Are you ready to get into the holiday spirit this year? Find out my favorite ways to countdown til Christmas with family. Plus, get my free Christmas countdown printable sign!
This post about Christmas countdown was written by family travel expert Marcie Cheung and contains affiliate links which means if you purchase something from one of my affiliate links, I may earn a small commission that goes back into maintaining this blog.
Are you looking for a way to countdown till Christmas with your family?
I’ve come up with 10 ways we can countdown until Christmas, and I’m sharing them all here. Plus, get my free printable sign!
My kids have been asking to countdown until Christmas, so I’ve been brainstorming creative ways we can do that. I thought I’d share what I’ve come up with plus give you my FREE printable (it’s at the end of this post!)
You’ll be able to keep track of how many days are left till Santa comes down the chimney!
And if you’re anything like me, it’s always nice when there is a visual reminder on the wall somewhere in your house. That way everyone knows exactly how long they need to wait before Santa arrives!
It will also help make sure no one gets too excited and opens their presents early by mistake 😉
This printable is great because it’s simple and it will go with your other holiday decor. And best of all – it’s completely free!! Just click below and download yours today 🙂
Oh yeah…and don’t forget about those 10 ideas for counting down how many sleeps until Christmas either!! Enjoy 🙂
So scroll down now and download our FREE printable sign today!
Xmas Countdown FAQs
There are plenty of ways to count down the days until Christmas. Some people like to cross days off on a Christmas countdown calendar while others like to do something special each day to make the festivities last for 25 days.
Yes! There are actually several and they can be helpful to use if you aren’t home much but your kids are constantly asking you how many sleeps till Christmas! Click HERE for my favorite free Christmas countdown app.
Whether you buy one at the store or make your own, advent calendars have boxes numbered from 1-24 on them. Each day, you open up a box and get the prize inside. Most people go in numerical order (1, 2, 3, etc) but others like to countdown (24, 23, 22, etc).
10 Festive Christmas Countdown Actvities for 2023
1. Watch Christmas Movies with your Family
I think this is the most popular way to countdown until Christmas.
Hallmark and Lifetime have been doing Christmas movie marathons for years and years and they have SO many movies in rotation now.
These are great to have on in the background while you do Christmas crafts or bake cookies.
Netflix has only been doing them for a few years, but they have some of my favorite ones (including Falling Inn Love which takes place in New Zealand!)
And if you’re looking for kid-friendly Christmas movies, there are a bunch on Disney Plus.
Although, you might want to re-watch your childhood favorites before showing them to young kids. Some might seem a bit scary in today’s world!
2. Winter Bucket List
Another idea is to come up with a mega list of things you’d like to do this winter.
They can be easy things like making Christmas cookies or singing along to Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas, or even trying the trendy hot cocoa bomb.
Or, you can make them a bit trickier like go ice skating, try snowshoeing, or read A Christmas Carol.
If you are creating a winter bucket list with kids, make sure every family member has an opportunity to add a few things to the list.
3. Random Act of Kindness
The world is in need of some major TLC this year.
And what better way to give back than trying to do brighten someone’s day every day leading up to Christmas?
While you might not be in a position to volunteer with a charity helping people in person this year, it doesn’t mean you can’t still contact them to see if there’s a way to help from home.
Encourage your kids to go around the house and collect toys they’d like to pass along to kids who might not have very many toys.
Or adopt a family this Christmas and shop for Christmas presents or holiday food items for them.
You can also write letters or emails to thank people who have helped you this year, like teachers, postal workers, neighbors, family members, etc.
And it can be as easy as a phone call to someone who might be needing some social interaction.
4. Christmas Book List
There’s nothing better than getting cozy with blankets and sipping on a hot beverage while diving into a good book during winter.
We’re all spending a lot of time in front of screens, so it’s nice to unplug and go “old school” for awhile.
If you are doing this with kids, you can read a Christmas book together every night.
Some of our favorites for little kids include Little Blue Truck Christmas, 12 Days of Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Twas the Night Before Christmas.
