Christmas Countdown for Mac: How to Keep Christmas Visible

A Christmas countdown only works if you actually see it. Checking a website once in November is easy to forget; a number you glance at every day builds the anticipation (and reminds you about the shopping). Here are the ways to keep one visible on a Mac, from free built-in options to a dedicated app.

1. Pin the Christmas countdown in your browser

The quickest option is a web countdown that stays open. Our Christmas countdown shows the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until December 25 in your time zone, and it rolls over to next year on its own, so the same bookmark works every year.

• Safari: open the countdown, then choose Window › Pin Tab. Pinned tabs sit at the left of the tab bar in every Safari window.
• Chrome: right-click the tab and choose Pin.

Good for: zero setup. Not so good for: it’s only visible when your browser is in front, and closing the window takes it with it.

2. Add the countdown to your Dock as a web app

On macOS Sonoma and later, Safari can turn any page into a separate web app. Open the Christmas countdown in Safari and choose File › Add to Dock. It opens in its own window, with its own Dock icon, and you can leave it running beside your work.

Good for: a proper window you can size and place. Not so good for: it’s still a window, so it gets covered by everything else you open.

3. Use a desktop widget

Since macOS Sonoma you can put widgets directly on the desktop: right-click the desktop and choose Edit Widgets. Apple doesn’t include a dedicated countdown widget, but you have two options:

• Calendar widget: add Christmas as an all-day event and the widget will show it when it’s among your upcoming events. It shows the event, not the number of days left.
• Third-party widgets: search the Mac App Store for “countdown widget”. If you have an iPhone countdown widget app, macOS Sonoma can also show iPhone widgets on your Mac (turn on Use iPhone widgets in System Settings › Desktop & Dock).

Good for: a clean, always-there number. Not so good for: desktop widgets are hidden whenever windows cover the desktop, which for many people is most of the day.

4. Build a Shortcut

The Shortcuts app on Mac can work out the number of days itself. Create a shortcut with a Date action set to December 25, a Get Time Between Dates action from the current date to that date in days, and a Show Result action. In the shortcut’s details you can pin it to the menu bar, so the answer is one click away.

Good for: free, and fun if you like tinkering. Not so good for: you have to click it to see the number, and you’ll need to update the year after Christmas.

5. Put a Christmas countdown in your Mac’s notch

Outside full-screen apps, the menu bar is the one part of a Mac screen that windows never cover. Notchiko (made by us) puts a small character, called a Chiko, by your MacBook’s notch that counts down with you. Christmas is built in and free: open the app and it’s already counting down.

1. Download Notchiko and open it.
2. The Christmas countdown is there straight away. Hover over the notch to see the card with the exact number of days.
3. Want a different character? Open Settings › Chikos and choose from the free Christmas Chikos, Santa and the Reindeer.
4. With Notchiko Lifetime, the Chiko also gets more excited as Christmas gets closer, with seasonal outfits and a celebration on the day.

Notchiko works on Macs without a notch too, as a small floating pill you can place at the top, side, or bottom of the screen. It needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

Good for: always visible without taking up desktop space. Not so good for: the free version includes Christmas plus one other countdown; more countdowns and extra Chikos need a one-time Lifetime purchase.

Which should you choose?

If you just want to check the number now and then, bookmark the Christmas countdown. If you want to see it every time you look up, put it somewhere windows can’t cover.