The days before Christmas fly by if you are focusing on all the things you have to accomplish before the big day. But they also may crawl if you are a child or a grown-up waiting impatiently for the main event. Either way, a Christmas countdown makes every day special.
Some of us will never outgrow the feeling of Holiday anticipation. If this applies to you, then may be this December you can countdown the days to Christmas, making each one matter by celebrating a daily pre-holiday activity.
It would be a good idea to slow down and relish the moment as the days of December dash toward Christmas, so that you do not lose the people and things most important to you in the holiday hoopla. There is one easy way to do this. You can open your notebook or datebook and write down events of the day that made you glad or grateful. This would help you express feelings that reflect the true meaning of Christmas.
Numbered containers filled with surprises, one for each day leading to Christmas, would ease the wait for Santa. The twenty-four containers could be whatever strikes your fantasy: baskets strung along the banister, take-out boxes lined up in the kitchen, or mismatched socks hanging from the mantel. Put a small gift for every person in your household into each container, and make sure you open them together at the same time each day. Or, play Kris Kringle and leave a simple treat, such as fruit, chocolate, or even a coupon for breakfast in bed, on everyone's pillow before bed each night.
A simple Christmas countdown idea would be to arrange twenty-four candles on your dining room table and light one each night beginning with December 1. You can then light all the candles on Christmas Eve.
Christmas countdown idea for a larger family would be to divide twenty-four slips of paper among everyone in the family. Ask each person to write a good deed on each of their slips, sign them, and then fold and toss into a jar. You would then draw a single slip from the jar each night.
If you want to start counting down for Christmas later in the month, create your own version of the twelve days of Christmas with a countdown that starts December 13th. The person who wrote the good deed would be responsible for its fulfillment.