Star maps / Christmas gift
A Christmas star map of the night that matters to them
Pick a place and a date: their wedding, the night you met, a birth, or last Christmas Eve at home. We print the real stars over that spot at about 9 that evening, circle the brightest one high overhead and send it ready to wrap.
Print from $39, framed from $89. Free US shipping.
Design a Christmas star mapOrder by Monday, December 14 for US delivery by Christmas Eve.
Which night to put on it
Most Christmas star maps we see are not of Christmas at all. They are of a night the person would never throw away. A few that work well:
- Their wedding night, for parents or grandparentsThe town of the church or the hall, and the date on the marriage license. A 1975 wedding is worked out the same way as last summer's. See the 50th anniversary star map.
- The night you met, for your partnerThe bar, the campus or the street corner. More on the night we met page.
- A birth, for new parents or grandparentsThe hospital or the town, and the birthday.
- The first Christmas in a new homeThe street address and December 24. The small street map under the stars puts a heart on the house.
- A Christmas Eve to keepThe house the family came home to, in a year you want to remember. The sky looks almost the same every Christmas Eve, so the names and the year printed underneath are what make it yours.
What is printed on it
The poster up top is our "Our star" design in Noir, made for an example couple, Emma and James, and their first Christmas Eve in Denver.
- The sky over that placeEvery star brighter than magnitude 5.8, with constellation lines, as they stood at about 9 pm local sun time.
- One star, circled and namedThe brightest named star at least 45 degrees up, with the line "was shining right above us".
- A small street mapThe streets around the spot, with a heart on it.
- Names, place and dateThe names in script, the place and the date beneath.
- Six colorsCream, Sage, Blush, Navy, Noir or Clay. Two other designs wait in the editor.
The sky on Christmas Eve, city by city
We ran the poster's own code for December 24 over eleven US cities, at the hour every poster shows. Every one of them gets the same star circled: Capella, the bright yellow star of Auriga, the Charioteer.
| City | Circled star | Height | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | Capella | 67° | northeast |
| Chicago | Capella | 68° | east |
| Atlanta | Capella | 64° | northeast |
| Houston | Capella | 61° | northeast |
| Miami | Capella | 59° | northeast |
| Minneapolis | Capella | 69° | east |
| Denver | Capella | 67° | northeast |
| Los Angeles | Capella | 64° | northeast |
| Seattle | Capella | 69° | east |
| Anchorage | Capella | 67° | southeast |
| Honolulu | Capella | 55° | northeast |
Below Capella, Orion is climbing in the southeast, with red Betelgeuse at its shoulder and blue-white Rigel at its foot. Aldebaran, the orange eye of Taurus, stands high in the southeast. Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, is up in the southeast too, from 11 degrees high in Seattle to 26 in Honolulu and barely above the horizon in Anchorage. That is too low for the poster to name it, so Capella gets the circle.
The stars come back to the same places on the same date every year. Christmas Eve 1975 and Christmas Eve 2025 show nearly the same sky at 9 pm, and that is why a Christmas poster works best when the names, the place and the year carry the story.
The moon on Christmas Eve, year by year
The poster leaves the moon off. The moon is the part of the sky that does change from one Christmas to the next, so here is New York at about 9 pm on December 24, worked out by our free sky on any date tool:
| Christmas Eve | Moon | Lit | At 9 pm |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | full moon | 100% | up |
| 2016 | waning crescent | 16% | not yet risen |
| 2017 | waxing crescent | 37% | up, low in the southwest |
| 2018 | waning gibbous | 92% | up, low in the east |
| 2019 | new moon | 2% | down |
| 2020 | waxing gibbous | 78% | up |
| 2021 | waning gibbous | 71% | not yet risen |
| 2022 | waxing crescent | 4% | down |
| 2023 | waxing gibbous | 96% | up |
| 2024 | waning crescent | 30% | not yet risen |
| 2025 | waxing crescent | 23% | setting in the west |
| 2026 | full moon | 98% | up in the east |
A full moon on Christmas Day itself is rare. By Eastern time it happened in 1977 and in 2015, and the next one comes in 2034. This year is close. The moon turns full at 8:28 pm Eastern on December 23, rises over New York at 5:15 pm on Christmas Eve and is still 98 percent lit.
The bright "Christmas star" of 2020 was not a star. On December 21, 2020, Jupiter and Saturn passed a tenth of a degree apart, low in the southwest after sunset. Planets are not printed either, but the sky tool shows them for any night, for example December 21, 2020 over New York or this Christmas Eve.
Order dates for Christmas 2026
- Order by Monday, December 14Posters reach US doors in 4 to 8 business days from the day you order, 2 to 3 in the lab and 2 to 5 with the carrier. Weekends and US holidays are not counted. An order placed on the 14th arrives by Thursday the 24th even at the slow end.
- December 15 to 18It can still make it, if the lab and the carrier both run at the quick end. We cannot promise it. Every order ships the same free way, so there is no rush upgrade to buy.
- Outside the USWe send the print without a frame, 10 to 30 business days. For the slow end before Christmas Eve, order by Tuesday, November 10.
- Sent as a surpriseAt checkout, tick "This is a gift, ship it straight to them". No prices go in the box, and a gift note of up to 300 characters is printed on a card (US orders).
- Ready to hangA framed poster arrives assembled, with a hanger on the back. Without a frame the print ships rolled in a tube. See shipping.
Sizes and prices
Each size and frame carries the same poster.
| Frame | 12 × 16 in | 18 × 24 in | 24 × 32 in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Print only | $39 | $49 | $69 |
| Espresso and gold | $139 | $179 | $279 |
| Black and gold | $139 | $179 | $259 |
| Black | $89 | $119 | $159 |
| White | $89 | $119 | $159 |
| Oak | $89 | $119 | $159 |
| Espresso | $99 | $129 | $169 |
| Driftwood gray | $129 | $169 | $269 |
| Distressed brown and gold | $109 | $149 | $229 |
Shipping is free in the US. Launch prices until Nov 30. You see the price of every size and frame in the editor before you pay.
A 12 × 16 fits under most trees. For over a mantel or a sofa, go bigger.
Returns
A poster with their names that arrived as ordered is not taken back. Damaged or printed wrong: email a photo within 30 days of delivery and we reprint or refund in full. See returns.
Questions
Can I order a poster of this Christmas Eve before it happens?
Yes. The editor lists every day of this year, and the stars for December 24, 2026 are already known. Over most of the US the circled star will be Capella.
Will it arrive by Christmas?
US orders placed by Monday, December 14 arrive by December 24 even at the slow end of our 4 to 8 business day window. Orders from December 15 to 18 may still make it, but we cannot promise it.
Is the moon or the Christmas star on the poster?
No. It shows the stars, one named star, a small street map, the names, the place and the date. The moon and the planets for any night are on our free sky on any date page.
Can it ship straight to my parents?
Yes. Tick the gift box at checkout and type their address. We leave the prices out, and you can add a printed note of up to 300 characters for US addresses.
Can I write "Our first Christmas" on it?
Yes. The names line takes up to 40 characters, so your two names or a short line such as "Our first Christmas" both fit.
Can I check the names and date before I pay?
Yes. The poster in the editor is the file we print, and you can open it full screen. If you spot a typo after ordering, write to studio@meridianplate.com right away and we fix it until it goes to print.
More star maps
- Design a star map for any place and date
- See the sky on any date, free
- 50th anniversary star map
- Wedding star map
- Anniversary star map
- Star map of the night we met
- Memorial star map
- Engagement star map
- Star map gift for her
- Star map gift for him
- Birth star map
- Christmas street map gift for couples
- First home street map poster