profile

Hands On As We Grow

A simple Christmas countdown your kids will love

Published 10 days ago • 3 min read

​

Hands On As We Grow®
​

​

Hey Reader!

Christmas is now right around the corner!!! -- and kids are probably asking "how many more days", right?

Create a Christmas Countdown to build on the anticipation, but also keep it at bay.

These are the days we long for as a parent, picturing ourselves sitting around as a family, doing crafts, listening to Christmas music and everyone is super happy and all is perfect.

Unfortunately, this time of year also brings out a bunch of stress, tension and utter chaos.

Our goal = BALANCE.

Let's not go overboard and expect it all to be perfect. But let's also create some wonderful memories -- but remember to not limit it to just this holiday season!

A proven way to achieve this balance is to reset your expectations -- expect there to be flops, mishaps and a little bit of chaos. Learn to look forward to those times and soak them up, and laugh about it all.

A proven way to simplify your holidays and still make the memories? What's your secret? We've seen time after time that saying no to the things we think we SHOULD be doing, and yes to the things we LOVE doing helps us stay on track.

Making memories comes out on top with a BIG YES -- so let's prepare for it now! So you can just soak up the memories each day.

I love a classic paper chain countdown myself. To add to the fun, write a daily activity on each link of the chain and as you remove it, do that activity each day!

Or print out this printable Christmas Countdown to check off each day!

Here are some ideas to include in your Christmas Countdown:

  1. Make a Countdown Chain
  2. Make a Homemade Ornament
  3. Make Christmas Cookies or Candies
  4. Write a Letter to Santa
  5. Decorate Your Child’s Room
  6. Make a Snow Globe
  7. Watch a Christmas Movie
  8. Make One Homemade Gift
  9. Color a Christmas Coloring Page
  10. Make Christmas Cards for Close Family
  11. Make a Snowman (Real or Crafty)
  12. Go on a Christmas Scavenger Hunt
  13. Make a Spiral Christmas Tree Craft
  14. Decorate a Gingerbread House
  15. Listen & Sing Along to Christmas Carols
  16. Make a Classic Stocking Craft
  17. Paint a Christmas Tree
  18. Hang the Stockings
  19. Read Holiday Books
  20. Create Your Own Wrapping Paper
  21. Drive Around and Look at Christmas Lights
  22. Drink Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows
  23. Cut Out Snowflakes
  24. Take a Family Holiday Photo
  25. Merry Christmas!

Oh -- and DON'T stress yourself out over doing every single activity! Shrug it off if it doesn't work out that day! Or set it aside! Stick the link in a mason jar to save for a day when you're less stressed, have the kids pick one out for those days! Keep the fun going!

CELEBRATE, our Christmas Activity Plans eBook, has 4 weekly plans for the holidays too which would be a great addition to your Christmas Countdown! You can order it through the holiday season.

​

Make this Christmas season your child’s very best ever!

Practical activity plans are perfect to embrace the holiday season with your kids! Simple enough that they fit in easily to your already hectic schedule. Details and photos of each activity.

~ Jamie
​Hands On As We Grow®​
​Engaging our kids with simple, fun activities, every day.

​
Doing crafts with my daughter is something I love doing but was pretty much doing it for holidays or one off days. Doing a craft every day really changed our relationship to be even better than it was. She loves looking at her work where we have it displayed. Thank you! -- Jessica Boulay

30 Energetic Activities for High Energy Kids

Energetic activities are important for gross motor skills development in any child, and even more so for kids with high energy! Try one today.

More on Hands On As We Grow:

​10 Ways to Learn Letters with Blocks​

​Quick & Easy Mosaic Coloring Page Activity​

​Christmas Sparkle Cloud Dough​

​20+ Non-Toy Gifts for Kids​
​

Plan the week with your Free Blank Weekly Activities Planner! DOWNLOAD HERE.

Make it easy on yourself and get our pre-planned activity plan eBooks done for your age of child. Or have activities planned for you, every single week! Enjoy!

This email is being sent to you because you subscribed to Hands On As We Grow's newsletter at handsonaswegrow.com.
​
If for any reason you do not want to receive any more activities to do with kids, or tips for doing activities, you can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. Really, there will be no hard feelings!
​
Thanks again!

PO Box 128, Elkader, Iowa 52043
​Unsubscribe · Preferences ·

Hands On As We Grow

Engaging our kids with simple, fun activities, every day.

Hands On As We Grow has activities, crafts and art projects for kids up to school age, and even into their beginning years of school. You’ll find fun things to do with them, crafty ideas, and easy ways to make learning fun.

Read more from Hands On As We Grow
Help your kids understand gratitude with a simple Thankful Chain (or Tree!). Easy to set up, fun for little hands, and meaningful for the whole family.

Hey Reader!With Thanksgiving coming up in a couple of weeks for us here in the United States, I'd like to share with you a quick and easy way to begin the thoughts of thankfulness in your home. It is SUPER hard to express this to really little kids. So it's easier to lead by example and hopefully they'll follow suit. They will eventually. Brigitte, a contributor on Hands On As We Grow®, shared this super simple Thankful Chain she and her girls make every year. You start by having the kids...

about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Carving is fun… but messy and short-lived. These 28 creative no-carve pumpkin decorating ideas are kid-friendly, last longer, and just as festive!

Hey Reader!Do you carve pumpkins every year? We do -- however there's a couple things I don't like about it -- My husband and I did all the cutting until the kids were 8 or 9... It's a huge mess. My kids are asking to do it from the 1st of October... ... and they only last a few days after they're carved. But the look on the kids' faces makes it worth it year after year. So we still do it. But I want to offer my kids a way to decorate pumpkins themselves each year -- and this way they last...

2 months ago • 2 min read
Activity Capsule - 6 mini activity capsules!

Hi Reader!I’ve been really into card games lately, and it got me thinking about all the fun things you can do with just a deck of cards. When I was younger, I used to play games like Nerts (also known as Peanuts), Crazy Rummy, War, Golf, and Go Fish! But did you know there are many more ways to play with cards? You can easily carry a deck in your purse or bag, so whenever you’re out and about and need something to keep you occupied, other than staring at a screen, you’re all set! Here are...

3 months ago • 2 min read