โœฆ Advent Calendar 2026 ยท Door 8 ยท 8 December โœฆ

Advent Day 8: The Nutcracker's Midnight March ๐Ÿช–

Today behind door 8: a nutcracker's march and a penalty save. Two free Christmas stories (ages 4โ€“7 and 8โ€“12), a festive game and a daily Christmas fact.

๐Ÿ”’
Door 8 opens on 8 December 2026
46 days 4 hours

Doors open at midnight, UK time. Door 1 is open now as a free preview.

Open door 1 now โ†’

๐Ÿช– The Nutcracker's Midnight March

A toy soldier on the mantlepiece comes alive at midnight on Christmas Eve and must lead the toys in a daring rescue mission.

A sneak peek

Sergeant Cracker had stood on the mantlepiece for eleven months, three weeks, and two days. He was a wooden nutcracker soldier โ€” red jacket, tall black hat, magnificent painted moustache โ€” and he had been perfectly still the entire time. He had watched the family eat breakfast, argue about homework, celebrate birthdays, and burn at least four pieces of toast. โ€ฆ

The whole story opens on 8 December.

โšฝ The Christmas Penalty

It's the last minute of the school Christmas football match, and goalkeeper Kwame must save the crucial penalty to be the hero โ€” or miss and be the villain.

A sneak peek

The score was 2-2 and there were thirty seconds left when Marcus Chen went down in the box. The referee โ€” Mr Patel, who also taught Geography and was enjoying this far more than his students' essays on river erosion โ€” pointed to the spot. โ€ฆ

The whole story opens on 8 December.

โœ๏ธ Today's game: Christmas Anagram

Unscramble the festive words before the clock runs down. Free in your browser, no download or sign-up; works on phones, tablets and classroom whiteboards.

๐Ÿ”’ Opens on 8 December.

๐ŸŽ Picks to go with door 8

โ„น๏ธ These are affiliate links: if you buy something we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.