HTML & CSS Basics
HTMHell Advent Calendar
Manuel Matuzović's HTMHell expanded last year's curated links into a full series of original articles. For 2022, 24 authors from around the world contribute pieces covering accessibility, performance, usability, and security — all focused on HTML. The daily posts run through December and are well-suited to anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of the markup that underpins the web.
Follow @htm_hell and @mmatuzo on Twitter for updates.
Start reading the HTMHell Advent Calendar.
SELFHTML Adventskalender (German)
Not every web development question revolves around the newest framework. The SELFHTML team addresses the 24 most common queries from their FAQ in this year's German-language calendar. Expect practical answers to everyday problems that don't always behave as documented, which should make for plenty of light-bulb moments for aspiring developers.
Follow @SELFHTML on Twitter.
Visit the SELFHTML Adventskalender 2022.
CSS And JavaScript Challenges
Advent Of CSS
For hands-on practice, Advent of CSS emails a daily CSS challenge. Each exercise comes with its own starter kit: a Figma design file, style guide, creative brief, and suggested ways to push your solution further. The challenges are free, with the option to purchase solutions if you get stuck.
Amy Dutton, the creator, posts updates on Twitter via @selfteachme.
Advent Of JavaScript
If JavaScript is more your speed, the companion Advent of JavaScript offers the same format: a daily email with a coding challenge, supported by pre-built HTML and CSS so you can focus entirely on the JavaScript. Optional stretch goals help you take each exercise further.
It's run by James Q. Quick (@jamesqquick on Twitter).
Register for Advent of JavaScript.
adventJS
Developer Miguel Ángel Durán brings back adventJS, a long-running challenge that debuted in Spanish in 2015 and is now offered in English too. Expect 24 days of JavaScript puzzles, with one new challenge released each day through Christmas.
Follow @midudev on Twitter for news.
Framework Focus: React And Vue
React Holiday
Michael Chan's React Holiday series returns for its sixth year, devoting 25 days to Next.js 13. The email-based course dives into file-system routing, data-fetching strategies, nested layouts, and the role of suspense in modern React applications.
Chan can be followed on Twitter as @chantastic.
Advent Of Vue
The Advent of Vue calendar is aimed at both newcomers and experienced Vue developers. Each day delivers a holiday-themed puzzle: build a small component or application based on a problem description, screenshots or recordings of the target, and a starter project on Stackblitz to use as a baseline.
Find the project on Twitter as @AdventOfVue.
Community Web Development Calendars
12 Days Of Web
Stephanie Eckles runs 12 Days of Web, a celebration of core web technologies that runs from December 13–24. Each day a new article about HTML, CSS, or JavaScript goes live — no frameworks required. Those who can't wait can browse the 2021 archive for last year's essays.
Eckles posts as @5t3ph on Twitter.
24 Pull Requests
The 24 Pull Requests initiative encourages open-source contributions between December 1–24. Available in twenty languages, the project recently added a contribution form so you can record single-day pieces of work that don't naturally fit the pull-request format. All levels of contribution to open-source are welcome.
Keep up with the project on Twitter at @24PullRequests.
Festive Tech Calendar 2022
Rather than articles or puzzles, the Festive Tech Calendar publishes videos from diverse communities across the globe, every day from December 1 to 31. With over 2,000 YouTube subscribers, the calendar runs multiple tracks daily, so checking the schedule in advance is advised to keep track of all the sessions.
More details are available via the “Festive Tech Calendar” YouTube channel and @_cloudfamily on Twitter.
Bekk Christmas
The Norwegian consultancy Bekk publishes its own advent calendar on Bekk Christmas, with original articles, podcasts, tutorials, listicles, and videos each day until Christmas Eve. The content is produced by employees across disciplines — developers, designers, agile coaches, and consultants. A newsletter option delivers the new material to your inbox daily or weekly.
You can subscribe to their archive as well.
Follow @livetibekk and @selbekk for the latest updates.
24 Ways
Drew McLellan's 24 Ways was a pioneer in the web advent space. Launched in 2005, the site published daily tips and tricks around web development for years. While the project is on an indefinite break after its 2005-era final countdown ended in 2019, the full archive remains a valuable resource online.
You can follow @24ways on Twitter, though the calendar itself is no longer active.
24 Jours De Web (French)
The French community's 24 Jours De Web has run since 2012, and the 2022 edition continues the yearly grind. Every year, 24 authors produce articles covering UX, accessibility, privacy, and other web-related topics, all accessible without charge in French.
Find the project on Twitter at @24joursdeweb.
Accessibility And Performance
A11y Advent Calendar
Kitty Giraudel's accessibility advent calendar originally ran in 2020, publishing a tip a day under the hashtag #A11yAdvent. Even if some advice is widely known by now, many posts cover core accessibility principles that remain relevant. The series, with links and discussions, is still online for reference.
Giraudel posts as @KittyGiraudel on Twitter.
