Intro
Intro
🎄 December is almost here — and that means it’s time for our annual UKBOTA Advent Calendar and Santa Special Awards event! 🎅
Each day in December, up to and including Christmas Day, unlocks new opportunities to get on the air, activate bunkers, chase activators, and share in the festive fun. Whether you’re an experienced activator, a keen hunter, or just getting started, everyone is welcome to take part — it’s one of the most enjoyable and relaxed events of the year.
Behind every “door” in the Advent Calendar lies a new chance to earn points, collect festive awards, and maybe even discover a few surprises along the way! You can take part as often or as little as you like — every contact helps spread the seasonal spirit across the airwaves.
25 days with 20 awards available!
The event runs 1st December 2025 to Christmas Day 2025 inclusive.
The event is comprises two activities: (1) The Advent Calendar Award and, (2) The Santa Special Award. Each Award comprises award certificates for Activators and Hunters (including SWL). Each award is available at 5 levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond and Master.
Advent Calendar Award
Activator
This award is a simple score of 1 to 25 and is simply how many days during the event you activated special advent calendar bunker (the map below explains).
Awards Tiers / Points: Bronze 2, Silver 5, Gold 10, Diamond 15, Master 20 or greater.
Note: If you activate a non-scoring bunker on a given day it will count for other UKBOTA Awards but will not count for the Advent Calendar Award.
Note: Bunkers can be activated on multiple days, e.g. B/G-1216 can be activated and score an Advent Point on 1st, 2nd, 6th, 12th, 16th and 21st December.
Hunter
This award is a simple score of 1 to 25 and is simply how many days during the event you worked special advent calendar bunker (the map below explains).
Awards Tiers / Points: Bronze 2, Silver 5, Gold 10, Diamond 15, Master 20 or greater.
Note: If you work a non-scoring bunker on a given day it will count for other UKBOTA Awards but will not count for the Advent Calendar Award.
Note: Bunkers can be worked on multiple days, e.g. B/G-1223 can be worked and score an Advent Point on 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 12th, 22nd and 23st December.
Santa's Special Award
Activator
This award is an accumulator. Your score is a total of the number of scoring bunkers activated each day, added together for all 25 days.
Award Tiers/Points: Bronze 5, Silver 10, Gold 20, Diamond 40, Master 60 or greater.
Example:
On 3rd December you activate: B/G-0030 (1 point), B/G-0317 (1 point), B/G-0417 (zero point) = 2 points
on 17th December you activate: B/G-0170 (1 point), B/G-0171 (1 point), B/G-1721 (1 point), B/G-0642 (zero point) =3 points
Score calculation: 2 points (3rd December) + 3 points (17th December) = 5 points for Santa’s Special Activator Award (Bronze)
Note: The same bunkers can be worked on multiple scoring days through the event.
Hunter
This award is an accumulator. Your is a total of the number of scoring bunkers worked each day, added together for all 25 days.
Award Tiers/Points: Bronze 10, Silver 50, Gold 100, Diamond 150, Master 200 or greater.
Example:
On 3rd December you work: B/G-0030 (1 point), B/G-0317 (1 point), B/G-0417 (zero point) = 2 points
On 6th December you work: B/G-0016 (1 point), B/G-0161 (1 point), B/G-0162 (1 point), B/G-0166 (1 point) = 4 points
On 17th December you work: B/G-0170 (1 point), B/G-0171 (1 point), B/G-1721 (1 point), B/G-0642 (zero point) = 3 points
On 23rd December you work: B/G-2301 (1 point), B/G-2302 (1 point), B/G-0171 (zero point) = 2 points
Score calculation: 2 + 4 + 3 + 2 = 11 points for Santa’s Special Hunter Award (Bronze)
Note: The same bunkers can be worked on multiple scoring days through the event.
daily planning map
Note this map changes daily depending on the day of the event, read below for an explanation. Scoring bunkers for each day can be determined by clicking the appropriate day on the Advent Calendar (top right of the map container). Scoring bunkers for the selected day will be shown with a Santa icon. If you have geolocation active on your device the map will show a Christmas Tree marker at your location. The map also has a full-screen toggle and an ability to toggle the calendar on/off for those with small/mobile screens. Click on a Santa icon for more information about the bunker.
🎄 Advent Calendar
scoring days
Note: If the date number appears more than once on a valid Santa bunker—for example, on 1st December, reference B/G-0102 contains two 1’s—it still counts as only one Santa point.
claiming awards
Electronic awards (PDF) are available free of charge to all participants who have recorded the requisite number of points on BunkerBase 2.0
Registered BunkerBase 2.0 users will see online claim and display/download buttons on their Activator and Hunter Dashboards at the end of the event,
WWBOTA winterfest 2026
This event is different to the WWBOTA Winterfest 2026 event being run over the weekend 3-4 January 2026. For details of WWBOTA Winterfest 2026 click here.
⚠️Disclaimer⚠️
Safety
Publication of a bunker on the ‘valid’ list does not imply the bunker, or the surrounding area, is safe to activate from. All activators should conduct their own safety and risk assessment and never ‘go underground’ without taking appropriate precautions and without appropriate permission.
Right of Access
Publication of a bunker on the ‘valid’ list does not imply a right of access. Where an activator wishes to operate, or gain access to private land, permission should be sought from the appropriate landowner or their agent. Activators are advised to exercise caution around areas of restricted access.
UKBOTA accept no responsibility or liability for issues arising from an activation, or any other activity related to the programme or event.
