Game - how to set up 'Christmas calendar'

Before you start building the campaign, it’s important to clarify the following:

• Do you want to use the same game throughout the entire 24-door calendar, or would you like to switch between different games?
• Keep in mind that some games cannot be used in connection with a 24-day setup (for example, Spin the Wheel).
• Decide whether you want one overall draw for the entire campaign—where participants collect “tickets” each day to enter the final prize draw on December 24th.
• Or if you prefer to have a new prize every day.
• Finally, choose between the two calendar options: the “standard” version or the “advanced” version. The advanced version offers greater design flexibility, more game options, and better customization possibilities. (We recommend discussing with Customer Support to find the best solution for your setup.)

What do we recommend?

• If you’re using the advanced version, we recommend selecting a maximum of three different games. This makes it easier to duplicate the games across multiple days — for example, use three different games over three days, then repeat the sequence.
• We also suggest that you first build the entire design, including the intro page and campaign flow. Once everything is set up, reach out to us for a final check to review the overall draw, prizes, and flow.
• Additionally, we recommend that the calendar’s ratio (24 doors) is set to 40 pixels for the best visual outcome.
• Set up the entire design — including fonts and all other elements — to make it easier for you to duplicate later.
• Please reach out to your assigned Customer Success contact in good time if you need assistance during the process.
• And remember to set up the integration as soon as possible so you can perform a proper test.
• Please read this part: MOST IMPORTANT: This is for both the advent- and Christmas calendar.

So, how to get started?

To set up the Christmas Calendar campaign, open the campaign and select the game. From there, you can add your design and adjust the settings.

We recommend reusing an existing design kit, then adding the prizes and customizing the overall look of the game. Alternatively, you can use one of the kits prepared by Scratcher: Cozy Holiday Home, Santa's Workshop, Magical Christmas Night, Modern Nordic Minimalism, Classic Winter Wonderland, and Festive Town.

All of them are already prepared and ready for you to use:

Then proceed to 'Settings' to define the campaign flow. (If the toggle is grey, the calendar is set to the standard version, which is suitable for using the same game throughout the entire flow. Make sure to decide this before you proceed, as switching between the standard and advanced versions later will require you to start over from scratch.)

The advanced calendar

If you choose to enable the advanced calendar, you will first set up the overall campaign flow. After that, you can choose to redesign each day individually or use the same type of game throughout.

The important thing to note is that you will still see the entire flow as usual, but the change is as follows:

MOST IMPORTANT: This is for both the advent- and Christmas calendar

If you use the advanced setup, be aware that it will create a ‘Day 1’ page in the flow, which is the correct page to use. The ‘Game’ page must be deleted so that the campaign follows the proper setup rules.

For an Advent calendar, it works the same way: after you have toggled the ‘advanced’ setting, a ‘Week 1’ page will appear. The ‘Game’ page should then be deleted.

The front page with the calendar does not have a lock icon because it represents the front page of the entire campaign.

All other pages, however, do have a lock icon. This indicates that each page’s setup follows the daily schedule of the campaign. You can unlock a page to make changes to that specific day, but we do not recommend this unless you have time to adjust all the small details for each day or if you need something specific to happen on that particular date.

To edit a specific date, simply click the icon. This will open that date for changes—only for that particular page in the flow.

To create a new day/game or use an existing one (e.g., Day 2):

Click on Day 2. Choose between:

• Re-use existing day – Use this if you want the same game throughout the calendar or just the general setup. (Highly recommended
• Create blank page – Use this to start a completely new game and setup. The page will be fully blank.

It’s the same process as above, where you can either adjust each page individually in the flow or go through all 24 days one by one.

How do I set up the preregistration for the Advent and/or Christmas calendar?

To set up a pre-registration page, use the one already included in your flow. Scroll down to it, open it, and insert a form, which will function as usual. Then create a “finish page” that directs users to a “Thank you for registering for our Christmas campaign” message. You will receive more information XX.

To do so, press 'New page', choose 'Pre-registration' (in needs to be in the same flow) and then make the design to both pages.

Go to the first page, change the naming etc. as following:

Add the needed elements etc. form and headline:

To secure the right connection, go to 'Form settings', 'Content' and 'After submission':

How can I allow participants to fill out the form only once instead of every day?

FYI: Whether or not you have a preregistration flow, the form will always appear on the first date set for the campaign to fill out.

Go to the area with the campaign name and click the small arrow. Then select ‘Settings’ and choose ‘Auto login’.

Finally, toggle the button to green to activate it:

General Settings for both standard and advanced calendar

These settings apply to both the standard Christmas calendar and the advanced calendar.

When you have chosen the campaign setup, go to Settings. Here, you can define on which dates the doors should open, and set up the activation schedule for the Advent Calendar.

