5 Ways to Countdown to Christmas

It’s the first day of December…time to let the countdown to Christmas officially begin!  You know how I love a good countdown.  I’ve crafted plenty of fun ways to count the days until holidays and events besides Christmas.  Really, those are all based off the concept of the original countdown known as Advent. Christian tradition calls the four weeks leading up to Christmas Advent.  Traditions vary quite a bit from culture to culture—in some, every day is marked as one less before Christmas, others measure the time a week at a time.  Any way you do it, though, the concept is still the same: you are using something to help you count or mark the days leading up to Christmas.  Today I’m sharing 5 ways to count and celebrate each of the 25 days before Christmas.

1.  Chicken Wire Frame Calendar

Bec of Little Lucy Lu realized her family needed a way to mark the days until Christmas when her little girl began asking every morning if it was Christmas, yet.  She crafted this one from an old window and chicken wire.  The decorative tags that hang from the wire each have a simple Christmas activity written on the back that her family can do together.

2.  Treasure Drawer Calendar

One favorite Advent tradition is having small treats or gifts hidden behind doors for each day before Christmas.  At Today, Jules came up with her own version of that type of calendar by decorating these tiny drawers.  It’s easy to hide a special prize inside each drawer.

3.  Advent Jar

Chris of Just a Girl wanted the focus of her family’s countdown to be on spending time together.  So, inside each of these tiny, adorably wrapped packages is an idea for family Christmas fun.  You’ll have to click over to see what Chris cleverly repurposed to make the little boxes in this apothecary jar.

4. Recycled Cardboard Countdown

Over at Maya Made, Maya suggests recycling a common household source of cardboard—toilet paper tubes!—to make a fun advent garland.  Embellished with cheerful fabrics, these tubes are the perfect way to stash candy, small treats, or memorable activities to help a family count the days until Hannukah or Christmas.

5.  Framed Countdown

Tiffany of Lemon Tree Creations came up with this simple way to mark the days until Christmas that is small and easy to store when the holidays are over.   She crafted a pretty frame to where she pins darling Santa cards that count each day.

Does your family have a favorite way to countdown the days until Christmas?