The Easiest Way to Plan 25 Days of Christmas Family Fun (with Printables!)

Reality Check

Before I dive into the actual process of how I plan out our Christmas activities, I want to first preface this with some reality: these 25 days of Christmas activities are the ONLY thing we do to countdown/prepare for the holidays.

We don’t do Elf on the Shelf…we don’t do a Chocolate advent calendar…we don’t do 25 days of Christmas LEGO builds.

Removing the chain link each day (and doing the activity inside) is the ONLY thing I have to plan for and (more importantly!) remember in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Part of what makes this tradition so manageable is that I put 100% of my attention on it. So if you have other traditions that you do daily (and love!), then this might be a lot of added work.

But if you don’t have a Christmas countdown tradition in place and are looking for a great way to not only do some fun Christmas family activities but also simultaneously plan your entire holiday season in one shot, this is a great system to try!

My Holiday Season “Planner”

You can use whatever “mechanism” you like to countdown the 25 days to Christmas (e.g., drawers, mini stockings, little gift boxes). For a while now, our family has used a simple paper chain. But it’s not the paper chain that is so “magical.” Rather, the chain is just the pretty delivery method for what is our entire holiday “schedule.”

Assigning a holiday activity to each chain link is my way of ensuring all the outings, events, and projects that we want to do actually get scheduled, AND that we aren’t overcommitted on any particular day too.

The real “money” of this system is that our Christmas Countdown Chain includes “normal” holiday activities such as decorating the Christmas tree, hanging the outside lights, and the neighbor’s annual party on Christmas Eve. The gaps are then filled in with small, easy activities that really help the kids feel like this is an extra special time. This approach keeps the entire concept easier and more realistic to accomplish.

Now having done this for five years in a row, I can say that all those holiday “want to dos” and “should dos” actually become a reality…and we all have SO much fun in the process! Here’s exactly how I pull it all together!

NOTE: All the printables featured in this blog post are from my Countdown to Christmas Planning Kit!

Step 1: Look at the December Calendar

Start by printing out a blank December calendar. Fill in any events that are already planned or have very specific dates. Here are some examples:

• School holiday events (e.g., concerts, pageants, etc)
• Annual parties with friends or family
• Local concerts
• Local parades
• Nativity plays or pageants
• Wreaths Across America
• Candy Cane Runs
• Deadlines for any local toy/coat/food drives (such as Toys for Tots)

Additionally, make notes about when certain seasonal events are open for business. These are activities that don’t need to happen on really specific dates, but knowing when they are/aren’t open can help you fit them in as needed. Here are some examples:

• Visits with Santa
• Local light displays (walking or driving)
• Ice skating rinks
• Christmas movies (new releases)
• Walking Nativity plays
• Shifts at food bank or homeless shelters

Step 2: Make a Holiday Bucket List

Next, make a Holiday Bucket List of any and all activities you can or like to do each holiday season.

• Start by listing out events you normally do such as decorate the tree, bake Christmas cookies, mail Christmas cards, and visit Santa.
• Also include ideas you’ve seen, heard of, or always wanted to try such as a Christmas lights scavenger hunt, candy cane games, ornament making, or holiday charades.
• Finally, don’t hesitate to make ANYTHING into a Christmas activity, even if you would do it this time of year anyway. Special events like “wear Christmas jammies for the first night,” or “drink Christmas hot cocoa” become more intentional and special when incorporated into the monthly countdown.

