Man, I LOVE vacation! We are heading to Naples, Florida with my husband’s family over spring break.
And it cannot. get here. fast enough.
I’m so ready for sun and sand. It’s winter, and there’s nothing better than dreaming about the beach.
The other day, I was pretty sure the vacation was just around the corner. To me, that means it’s time for one thing:
COUNTDOWN CALENDAR!
I don’t know. That chain is pretty long. Think it’ll ever be gone?
I just love countdown calendars. I have all kinds of methods of counting down to a vacation. For this particular one, I decided a paper chain was in order. So we sat down to make one.
And we quickly realized something. Our vacation is not, actually that close. Just under six weeks worth of daily links makes a LONG chain. But we stuck with it.
I sent a photo of our completed chain to my sister-in-law, who will be meeting us in Florida. “You’re such a good mom,” she said. “How do you have the energy for the mess?”
“What?” I thought. You see, this countdown is for ME as much as for the kids. I get SO excited about getaways. Countdown calendars take no energy. They GIVE me energy!
In fact, I made countdown calendars for four friends before a spring break trip in college. I did this before kids. The kids just get to help (a little bit) with the creativity.
But that’s just me. And I love to travel.
Anyway, here are four fun ideas for helping kids (and yourself!) countdown to a big vacation.
1. Make a countdown chain.
Sure, it’s cliché. But it’s also really easy for kids, and there’s something pretty great about watching that chain get shorter and shorter.
Just in case you’re not familiar, here’s the how-to:
Cut strips of construction paper — as many as you have days left. Make a chain by stapling or taping the chain links through each other. Take off a link every day. Have the kids color the strips or add stickers for more fun.
Fun variation: Make it educational. My sister’s sister-in-law (get that???) made a countdown chain for my sister and her husband before a trip they took to the Grand Canyon. The fun twist? On each link was printed an interesting fact about the Grand Canyon.
2. Make a countdown calendar.
I can get a little crazy about this. I’m already planning an elaborate countdown calendar for my parents and us before our big trip to HAWAII this summer.
Here’s how you do it (or at least how I do it. I’m sure there are lots of variations.):
Create a grid with the amount of days before a trip. In each box, draw a picture (or find one online) that pertains to the trip. Each day, color in one picture until the whole calendar is colored. Alternately, you can cross pictures off.
My kids made this countdown calendar, and were SO proud of it! I love the car that looks like a carriage!
When we went to Disney (three years ago), we went with my husband’s family. One hundred days out (! I know! Countdown crazy, I am!), I made a countdown calendar for each family and sent it to them. I found coloring book pages and line art cartoons of Disney characters (100 of them!), shrunk them down, and make rows of the characters on three different pages. The kids LOVED getting to color one in each day.
Fun variation: Have the kids make their own calendars. The kids will draw pictures of what we’ll be doing on vacation, then color one in each day. Notice the kid-made countdown calendar shown here.
3. Crafts!
Okay, I’m not the most crafty person alive. I don’t even have a Pinterest account. But my kids sure love crafts. So I do try. Sometimes.
Last year, we took another big Disney trip, this time with my side of the family. (Yes, we are not only travel crazy; we are also DISNEY crazy!)
Yep, the kids made these cute Mickey ears out of head bands, ribbon, and a little felt.
We all met in Orlando for a whole week of Mickey fun. In the summer, my mom and dad have what they term “Grammy and Gramps Camp,” during which they keep all the grandkids for 4-5 days. (Don’t worry, I usually go as a counselor. They aren’t all alone!)
Last July, the kids made all Disney crafts at “Grammy and Gramps Camp.” Some of them are things they’ll be able to use at Disney (fun flip-flops, the mouse ears), and others were just to build anticipation (Disney-themed magnetic bookmarks).
You could do this at any time for your own kids. Or during a holiday family get-together for big family trips.
Fun variation: Instead of crafts, build anticipation with food. We also had individual Mickey Mouse pizzas (one individual pizza with small ear pizzas) one night. Or have a whole “we’re-going-to-Disney-World” reveal night with the fun themed food, crafts, and maybe a small present or two.
4. Send (or buy) countdown gifts.
This was my mom’s mastermind for this trip! At significant intervals (100 days, 75 days, 50 days, 25 days), she sent packages to all the grandkids with small gifts that we can use on the trip. Once they got fun Disney cups, another time they all got Disney pajamas. By the 25 day mark, they were watching the mail for something fun.
Another plus to this is that it’s fun to have matching things for kids at a busy place like Disney. Get all the kids a BRIGHT t-shirt with the mouse on it, and the kids will be happy, but more importantly, you’ll have an easy way to keep track of all the kids.
Fun variation: Send countdown emails with applicable pictures to print and color. Have a contest with various family members for the best-colored picture (adults, too!).
So, I’m ready for vacation. We’ve now taken off two Florida-bound links. Only 40 days to go.
What about you? How do you help your kids countdown to vacation?