘thumbnail’ ); return $custom_post_type_params; } add_filter( ‘pvb_acal_cpt_params’, ‘acal_change_post_type_params’ );
Single Advent Calender Template / View Customization
If you want to use a custom template for a single advent calender entry (the “detail view”) copy “wp-content/plugins/advent-calendar/public/views/single-advent-calendar-entry-custom.php” to your theme folder, i.e. “wp-content/themes/YOUR-THEME/single-advent-calendar-entry-custom.php”.
Changelog
1.0.5
- Provide “pvb_acal_cpt_params” hook to enable flexible “3rd party” customization of the advent calendar post type. For
example: Now it is easy to add the normal “content” section (editor) to an advent calender entry - Provide further customization possibilities by loading a custom single advent calender entry template if present,
the plugin checks for ‘single-advent-calendar-entry-custom.php’ in the folder of your active theme under
wp-content/themes.
1.0.2
- Increase overall theme compatibility: Remove specific twentythirteen functions in “public/views/single-advent-calendar-entry.php”.
- Improve installation instructions.
1.0.1
- Fixed misspelled “calender” to “calendar” everywhere.
- Improve text in README.
1.0.0
- Initial release.
Screenshots
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best Advent Calendar alternatives
All advent plugins →| Rank | Plugin | Active installs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Super Advent Calendar
Add a super flexible advent calendar to your website for festive giveaways or counting down…
|
300+ |
FAQ
Advent Calendar: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 19, 2026
Is Advent Calendar free?
Yes. Advent Calendar is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Advent Calendar safe to use in 2026?
Advent Calendar shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 100+ sites, is rated 4.2/5 and was last updated 4 years ago, and scores 34/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Advent Calendar?
Advent Calendar is active on 100+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 15,252 times since it launched in November 2013. It was downloaded 199 times in the last 30 days.
Does Advent Calendar work with WordPress 7.1?
Advent Calendar is officially tested up to WordPress 6.1.15, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Advent Calendar last updated?
The latest version, 1.0.4, was released on November 29, 2022 (4 years ago).
Who makes Advent Calendar?
Advent Calendar is developed and maintained by Paul Vincent Beigang.
What are the best alternatives to Advent Calendar?
The most popular alternatives to Advent Calendar are Super Advent Calendar (300+ installs).
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