Arizona Cardinals 128th Anniversary Christmas 2026 Advent Calendar

The Cardinals were founded in 1898, on the South Side of Chicago, as a neighbourhood athletic club playing in second-hand maroon jerseys. Every other franchise in the league came later. That is a long time to keep going, through two cities and a third state, and it is the sort of thing worth marking properly rather than with a fixture list.

Since 1898

A hundred and twenty-eight seasons puts this club ahead of the NFL itself by more than two decades — the league arrived in 1920 and found the Cardinals already playing. The anniversary framing on the box is doing real work: it is not a slogan, it is a number nobody else in the league can print.

The Name Panel

Set a name at checkout and it prints into the front artwork rather than arriving as a sticker. For a countdown that will sit somewhere visible through December, that is the difference between a team item and somebody’s present.

What Comes in the Box

A paper outer box measuring 13.5 x 18 x 3 cm and weighing 135 g, with a moulded plastic tray inside holding the ornaments in separate slots. Each window is die-cut, so a door lifts under a thumbnail instead of tearing across the artwork beside it.

The twenty-four pieces are acrylic, 3.2 cm square, printed on both faces — one matte, one gloss — each with a hanging tab punched through. A protective film covers one face on arrival and needs peeling before anything goes on a hook.

Through December

The box is small enough for a desk or a kitchen shelf, which is where a countdown actually gets opened. As the pieces come out they want somewhere to go — a branch, a ribbon down a door frame, the tree itself. Keep it indoors; acrylic clouds in damp and paper warps near a radiator.

More of the 2026 run in our team collection.

Questions Buyers Ask

Is 1898 really the founding year?

It is — the club began as a Chicago athletic team in 1898 and has been playing ever since, which makes it older than the NFL by twenty-two years.

Where does the personalised name appear?

On a panel in the front artwork, printed during production so it sits inside the design rather than on top of it.

Can the doors be closed again?

Die-cut windows open once. The box runs for a single December; the twenty-four ornaments are the part that comes back out each year.

How do I keep the ornaments looking new?

Dry cloth only — anything damp or abrasive leaves a permanent haze on acrylic. Back into the moulded tray in January and the tabs stay straight.