For older kids, you might think about reading a chapter a night of a book you both are excited about, like Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone or The Secret Garden.
5. Advent Calendars
Can I let you in on a secret? We only started buying advent calendars a couple of years ago.
Because we missed out on a lot of holiday traditions last year, I thought it would be fun to get my boys LEGO Star Wars advent calendars so they had something to look forward to each day.
Last year, I got them LEGO Harry Potter advent calendars because they are just getting into the world of Hogwarts.
Some of the cutest advent calendars I’ve found for 2023 include a Funko Pop Pokemon advent calendar, Disney Storybook Collection advent calendars, and a Hot Wheels advent calendar.
Of course, you can always get the ones with chocolate inside!
6. Enjoy a Special Christmas Treat
We all know that Christmastime is filled with all sorts of decadent treats. And it’s easy to over-indulge, which makes each treat a little less special.
So, one way to combat that is by choosing one special holiday treat to enjoy every single day.
It could be enjoying a peppermint mocha every morning. Or savoring a piece of Christmas fudge every afternoon.
For kids, it could be as easy as a mini candy cane each day. Or a Christmas cookie. Or hot cocoa.
The point is to make your treat something that you wouldn’t normally enjoy the rest of the year. That way, anytime you taste it, you’ll feel the holiday spirit!
7. Play a Family Board Game
Carve out time each night to play a family game. It can be a board game, card game, physical activity, or even video games.
The point is to spend quality time together each night playing.
You can either play the same game every night or switch it up by rotating which family member gets to pick the game.
Some of our favorites include Trouble, Sorry!, and Chutes and Ladders.
I’ve actually got a list of family games for 6-year-olds that are totally worth playing.
8. Add an Ornament to Your Christmas Tree
Another fun way to countdown until Christmas is to hang one ornament every day leading up to Christmas.
Since some ornaments have sentimental value, you could talk about why you are choosing to hang that specific ornament that night.
If you have a bunch of ornaments, you could have every member of your family choose one to hang up every day.
If you really want to go all out, you could have your kids create their own ornaments. You could get ornament kits like this or this.
I’ve got a tutorial to make a DIY reindeer ornament that’s super cute.
You could also easily turn this paper poinsettia craft into an ornament by adding a string to it.
9. Do a Christmas Craft
One fun thing about celebrating Christmas is all the adorable Christmas crafts! I think there are more crafts for Christmas than any other holiday!
If you love crafting, this would be a fun way to countdown until Christmas.
My kids are pretty obsessed with Christmas trucks, so we have this easy Red Christmas Truck craft to make this year.
I’ve actually got a list of 41 amazing Christmas paper crafts you can choose from!
10. Christmas Karaoke
One of my favorite parts of Christmas is listening to music. And there are always new Christmas songs each year, in addition to the classics.
A lot of kids love singing Christmas carols that they hear on the radio, in movies, or that they learn in school.
Every night leading up to Christmas, each family member can choose a song to perform in front of everyone.
Don’t like to sing? Lip sync to your favorite Christmas song!
And kick it up a notch by dressing up in Christmas costumes or something that makes you feel like a true rock star.
You can do it just for fun, or let other family members award points to their favorites!
Download This Free Christmas Countdown Printable Sign
You can’t really have a Christmas countdown without some sort of visual element. Half the fun is getting to physically count down the days.
This printable Christmas sign is pretty versatile.
You can make it into a DIY Christmas decoration by printing the Christmas printable on thick paper and placing it in a frame.
Just glue some clothespins onto the Christmas sign to hold the numbers and glue a few decorative touches like bells, bows, snowflakes. etc.
Another idea is to place the sign on your fridge and turn the numbers into magnets. The easiest way to do that is to laminate the numbers and stick magnets on the back.
Whatever you end up doing, this is a fun Christmas countdown decor printable!
Christmas Countdown 2023 Wrap Up
We hope you found some new ideas for your family’s Christmas countdown.
If you’re looking to learn more about Christmas traditions, we have a bunch of great content here on the blog and in our free printable library!
Happy holidays from all of us at Marcie in Mommyland.