Friday, December 7, 2012

Freebie Friday: Free Printable Christmas Countdowns


Freebie Friday: Free Printable Christmas Countdowns

It's not too late! Make one of these Christmas Countdowns/Advent Calendars to countdown to Christmas with your family.  I have a box with 25 tiny doors that I put little treats in each day.  But I am loving these printable ones that you can make together with your children, that count down and take the pressure off of giving a tiny gift each day leading up to Christmas (aren't they getting enough on Christmas?). The freebies below are super fun and easy to make. Start a new tradition, or spruce one up with these fun and clever ideas!

1.  Adorable paper chain with gingerbread men, ornament and candy attachments. So cute!
2.  This one is sweet: It is a Christmas Countdown that tells the Nativity story. You could do several things with this: put up each circle on a wall each day or attach each circle to a paper chain for each day, or if you were really into it, you could use a muffin tin, and put something in each muffin cup (like a star sticker or something small, (see idea #7  below) and then print these circles out, cut them out, leaving excess around each one, and stick them over each muffin cup. (I'd use scrapbook dots or any easy adhesive just a little bit around the edges at a few places to keep them attached to the muffin tray).  Then you could peel off the circle each day, reading the scripture that goes along with the story.
free advent calendar printable that tells the nativity story | double the fun parties
Nativity Countdown
3.  This is a TomKat Studio Countdown, I've featured this before as part of a TomKat Freebie Friday.  Cute. Easy. Fun. No treats or thinking of tiny things required.

TomKat Studio Countdown Chain
4. This may be my favorite.  I've made these punch boards before and they aren't that difficult to make. Instead of what this gal did, she used paper bags, I use paper bowls on the back- of course making sure to coordinate the size of my circles with the size of the bowl to hold something...even a slip of paper taped to the inside of the bowl will do. KIDS LOVE THIS!
Punch Board Countdown Calendar. I want one for a different holiday besides Christmas... maybe Valentine's Day?
Punch Board Advent Calendar
5.  This is an awesome idea and you don't have to have a whole black board wall to do it...if you have any blackboard you could simply draw a tree and add an ornament or embelishment each day before the kids wake up! They can guess which is the new addition each morning.This is a great eco-sustainable option...btw!

6. You can print these numbers, put them on paper bags or envelopes, hole punch, run a ribbon through holes and make a garland for your stairs, mantle or hang over a window :)

AdventCalendarTags copy
Skip to my lou printable numbers

7.  Here are a few ideas of what to put in your advent bags, envelopes, etc.

Childrens Advent Calendar Printable {Free} from addapinch.com
Advent calendar inserts for each day!
Christmas shouldn't be about stress. But for so many of us it is because of the strain of doing it all.
 Set the pressure aside and make time to do a few little things that your family will remember as a part of your Christmas Traditions... bet they'll remember things like this rather than what certain presents they received were. Have a joyful Christmas.  Take the rush and consumerism out of your lead up to the big day and be a kid again, counting down in a happy way, instead of a stressed way!
XXXOOO!

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