25 SIMPLE WAYS
to Count Down to Christmas Does manufacturing the Christmas season magic seem a job too momentous for a mortal parent like you? Although Santa’s elves may not deliver pixie dust from the North Pole to help you, don’t despair! You can orchestrate a very merry—and magical—season that’s as simple as you make it to be. Here are 25 simple ways to count down to Christmas that you can pick and choose from based on the ages and interests of your children and family.
Amanda Ingram, mother of three, has a few countdowns that her family does each year. “We do an Advent calendar, Hershey Kiss-a-day strand, a countdown ornament from Hallmark and a felt magnetic Christmas tree with an ornament each day leading up to Christmas.”
“Our church has a workshop for families to make a ‘Jesse Tree.’ You can Google various ways to make one. Through the season of Advent, each day has a Bible story from creation to Easter,” says Julie Ulven, mother of one. We went to this same church and have done our Jesse Tree for 11 years now! I also love the Advent books by both Tsh Oxenreider and Ann Voscamp.
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Gina Tireman, mother of two, has an excellent way to use up any leftover Halloween candy. “When my kids were little, we made a countdown to Christmas by using their Halloween candy to make ‘candy chains,’” she says. “We strung them over their doorways, and each day they could have one piece of their Halloween candy as they counted down to Christmas.” If your kids have devoured their candy already this year, add this idea to your calendar now to remember next year!
Make a family bucket list. This can be as simple as a list, or let your kids help make a poster with as much detail as they would like to add. (Bonus points because it can keep them busy on those long, dark evenings leading up to the 25th of December!) Then, use this list as a casual countdown, as time permits, for the activities you’ve listed.
Santa’s beard and cotton ball countdown is a fun one for the younger crowd and can mark the time till Christmas, as well as when you plan to visit Santa. Appointments may be necessary, so if this is something that’s important to your holiday season, plan ahead!
For more of a craft countdown, consider adding a new decoration to your tree each night or week, such as stringing popcorn, stringing cranberries, making construction paper chains or crafting a new ornament. Craft stores have great kits!
Advent calendars are an easy way to count down with tons of variety! Rebecca Shields, mother of two, says her children keep the Christmas spirit alive even as they get older. “We have an Advent calendar with little drawers. Each day the kids get Lego pieces to build a Christmas Lego set. They are now 15 and 12 and still look forward to their annual Christmas Lego build!” We have done this before, but this year I may ask my older son to come up with his own to build with his younger brother.