In Settings, you can choose from the following options:

• Randomize door order – participants must find the correct door to open on the day, or you can leave the order as normal.
• Active fields on mobile – reduces the number of doors displayed when using the mobile setup.
• Hide front of door on past days – removes doors from previous days, making it easier for participants to find the correct one.
• Allow clicking past days – lets participants revisit earlier days, either to see previous prizes or to join past games (e.g., if it’s a draw, they can participate in all of them).

Style items individually – allows you to design each door differently, making them stand out visually. Once activated, the Items section will be displayed.

You can design a specific door using a picture for the door itself, the background, and the area behind the door, and you can also customize the text size and color.

You can also add a background image, which will be displayed after the door has been opened, or set a general background image here.

In Content, you can choose a general background image for all doors, as well as adjust the other settings mentioned above.

You can create a game for each day by using the top dropdown to select each door, which will link them together. The game day you are currently working on will be highlighted.

In Past Days, you can define the image or color that should be displayed once the date has passed.

In Active Door, you can Enable Shadow. This will reveal multiple options where you can define how a door appears when it is active in the game. Press Preview to see how it will look in terms of color and other settings.

I want to add a effect to my campaign, how?

If you want snow to appear throughout the entire campaign flow, activate Advance, and then Custom Effects will become available.

Next, go to Add Custom Effect. It will appear automatically in the overview, and you can edit it by clicking the three dots.

Then choose 'Snow':

Prizes or draw?

You can assign a prize to a specific game by entering it on the game page under Game Prizes. Alternatively, you can set a prize for the entire campaign—or do both—if you want to hold a draw at the end of the full 24-door campaign for a bigger prize.

To set up a draw for the entire campaign, go to Prizes from the menu page and select Draw.

By adding prizes through this menu, you can view all prizes in relation to the entire campaign.

How to manage 'draw' in relation to the calendar

You can use either draws or prizes, but the most important thing to know about draws is the following:

If you run a draw manually, at the end of period, a “Run Draw” button will appear. Clicking it will select a winner from all participants during that day or period. If you use multiple prizes that can be one everyday (calendar) or weekly (advent), then you can set them up as following and proceed to the dashboard:

Then go to 'Prizes' and press 'Draw winner':

Then you can choose the draw for that specific week (note that the prizes will only appear once the campaign is live):

If you have specific requirements—for example, a quiz where only participants who answered 3 out of 3 correctly are eligible—you will need to manually extract and select the winner, as the system cannot automatically filter participants based on specific criteria.

I want to increase the chances of a winner each day to ensure the prize is claimed – how can I do this?

We recommend (if you’re unsure where to start) setting a standard winner chance and testing it for 1–2 days. Afterward, you can adjust the system to gradually increase the winner chance as time goes on. For example, you might set it to 5% by 12:00 PM every day. (Remember to do this for each prize if applicable.)

Go to Game Prizes → Edit → Prize Settings, then select Increase Win Chance.

To apply it on a specific date, choose Run → On Date, select the desired date and time, enter 5 as the increase, and then click Save Prize.

Instant-win

If you choose this setup, we always recommend checking it daily or over a set period to ensure it works exactly as intended.

For more knowledge about prizes please see the following articles: How to set up prizes, draws, and choose the right set up, How do I create a prize and set up email.

How do I set up my emails?

To set up your emails see the following link: How do I design my emails for prizes and activate them?

Please remember that you have several options for adding emails to this Christmas Calendar. You can:

• Set up a general email that is sent when people enter the campaign.
• Set up an email for each prize (remember that each email must be designed and activated individually).
• Set up an event email for when the campaign ends.

Checklist for the advent and Christmas calendar

Checklist for emails setup

• For all 'Reminder', 'Welcome' emails, etc., please check the CTA button that is linking to the campaign (make sure the correct URL is inserted, whether embedded to your website or direct via our URL).
• Ensure all emails being used are activated with the correct date settings.

Checklist for the campaign setup

• Check the date settings for both the Advent calendar (weekly) and Christmas calendar (daily).
• Verify that the publish date is correct (1st of December etc.).
• Set the Advent or Christmas calendar for one participation per day/week according to the publication settings.

Checklist for publishing the campaign and making it live

• All dates must be set to the ones you want to test at the current date (ask a CS-person about this if in doubt); remember to reset all dates afterwards to the original period.
• If you have pre-registration in a live environment and want to test the calendar, we recommend making a copy, setting it live, and testing through that, as it will give the same results.
• Set up the integration and run a test to ensure it works correctly.
• If using an embed script, run a live test to make sure everything displays correctly, including visuals.

💬 Need Help?

If you experience any issues or need assistance with the setup, don’t hesitate to reach out to either: Sigga: Book a chat with Sigga or Steffanie Book a chat with Steffanie.

Updated on: 21/10/2025