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Did you have advent calendars growing up? I remember it was a simple, slim cardboard ‘calendar’, with a piece of waxy chocolate for each day of the 24 days leading up to Christmas. It was fun to help countdown to one of the most exciting days of the year. Now, though, there are a ton of advent calendar options but they aren’t simple or inexpensive. Some are upwards of $50. If you can do that, great, but I personally would rather save that money for other Christmas presents or traditions. This Printable Christmas Countdown is a great alternative.
Printable Christmas Countdown
The Christmas Countdown idea is a wonderful tradition, but one thing I am learning over the last couple of years is that if a tradition costs more than it’s worth or causes too much stress, don’t do it. It’s not worth the struggle, just to keep traditions alive. That being said, instead of just forgetting the tradition, you can adjust it. Traditions are amazing and part of what creates life long memories. Some of my favorite childhood Christmas memories are ones that we did each year and ones that I have brought into my own family today. I have definitely adjusted some to fit our family and our lives though.
Love Christmas art? Try this Christmas painting idea
Countdown Ideas
This Printable Christmas Countdown is just the beginning of a variety of options. One could simple print the PDF and hang it on the fridge or frame it to display. Some other ideas include:
- Get a cute Christmas magnet and move it along each day. Simple as that, nothing else needed.
- Grab a basket or bowl and fill it with Christmas candy or small trinkets. Kids can cross out the day on the Christmas countdown and then grab a treat from the bowl.
- Assign numbers and have paper bags filled with candy or small treats in them. When children cross off the number of the day, they can grab the paper bag and see what’s inside.
- Assign numbers to envelopes that hold a variety of Christmas activities. The activities could be as simple as color a Christmas picture, make hot chocolate, bake cookies, watch a Christmas movie, put up Christmas lights, etc. These activities don’t have to be expensive or even different than you would already do. You could even cut the squares of the countdown and tape onto the envelope itself. Another option is using the same idea for acts of service. Write a person’s name or a service activity on the papers and put those in the envelopes.
- Cut the squares of the countdown and paste on construction paper. Next to each number, have children draw a picture or write what they are thankful for.
Want other Christmas ideas? Here are our favorite ones
Christmas traditions do not need to be extensive or expensive, these simple ideas for this Christmas countdown can help you create memories with your family in a simple way.
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