Countdown to a Date
Count down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to any event, with school days left and quick holiday dates.
Holidays
Holiday buttons count down to that day’s next date. School calendars differ by district, so add winter break, spring break, a field trip or the last day of school as a Custom countdown.
Leave blank to count down to the start of the day (12:00 AM). Uses this device’s time zone.
Saved countdowns
Save up to 5 countdowns. They stay in this browser on this device.
Free Countdown to Any Date for the Classroom
Students love asking how many days are left until a field trip, a holiday or the last day of school. This free countdown answers on the big screen: type an event name, pick a date and an optional time, and watch the days, hours, minutes and seconds tick down live. One tap sets New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween or Christmas to its next date, and a school days left count skips weekends. Save up to five countdowns, switch between them, and celebrate with confetti when the day arrives. It runs in any browser with nothing to install and no sign-up.
How to set up a countdown
Pick the event. Tap a holiday button — New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween or Christmas — or press Custom and type an Event name such as Winter break, Field trip or Last day of school.
Set the date and time. Choose the Date, and add a Time if the moment matters, like 3:00 PM for the end of the day. Leave Time blank to count down to the start of the day. The Show school days left switch (on by default) adds the Monday–Friday count.
Show it to the class. Open Classroom Presentation Mode for a full-screen display with the event name and giant numbers, with ads hidden. Use the arrow keys or the arrow buttons to switch between saved countdowns, and press Esc to exit.
Ways to use the Countdown to a Date in class
Build excitement for a field trip
Press Custom, type the trip as the Event name, pick the Date and add the bus departure Time. Put it up during morning meeting in Classroom Presentation Mode so students can watch the days and hours drop, and use it to remind them about permission slips before the count gets low.
Count down to a break or the last day
Add winter break, spring break or the last day of school as a Custom countdown with your own district date. Keep Show school days left switched on for the Monday–Friday count, and remember to subtract any holidays or teacher work days yourself, since the tool only skips weekends.
Holiday countdowns in seconds
Tap Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day or New Year’s Day and the countdown jumps to that holiday’s next date. Save a few of them, then use the arrow keys in Classroom Presentation Mode to flip between them during a class party or a seasonal unit.
Calendar math talks
Show a countdown and ask students to check it: how many weeks and days is that, and why is the school days number smaller than the days number? The weeks line appears once an event is at least seven days away, which makes it easy to talk about dividing by seven.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are school days counted?
School days left counts Monday through Friday from today up to the day before the event, so today counts if it is a weekday. Weekends are skipped, but holidays, breaks and teacher work days are not, because every district’s calendar is different. Subtract any days off yourself.
What happens when the date arrives?
On the day of the event the display switches to “It’s here!” and confetti bursts once. If the sound is on and you have clicked or tapped the countdown at least once, a short fanfare plays too. From the next day on, the countdown shows how many days it has been since the event.
Are my countdowns saved?
Yes. You can save up to five countdowns, and they stay in this browser on this device, so they are still there after a refresh. Press New countdown to add one, the trash button to delete one, and Undo if you delete the wrong one.
Does the countdown use my time zone?
Yes. It uses the clock and time zone of the device it runs on. Days are counted as calendar days, so on a daylight saving time change the extra or missing hour shows up in the hours, and the day count stays right. Leap days are counted too.
Can I switch between several countdowns?
Yes. Save up to five countdowns and tap one in the Saved countdowns list to show it. In Classroom Presentation Mode, press the left and right arrow keys or use the arrow buttons under the display to move between them.
Does the countdown keep going if I close the page?
Nothing runs in the background, but the countdown is worked out from the clock every time the page is open, so it is correct again as soon as you come back. While Classroom Presentation Mode is on, supported devices keep the screen from dimming.