Christmas Countdown Chain

I've mentioned a time or two that Advent started this past Sunday, but do you know what Advent is?

Advent is the season of waiting for Christmas. It begins on the fourth Sunday before November and ends on Christmas Eve, but some people celebrate it just from December 1 to 24.

No matter when you observe it, Advent is a time of happiness, celebration, and hopeful anticipation of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Whether you are young or old, waiting is hard. I hate to wait.

Counting down helps the time to pass. It gives us something to look forward to every day. It is just plain fun.

8 Ways to Count Down to Christmas

Buy an Advent calendar - You can, of course, buy an Advent calendar.
There are dozens of Advent calendars on the market. Most start on December 1, so it's not too late to get one and get started.
Some Advent calendars are made from cardboard, where you pop open little flaps to reveal scriptures, like the Precious Moments Advent Calendar or pictures like the Charlie Brown Christmas Advent Calendar.
Others are made up of 24 toys or pieces of toys, like the Playmobil Dinosaur Expedition Advent Calendar, the My Little Pony Ponyville Advent Calendar, and the Old Time Christmas Village Sticker Advent Calendar.
Some Advent calendars contain candy or chocolate, like the Santa Chocolate Christmas Advent Calendar.
Still others have spaces that you can fill with your own items (candy or small toys or even the daily clue cards from Truth in the Tinsel), like the Kurt Adler Advent Calendar, the Works of Ahhh Christmas Tree Advent Calendar (which you can paint yourself), or the Crafty Advent Calendar.
Countdown Chain - Last year, we wrote activities on strips of paper and stapled them together to make a paper chain. The activities we used were:
1. Bake cookies
2. Wrap presents
3. Make paper snowflakes
4. Make Christmas cards
5. Make a hand print wreath
6. Learn & color the 12 days of Christmas
7. Make & decorate a paper Christmas tree
8. Make a Christmas shape book
9. Make reindeer food
10. Make a garland from dyed pasta
11. Make reindeer from Nutter Butter cookies {we did these two years ago, and they were awesome}
12. Make a Christmas tree from an ice cream cone
13. Make a gingerbread house (from graham crackers)
14. Make popsicle stick ornaments
15. Write a letter to Mrs. Santa (Grace is seriously terrified of Mr. Clause)
16. Make peppermint bath scrub to give as a gift
17. Make snowman blocks
18. Color Christmas presents (from the Christmas tot book)
19. Make a birthday card for Jesus
20. Match candy cane letters (from the Christmas tot book)
21. Make button candy canes
22. Make hand print magnets
23. Celebrate J is for Jesus
24. Make a Christmas symbols mini book
25. Play Candy Cane Colors game
26. Play a snowflake matching game
27. Make a Jesus Loves Me mini book
28. Make a birthday cake for Jesus
29. Paint our finger nails and toe nails
30. Make homemade ice cream
31. Make salt dough ornaments
32. Drink hot chocolate with marshmallows and candy canes
33. Write a letter to Evelyn, the child we sponsor in Ghana
34. Make a Gifts for Jesus poster
35. Put up a special tree in Grace's room
36. Make a light up cake
37. Sew paper stars
38. Make festive colored popcorn
39. Bake pies
40. Make pine cone bird feeders
  Your chain doesn't have to have 40 links. 23 or 24 would be much more appropriate at this point.
  My friend, Maureen, has a printable countdown chain that includes themes like memories and charity and family.
Make a paper pocket Advent calendar - Eryn from Mamahall shared a tutorial for making paper pockets that contain Christmas-themed activities. Her tutorial includes activities and scriptures to put inside.
Print an Advent calendar - I found a very simple “print and do” Advent calendar online. The idea is similar to Eryn's above, but it's a single page and the activities and scriptures are provided.
Make a craft a day - I love this idea. Bella Dia's author has a Christmas book and related craft posted for each day of the Advent. Truth in the Tinsel from Impress Your Kids is very similar. We started the Truth in the Tinsel crafts yesterday.
Print a Sticky Note Advent Calendar - I don't entirely understand this one, but it looks really cool. I think it would be best for older kids.
December Daily - The idea of December Daily is to create a scrapbook page each and every day of the month. It's a very, very time-intensive process, but it's really fun. I made it to December 24 last year. I should start this year.
Unwrap a book a day - Wrap 24 Christmas books, put them in a fun basket, and let your kids choose one to read at bedtime each night of the Advent. Doesn't that sound like fun?