Stir-up Sunday is the last Sunday before Advent. This year it falls on Sunday 22 November 2026, and it’s the day families traditionally gather in the kitchen to mix the Christmas pudding, each taking a turn with the spoon and making a quiet wish.
It’s one of the cosiest ways to start the countdown to Christmas. All you need is a big bowl, a few willing helpers and a little patience. Here’s where the tradition comes from, how to share it with children, and why one wish might be worth saving for a visitor from the North Pole.
When is Stir-up Sunday in 2026?
Stir-up Sunday is on Sunday 22 November 2026. It always falls on the Sunday before Advent Sunday, which begins the four-week run-up to Christmas in the church calendar, so the date moves a little each year but always lands in late November.
This year it’s also the day before Scout Elf Return Week™ begins (23 November to 1 December), which makes it a lovely moment to start getting the house ready.
Why is it called Stir-up Sunday?
The name comes from church, not the kitchen. In the Book of Common Prayer, the prayer for the Sunday before Advent begins: “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people”. It asks for people to be stirred into doing good.
Because that Sunday falls about five weeks before Christmas, it became the natural moment to make the pudding. Since Victorian times, it has been linked with families mixing the Christmas pudding together, so it has time to mature by Christmas Day.
The Christmas pudding tradition
Every family has its own recipe, but these are the customs you’ll hear about most often.
Why make it so early?
A traditional pudding is mixed, steamed and left to rest for several weeks so the flavours can deepen. On Christmas Day, it’s simply reheated and carried to the table.
Thirteen ingredients
A Christmas pudding was traditionally said to contain 13 ingredients, representing Jesus and his twelve disciples. Classic recipes use dried fruit, candied peel, suet, breadcrumbs, flour, eggs, sugar and mixed spice. Counting them into the bowl is a perfect job for younger helpers.
Stirring from east to west
Tradition says the mixture should be stirred from east to west, in honour of the Wise Men who travelled from the east to visit the baby Jesus.
A wish for everyone
The bowl is passed around so every member of the family gets a turn. Each person stirs and makes a wish, and wishes are best kept secret.
The lucky coin
In the past, a silver coin was sometimes stirred into the mixture, and whoever found it on Christmas Day was said to be in for good luck. Small coins are a choking hazard, so many families now leave this step out, or a grown-up places a wrapped token beside a serving instead.
Did Prince Albert bring us the pudding?
You’ll often hear that Prince Albert introduced the Christmas pudding, but versions of it were being made in Britain long before Queen Victoria’s reign. What the Victorians did was turn pudding-making into the family occasion we know today.
How to make Stir-up Sunday special with children
You don’t need to be an expert baker. Stir-up Sunday is more about the gathering than the pudding.
- Pick your recipe together. Many traditional recipes soak the fruit in alcohol, so choose an alcohol-free version that uses fruit juice instead.
- Give everyone a job. Little ones can tip in the fruit and count the ingredients. Older children can weigh, measure and crack the eggs.
- Take turns to stir. Pass the bowl round the table, stir from east to west and make a wish.
- Leave the hot work to grown-ups. Steaming takes hours, so an adult takes charge while everyone else tidies up.
- Write your wishes down. Fold them up and keep them somewhere safe to open on Christmas Day.
If a full pudding feels like too much, a quick bake keeps the spirit of the day. Our no-bake Christmas cookies and treats give little hands plenty of stirring to do.
A little North Pole magic while you stir
Stir-up Sunday is a family tradition rooted in the church calendar and Victorian kitchens. It also happens to fall at a very busy moment at the North Pole.
Most Scout Elf helpers return to their families during Scout Elf Return Week. Before they set off, there’s plenty to finish: last-minute training, filing letters to Santa and helping him get ready for Christmas.
As the spoon goes round, wonder together what your family’s elf might be doing right now. And if one wish feels too special for the pudding bowl, write it down and save it. Scout Elves can’t talk, but they are wonderful listeners, so once your elf is back, your child can share that wish with them. Each night, Scout Elves fly home to the North Pole to tell Santa all about the day.
One gentle reminder for when your elf arrives: keep them well away from mixing bowls and sticky fingers. A Scout Elf who is touched can lose their Christmas magic.
New to The Elf on the Shelf? Discover how the tradition works before your first Scout Elf arrives.
Stir up some kindness, too
Stirring is a perfect fit for the Elf Mates®, Santa’s kind-hearted helpers. Each Elf Mates Chef comes with a poem that encourages children to “stir up” generosity as well as tasty treats, by sharing food with people who might need it.
This Stir-up Sunday, you could:
- Make a second small batch of something sweet for a neighbour.
- Choose a few items from the shopping list for a local food bank.
- Write one wish for someone else, not just for yourself.
Stir-up Sunday FAQs
What date is Stir-up Sunday 2026?
Sunday 22 November 2026, the last Sunday before Advent.
What is traditionally made on Stir-up Sunday?
The Christmas pudding. Families mix it together so it has several weeks to mature before Christmas Day.
Why do you stir from east to west?
To honour the Wise Men, who travelled from the east to visit the baby Jesus.
Can children help make Christmas pudding?
Yes. Children can weigh, pour, count the ingredients and stir, while grown-ups take care of steaming and anything hot.
When will our Scout Elf come back?
Most Scout Elves return during Scout Elf Return Week, from 23 November to 1 December 2026. Read more in When will my Scout Elf return?
Keep exploring
- 20 Great Christmas Quiz Questions for Kids
- How to Welcome The Elf on the Shelf into Your Home
- Meet the Elf Mates Girl Chef
However your pudding turns out, the wishes are the part that lasts. Starting the tradition this year? Find an official adoption centre near you or shop The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition.