I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid, the whole month of December felt like it dragged by so slowly. I was so excited for Christmas day that I just wanted to skip right to it! In case your kids are anything like I was, here are 5 fun ways to countdown to Christmas, that venture away from the typical paper chains:
Random Act of Christmas Kindness: Coffee, Cups, and Crayons provides the cutest little image you can print and use for this one. Attach a candy cane and leave it where you preform your act of kindness, doing one each day up to Christmas.
Felt Christmas Tree with Ornaments: This is my personal favorite because this is the exact tree I used every year growing up! My grandmother made the tree and most of the ornaments, with my mom filling in the rest. It hung in our hallway and every day, we’d get to hang an ornament, with the star pinned last on Christmas Eve. When you take the time to make your countdown calendar, it becomes that much more special to your children throughout the years.
Hang 24 Christmas Socks: How cute is this? Get 12 pairs of festive Christmas socks, attach them all to a string to hang, and fill them with goodies or fun family activities. Design Dazzle gives you every step to creating this countdown, including ideas to fill each sock!
Cut Santa’s Beard: This is a super cute way to count down the days to Christmas. I’ve seen it done multiple ways, like making his beard with paper chains and ripping off a circle for each day, like I Heart Crafty Things does. Or for older kids who can handle scissors, you can do what Kiki & Company does and each night, have your child cut off a piece of Santa’s paper beard! They even include a free printable and directions on how to put it together and use it.
Scripture stars on the Tree: My mother in law gave us a bag of little ornament stars when we got married, along with a list of scriptures. Each day of December, we read a scripture related to this time of year and hang a star. The final star has a picture of Christ on it. We have a small tree dedicated specifically for these ornaments. This is a great way to count down the days to Christmas while remembering the reason for the season.
