Advent Countdown Calendar

With the holidays quickly approaching, I decided this year to try to find a fun way to countdown the days to Christmas with my kids. Growing up, my brother and I had countdown calendars my mom made for us out of felt. She attached candies (usually Hershey Kisses) to it with yarn. We would take one off each day until Christmas. A fun little treat each day until the big day arrived!

So in my search I came across this cute idea. You will need plastic wrap, 24 wrapped candies (I used Hershey Kisses wrapped in holiday colors), curling ribbon, a gift card and a bell. Cut off about 3 feet of plastic wrap and place the candy evenly down the side of the plastic wrap. Once placed roll the plastic wrap with the candies into a narrow tube. Cut about 26 pieces of curling ribbon and tie off the candies in the tube so that there is a ribbon on both sides of the candy. At the top, attach a longer loop of curling ribbon with the card and the bell to hang the calendar on the wall. S0 why the bell? Here's a cute poem to attach.

December 1st 'til Christmas is the longest time of the year.
Seems as if old Santa never will appear.
How many more days 'til Christmas? It may be hard to count,
But this little gift of candy will tell you the exact amount.
Untie a piece of candy each day when Sandman casts his spell
And Christmas will be here by the time you ring the bell.

My kids (at least 2 of them) had a great time making them, they are super easy. A fun after Thanksgiving craft to fill in the time off from school. I think we'll be doing this every year!