1 December We're starting our #ArtAdvent Calendar with this carved boulder sculpture depicting Fairy Hill, a snowman, sledge and footprints in Northumberland!

2 December On the 2nd day of our #ArtAdvent Calendar, our Head of Editorial Jade King chooses this Arthur Melville painting for its 'gorgeous colours and a beautifully painted dark wintery sky'

3 December Today's #ArtAdvent Calendar choice comes from Shane Strachan, Learning and Engagement Officer. Shane says: Although I'm not usually one for traditional landscapes, I have always been taken with Joseph Farquharson's wintry paintings of sheep wandering through snow in rural Aberdeenshire, where I spent many a childhood Christmas. The mood he sets by capturing the colours of the last gasp of light really evokes winter this far north and the cosy feeling of curling upside after being out in the cold.

4 December It's the 4th day of our #ArtAdvent Calendar and today's festive work is this hand-appliquéd & quilted cotton quilt, made in the 19th century

5 December Who's looking forward to figgy pudding?

Learning Content Officer Rosie Fuller chose the spoon we all wish we had at Christmas dinner for today's #ArtAdvent Calendar

6 December This woodblock print by Canadian painter Elizabeth Adela Forbes (1859–1912) portrays perfectly the joyful, magical spirit of Christmas.

Joyeux Noël everyone! - Lise Seguin, Copyright Officer

Plus, today's #ArtAdvent Calendar artwork features in the Art Matters podcast episode about Victorian Christmas cards!

While this one is cheerful, you can find more bizarre cards here: https://artuk.org/discover/stories/art-matters-podcast-weird-dark-and-wonderful-victorian-christmas-cards

7 December I will never forget the anxious anticipation of Father Christmas as a child. My sister and I would sit on our grandma's and uncle's lap in the dining room, whilst the other grown-ups would "help Santa bringing the presents up the stairs". We would sit listening to any single sound coming from the other room, chortling and twitching with happiness! — Chiara Betti, past Database and Collections Liaison Officer

8 December It's the 8th day of our #ArtAdvent Calendar!

This watercolour of a reindeer is by a Chinese artist. Can anyone help us to translate the text into English?

Update: We have received some interesting responses on Twitter relating to this artwork: https://twitter.com/CraigClunas/status/1336354037806018569

9 December My PhD was in medieval art history and I worked on the writings of the devotio moderna in relation to religious paintings. I was working for the PCF at Birmingham Museums Trust, in store two, and put my folder down on top of a pile of boxes at the back of the store room. When I asked if I could use the boxes as a desk, the curator said that it probably wasn't a good idea, as the Christus was in there! He opened up the box for me and got it out - it's such a tiny painting, and so old, it was amazing to be able to be close to it, and so unexpected. — Camilla Stewart, Head of Commercial Programmes and Collection Partnerships

10 December What is your favourite winter activity?

We're loving all of the winter fun in today's #ArtAdvent Calendar artwork

11 December In Poland, the main Christmas meal of Wigilia begins once the first star appears after a day of fasting. As someone who constantly eats, I can feel myself in this picture, waiting... and craving... and waiting... — Sarah Harmon, Project Officer

12 December

13 December Collections Liaison Officer Chiara Betti chooses today's #ArtAdvent Calendar

This painting reminds us of the relaxing time between Christmas & New Years when we're not even sure what day it is

14 December For today's Art #AdventCalendar, Operations Officer Flora Doble reminisces about Christmas cracker prizes: Everyone knows that the best part of Christmas is having your future told by a fortune telling fish. Will it move its head to denote jealousy or move its tail for indifference? That's all part of the fun! The Wellcome Collection has a fine selection of gouache on paper from Kalighat, a small district in Calcutta. The smile of this fish with his lobster pal can only be described as ominous. What will he predict for 2021?

15 December Today's Art #AdventCalendar is chosen by Senior Project Editor Edward Stone who says: I've been under the spell of the 'Mystic Nativity' ever since I saw it at the National Gallery as a teenager. What other nativity scene offers you fleeing devils, a sorrowful, giftless king, and a pronouncement of the apocalypse? The inscription at the top links contemporary upheaval in Italy with events from the Book of Revelations – Botticelli's way of suggesting he was living through the end of days. A bit dramatic but, having lived through 2020, relatable.

16 December We're celebrating the UK's most common native evergreen for today's Art #AdventCalendar — holly!

17 December Growing up, our extended family came to our house for Christmas. Sometimes we would have so much food to prepare that the snow outside of the kitchen door had to serve as a second refrigerator. This painting reminds me of making use of the cold, dreary outside in a joyful way. — Julia DeFabo, Social Media Manager

18 December You know we had to include a snowy Kyffin Williams painting in our Art Advent Calendar!

19 December

20 December Only a few days left until Christmas! Today's Art #AdventCalendar is in honour of all of the work Christmas parties that are happening over video call this year

21 December What is your favourite Christmas song?

Today's Art #AdventCalendar artwork features a family enjoying a Christmas carol together

22 December

23 December Building a snowman or sledging? Snowball fight or snow angels?

We're reminiscing about our favourite snowy activities with today's Art #AdventCalendar artwork!

24 December

Every Christmas Eve as a child we used to go to the local pantomine. Few childhood memories will compare to the excitement we felt on that special day every year! — Louise Pavoni, Digital Marketing Manager

Christmas is near the start of the summer holidays in New Zealand. I remember family roadtrips in the South Island with landscapes like this one, with even more intense colours! I've had a few Scottish Christmases now, and still can't wrap my head around a winter Christmas! — Sarah Harmon, Project Officer