24 Accessibility
The team behind 24 Accessibility hasn't shared new posts since 2019, but the site remains a robust archive. Articles cover digital accessibility from many angles, written for developers, designers, UX professionals, QA analysts, project managers, and others with a stake in inclusive products.
Check out the series on Twitter at @24accessibility.
Web Performance Calendar
PerfPlanet's Web Performance Calendar is an old-timer by web standards, publishing daily since 2009. Each December it gathers pieces on speed, performance tooling, and optimization techniques from contributors across the industry, and the call for submissions is open — so there's room for your own idea too.
Follow @perfplanet and editor Stoyan Stefanov (@stoyanstefanov) on Twitter.
Security-Focused Calendars
For those looking to break into security, Advent of Cyber by TryHackMe offers a beginner-friendly entry point. The calendar pairs a Christmas narrative with daily tasks that break down common security topics into walkthroughs and challenges, with prizes available for participants. Those seeking a more targeted challenge can check out the Code Security Advent Calendar from SonarSource, which posts a daily code puzzle designed to sharpen vulnerability-spotting skills. New challenges are announced on Twitter and Mastodon, and solutions can be discussed in the comments.
Web Components and PWAs
Serhii Kulykov is running a community-driven advent series through Web Components Bookmarks, an evolving collection of guides and resources. The plan is to add substantial new content daily throughout December, with the full collection set to be open-sourced at the end of the month.
For those focused on the web platform, the PWAdvent calendar from 2020 remains a valuable resource. During that year it highlighted a new progressive browser feature each day, with contributions from Nico Martin and other developers. Although it's from a previous season, the archive is worth browsing for insights into progressive web apps.
UX and Storytelling
Lean UXmas returns for another year, having published each advent since 2014. The 2022 edition collects the year's most popular articles on Agile and Lean UX. Previous editions can be accessed by modifying the year in the URL, or via links found on the site's header.
Chiara Aliotta's Storyteller Advent Calendar takes a different approach, focusing on narrative skills. Through her Instagram channel, she shares 24 tips and resources on brand storytelling, strategy, and applying storytelling principles to UX design.
Typography and Design Systems
To highlight the growing independent type design community, Matthias Ott has curated The Independent Type Foundry Advent Calendar. Until December 24th, each day features a different independent foundry along with some of its most notable typefaces.
Dan Mall is offering a different kind of countdown with his Design System Email Course. Though not a traditional calendar, the course consists of 24 email lessons delivered daily, each taking no more than two minutes to read. The content covers core design system premises with examples intended to encourage fresh thinking on the topic.
Design Showcases
The UK agency Made by Shape has returned with It's A Shape Christmas, a digital calendar running since 2011. This year, the countdown features bespoke illustrations built around four shapes—Square, Triangle, Circle, and Hexagon—showcasing favorites from past years.
Several design-specific projects from previous years are also worth revisiting. Designcember, which ran in 2021, was web.dev's celebration of web design, publishing daily UI development tips. It was notably built with CSS container queries and the CQ Polyfill. Another older project, Christmas Experiments, ran from 2012 until 2018 and featured daily WebGL and digital art experiments, though it has since been discontinued.
Programming Calendars
For puzzle enthusiasts, Advent of Code by Eric Wastl stands out. The calendar presents a daily programming puzzle that can be solved in any language, requiring only basic programming knowledge and problem-solving skills to get started. Those fluent in specific languages have several tailored options as well:
- 24 Days in December is a call for PHP community members to share tutorials, opinions, and personal stories about PHP development.
- C# Advent Calendar publishes two daily pieces of content dedicated to C#; while contributor spots are full, a substitute signup is available.
- The Java Advent calendar, running since 2012, posts daily articles on JVM-related topics.
- The Raku Advent calendar marks its 14th consecutive year of posts on metaprogramming, modules, containers, and migrations from Perl.
- The Perl Advent, which began in 2000, is back with daily articles from Perl programmers of varying skill levels.
- Norwegian speakers can tackle the Kodekalender by Knowit, which features daily tasks of varying difficulty with prizes for correct solutions.
CMS and System Administration
WordPress users can follow WPMarmite's Advent Calendar, which reveals a new plugin, theme, or article daily. For the eleventh year, 24 Days In Umbraco is running with daily articles for the "Friendly CMS," along with a daily AI-generated piece of art. The archive from the current year's running is available for those just starting out.
SysAdmins should note that the SysAdvent blog won't publish a new edition this year. However, its extensive archive, built on the principles of sharing and mentoring, continues to hold useful articles for system administration professionals.
The 2022 Lineup Wrapped Up
All of the calendars featured here owe their existence to the designers and developers who volunteer their time to build them every year. Without that community effort, the web industry would have far fewer free, high-quality learning opportunities during the holiday season. If we missed a calendar that deserves attention — including one you built yourself — the comments section is the place to share it so others can discover it too.
Topics: Design & UX, Advent Calendars