Step 3: Schedule Your 25 Days of Christmas Activities

Now that you’ve got a good sense of everything that needs to be done (or you want to do!) during the month of December, it’s time to assign a particular activity for each of the 25 days leading up to Christmas. This is more art than science, but here are some tips to guide you:

1. Print out a fresh December calendar and work in pencil so you can re-arrange things as needed.
2. Start by assigning events that have non-negotiable dates such as the neighborhood Christmas Party, the church Nativity Play, Santa Fun Run, etc. These things are technically “fun family events,” so use them to fill up your calendar; there’s no need to plan extra activities for these days!
3. Next, add activities that have to happen in certain windows. For example: ice skating may only be open on weekends; your favorite light event might only run 1 weekend during the month; etc. Make sure you plan these events for days you can actually do them!
4. Then, assign events that should happen during certain times of the month. For example, you likely decorate your tree toward the beginning of the month and bake treats closer to Christmas Day. Place these activities accordingly on your calendar. Just like the pageants and parties, these “usual” holiday events still count as “family fun,” so there’s no need to plan anything extra!
5. Finally, fill in all the remaining gaps with fun Christmas crafts and activities. As you do this, though, it’s REALLY important to keep track of what other things you have going on, for example:
   • Save short activities like “New Christmas Socks” or a “Christmas Music Dance Party” for busy school nights.
   • For time-intensive activities like “Gingerbread Houses” or “Making Paper Snowflakes” or “Ornament Making,” pick a weekend afternoon.

Step 4: Populate the Countdown to Christmas Planner

Once you have your activities planned out, it’s time to get yourself organized to actually execute each activity. This step is KEY to keeping this entire tradition as stress-free and manageable as possible!

Using my Countdown to Christmas Planning Kit, you can easily plan your activities, make supply lists, and even print out your activity strips all in one step!

1. Download and open the planning printables.
2. Populate the “Days” column with the correct days for this year’s December.
3. In the “Activities” column, type in your assigned activity for that day.
4. In the “To Buy or Prep” column, type in any supplies, printables, tickets, reservations, etc that you will need to complete this activity.
5. As you type the activities in the Countdown to Christmas worksheet, notice that the activity strips auto-populate and everything is color coordinated!

Step 5: Make Your Christmas Countdown Chain

The next step is to make or assemble whatever Christmas countdown “mechanism” you want to use.

Start by trimming down your paper strips with a paper trimmer or scissors…

Then you can stick or slide the strips into little drawers, mini stockings, mini bags, tiny gift boxes, envelopes or whatever else you like to use to countdown until Christmas!

For many (many!) years, we found a simple paper chain to be quick, easy, and packs away really nicely. You can learn how to make my Cricut-made Christmas Countdown Chain or make one with a pair of scissors using the templates included in the Countdown to Christmas Planning Kit.

Last year, I fell in love with this wooden tree countdown display.

Wooden Tree Advent Calendar

Instead of securing the paper strips to paper chain links, I just rolled them up and slid them inside each drawer!

Step 6: Prep Your Supplies & Activities

Finally, with your activities all planned out and your chain (or other Christmas countdown system) created, it’s time to order and prep your needed supplies for all 25 days of Christmas activities at one time. Use your printed Countdown to Christmas worksheets as a guide; work down the list chronologically so that you have supplies ordered and tickets reserved in a timely fashion for each activity.

Although you may be tempted to prep a little every day as the month goes on, I highly recommend planning and prepping your Christmas countdown activities all at once. I spend an afternoon (typically right after Thanksgiving) ordering craft kits and gingerbread house ingredients, printing coloring pages, and reserving Santa visit times. I stage everything on a high shelf in my office. When the kids open a link each morning, I have everything I need to quickly and easily make that fun activity happen sometime before the day is through!

Step 7: Enjoy an Amazing Holiday Season of Fun with Your Family!

The final step is pure execution of festive family fun!

On December 1st, open the #1 link on your Christmas Countdown Chain (or other countdown calendar). With your supplies prepped and waiting, all you need to do is find time during the day to complete the activity. Some things like “Read Christmas Books” can be done first thing in the morning; while others like “Christmas Family Game Night” or ‘Watch a Christmas Carol” might be best after dinner.

Get the Countdown to Christmas Printable Kit

The entire Countdown to Christmas Planning Kit is now available for download from The Organization Toolbox! Click HERE to shop or learn more!

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