Tomorrow is the first of December. It is time for the advent calendars. In recent years there been various developer related advent calendars. The calendar may offer code challenges, like the Advent of Code, or be content centered like HTMHell.
Why release my list the day before, to give people time to check them out before the challenge drops. Also Advent of Code opens at midnight EST. Most of these start Dec 1 and run 24 days but a few only run 12 days and might start later in the month.
Code Challenge Advents
Advent of Code
The most well known is the Eric Wastl's Advent of Code it will start dropping challenges at midnight EST (UTC-5) on December 1. There is a big change this year. There are only 12 days of puzzles this year. Eric been running this challenge for ten years and needed to reduce stress.
The puzzles are language agnostic. You can solve them in whatever language you want. He has also removed the global leader board but you can share a read only version of your personal leader board. If you want to know why he removed it see the FAQ. But the short version is people were being jerks, so don't be a jerk.
You don't have to solve December 1 before you open December 2. Coders can jump in at any point to solve a problem. There's a story that join the puzzles together.
People will be blogging their solutions. There's a big community that participates, check your community if you want to collaborate or encourage each other.
Advent of Craft
Advent of Craft (2024 repo Daily Katas with a Santa theme. They've announced some changes for 2025. As of writing this post they don't have a 2025 repo posted yet but you can read their announcement on LinkedIn
Advent JS
- JavaScript or TypeScript challenges
- Available in English & Spanish
- Editor and tests in the same platform
Debug December
Debug December 24 Debugging challenges with a chance to win some Yeti items or a Playstation 5. To qualify for the day 3 raffle, participants must complete all 3 challenges. For the day 6 raffle, all 6 challenges must be completed, and so on for subsequent raffles.
SANS Holiday Hack Challenge
The SANS Holiday Hack Challenge offers FREE, high-quality, and super fun hands-on cybersecurity challenges designed for all skill levels.
Content Advents
These don't have a daily challenge but they have daily education in the form of articles or videos.
C# Advent
The C# advent gives readers two new C# posts everyday. C# Advent This one goes to the 25th and there's already a list of authors. As of this writing there are a few spots left to claim.
F# Advent
F# advent Blogs about F# written by various developers.
Festive Tech Calendar
A month long event with multiple videos released each day. Looks like at least three a day. The list is at the bottom of the page.Festive Tech.
This year the Festive Tech Calendar Team are raising money for the Beatson Cancer Charity.
HTMHELL
Twenty-four blog posts on topics like security, accessibility, UX, and performance.
HTMHELL Advent
Java Advent
The Java Advent features a new Java article everyday.
Perl
Perl Advent 25 Days of Perl Modules.
Physical Calendar
This one you have to order. PhiHut has a Maker calendar that includes building and programing with microPython. The 12 Projects of Codemas Maker Advent Calendar includes a Raspberry Pi Pico H, Micro-USB cable and breadboard.
Maker Advent Calendar
ArtAdventCalendar Hashtag
On Mastodon people are running a #ArtAdventCalendar hash tag showing what they are making.
How I am Participating
I'll do some code challenges and read many posts but haven't picked one to do every day. A couple I enjoyed doing haven't released 2025 plans yet.
I will be building the LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar and doing my CSS rendition of the figures ugly sweaters.
Join the Fun
Do you know of any more developer related advents? Put them in the comments. I will update as I hear of more.
Will you be participating in any of these challenges? Find some friends and hold each other accountable. Some of the Challenges have built in discussion boards to support the community.
Want to add to an advent?
Follow the people that built these advent Challenges. Some of these blog advents look for writers. Most are closed now so look for those calls for articles next fall. If you're lucky and anyone still has a slot open, go for it.
Good luck!
-$JarvisScript ~solve the challenge.
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