December is here at that means Advent calendar time. Advent calendars count down till Christmas. They often have candy or small toys. I've used a LEGO Advent calendar the past few years. That was my inspiration for my CSS ugly sweater posts.

Some developers wanted to join in on the Advent fun so they have made their own software related advents. You can join them, solve some daily puzzles, and learn something new.

Advent of Code

The most well known is the Eric Wastl's Advent of Code it will start dropping daily challenges at midnight EST December 1. The puzzles are language agnostic. You can solve them in whatever language you want.

There's usually two brain teasers a day you have to solve the first one to unlock the second. But 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.

There's a leaderboard and a subreddit. People will be blogging their solutions as well. There's a big community that participates, check your community if you want to collaborate or encourage each other.

Advent of Cyber

Advent of Cyber is a Cyber Security daily challenge. You can learn about cyber security in this challenge. You can also win prizes. For each task you solve, you earn a raffle ticket. Prizes will be drawn on the 26th.

Advent of CSS

New this year is Advent of CSS. A daily CSS challenge by Amy Dutton. The challenges are emailed and you build and share your solutions. The email includes a Figma file, style guide, and hints to help. The basic tier is free but there's a $24 tier that includes the final solution and tutorial. You can order a Bundle with Advent of JS for $39.

Advent of JS

Also new is Advent of JS by James Quick. A daily email challenge for JavaScript. The free tier includes, all the HTML and CSS you need to get started, allowing you to focus on the JavaScript. Plus a brief on how to get started and ways to push yourself.
The $24 level includes final solutions and instructions. You can bundle with the Advent of CSS for $39.

Dev Advent Calendar

by Marc Backes Dev Advent Calendar will have daily challenges with a chance for a daily prize. Solutions will be submitted via GitHub. Puzzles will be beginner friendly and Christmas themed.

UX Mas

UX Mas ran a few years ago. It wasn't a challenge but was a UX Calendar with a new UX article posted each day. The site is still up if you want to read about UX.

How am I Participating

I thought about trying a 24-day blog event with some short posts each day but the job search needed more of my time. I haven't created anything ahead of time. I will do some CSS Ugly sweaters, and some small things but not everyday.

I am participating in the Advent of CSS and JS but that will be my solutions to the daily challenge and not original content. I may or may not post my solutions daily.

Your Submissions

Do you know of any more developer related advents? Put them in the comments.
Will you be participating in any of these challenges? Where will you share your solutions?

Follow the people that built these advent Challenges.