59+ DIY Christmas Countdowns To Add Joy To Your Holidays

Start a new holiday family tradition with an advent/Christmas calendar book countdown with 28 holiday books and free printable labels!

The classic paper chain advent calendar is such a fun way to count down until Christmas! Paper chains are also a fun and safe activity that even little kids can get in on.

Each morning as you countdown to Christmas, you tear one paper ring off the chain. It is great for little ones that need to practice counting, too!

Learn how to make an easy construction paper chain Christmas countdown with this simple tutorial.

This is a twist on the traditional paper ring countdown, but this one can be reused with the use of felt and velcro!

This No-Sew Reusable Advent Calendar doubles as a pretty Christmas garland for kids. This is a fun Christmas countdown activity that can be reused again and again, year after year.

Here’s another reusable idea for a chain calendar, but this one uses fabric scraps and buttons. This creative reimagining of the paper count-down chain is a great way to use up fabric scraps!

Are you looking for a fun way to count down until Christmas? This free printable dry-erase Christmas countdown is the perfect way to build excitement during the holidays.

All you do is print it out and put it in a frame. Then you can use a whiteboard marker to write directly on the glass.

The kids will have so much watching the number get smaller every day.

Incorporate your love for succulents with your Christmas countdown this year and create an Advent calendar with your succulents.

This project is simple to do, and it’s a great way to add some extra holiday cheer to your home.

She uses newly propagated succulent cuttings, but if you didn’t want to do that you can also purchase full-sized or mini succulents to use in the advent calendar.

If you do decide to use propagated cuttings and you’ve been dragging your feet on growing your succulent collection through propagation, this project leaves no excuses!

One way to create Christmas spirit for your children is to share a Christmas Countdown Calendar with daily treats and Christmas bucket list activities.

I love this simple paper bag version anyone can do using small paper bags from the craft store and cute Christmas-themed stickers and embellishments.

Each bag had either some treats (like candy canes or Hershey Kisses) or a printed Christmas activity. This takes some of the pressure off of it so that not every day requires an activity.

This adorable Advent Calendar is an easy and affordable craft to make the Christmas Countdown more exciting for everyone.

Using a pre-made advent calendar box makes this one easy because you can decorate it using your leftover Christmas decor stash that just seems to accumulate. Inside each drawer, you can add a little treat!

Using materials that you probably already have in your craft supplies, like fabric, ribbon, and old mismatched buttons, this creative Christmas countdown comes together easily.

You can hang it on the wall and add treats or little candies inside each pocket as a fun way to countdown the days until Christmas.

Want to add a little homemade magic to your countdown to Christmas? I’ve got the perfect easy-to-make advent calendar that you can make with or without the kids to surprise them.

Read more to learn how to create this snowmen Christmas countdown.

This easy advent calendar is simple to make. In fact, you can put it together in a few minutes.

Once complete, just set up a wicker basket and let the kids take turns picking a pocket from the basket and sharing a treat (or fill them with activity ideas).

Create precious family memories and teach your kids the importance of giving with this Countdown to Christmas Acts of Kindness Printable Advent Calendar!

Christmas is the perfect time of year to teach your kids the importance of giving! And these fun acts of kindness are things that you can do together as a family.

These 24 jolly Christmas Lunch Box Jokes make it easy to count down to Christmas and spread some holiday cheer at lunch every day!

Tie candy or little presents on this DIY Christmas Advent Hanger to count down the 24 days of December leading up to Christmas Eve.

This Santa clock countdown count is the perfect craft activity to help kids count down the days until Santa Claus comes!

These family activity advent cards are a fun and easy way to countdown to Christmas as a family and make lasting memories!

These printable Family Activity Advent Cards are a fun and easy way to knock out a holiday bucket list.

The cards include dozens of different holiday activities, 60 ideas in all plus 12 blank cards that you can write your own ideas and traditions.

This DIY wooden advent calendar is easy to create and has a vintage feel with barn wood slats and colorful wooden ornaments.

Have fun counting down Christmas with this cute count-down pillow you can easily make yourself with a sewing machine!

All of the stitches on the pillow and straight and simple, which makes it a great project for a beginner sewer.

It is fun as a family to count down the days to Christmas by moving the ornament each day until Christmas day. 

Here’s another one for those sewers out there! This quilted advent calendar is a great way to use up some fabric scraps and remnants.

Looking for an easy Homemade Advent Calendar you can make at home? This DIY Advent Calendar For Kids is super easy and affordable!

It makes the perfect Kids' Christmas Countdown! Having a Christmas countdown for kids builds excitement and makes the entire holiday season fun!

This free printable advent calendar coloring page is the perfect option for a quick and easy advent calendar for kids to countdown to Christmas.

This advent coloring page is simple, yet fun, and it’s a great visual way to help kids understand the concept of time and the countdown to Christmas.

Stick it up on the fridge for an easy, low-stress, advent calendar activity.

Reading a Christmas book every day is also a fabulous way to countdown the days till Christmas!

A book advent calendar is a great alternative to one with chocolates or other treats, it’s easy to do, and a great way to include more reading with your kids.

Tick off each Christmas book as you read them on our free printable Christmas book advent calendar and countdown to Christmas.

Each holiday season, there are some Christmas traditions that each family usually does.

However, some of those traditions need to be adapted as your kids grow older.

If you are struggling to keep your kids involved in family holiday traditions, you’ll love these ideas. These printable countdown activities can be modified as kids get older for your advent calendar.

Need any easy Christmas Countdown? This Santa Christmas Countdown Printable is what you need! Just print it and add a cotton ball for each day until Christmas Eve!

Cute, simple, and easy!

Count down the days to Christmas with this printable advent calendar. It's filled with fun and easy activity ideas for kids and adults!

I love that, although it is printed at home, it still has those fun little doors that you can open, just like the store-bought advent calendars.

In the blog post (linked below) she teaches you how to put the calendar together, but the actual printable is available on Etsy here.

Advent calendars are a great way to count down the days until Christmas.

Read more to learn all the details on how you can make your own wooden Christmas countdown using scrap wood.

Why not make an adult advent calendar? Counting down to Christmas isn’t just for the kiddos! Count down to Christmas with a bottle cap a day!!

This wooden Christmas tree made from plywood is designed to hold the caps for your beer bottles. How creative!

A beautiful way to mark the weeks of the advent season leading up to Christmas is with an advent wreath. Learn how to make your own advent wreath centerpiece in this tutorial.

Using an IKEA scarf holder and felt, this Christmas calendar is genius. It is the perfect way to bring more color into your Christmas decor and would work great in a kid’s bedroom or playroom.

The pockets (created with the felt) hold printable advent calendar activities that simply slide into place.

After Christmas is over, you can continue to use it to hold jewelry.

Here’s another Christmas countdown for those that want to bring more color into their Christmas decor.

This beautiful and modern DIY advent calendar is created with craft paints, stickers, and a wood advent calendar frame. YOu can customize the colors to fit within your Christmas theme!

Use an old vintage ladder or even a blanket ladder to make a fun DIY Christmas Advent Calendar with decorated muslin bags.

The little bags could be filled with toys, treats, or activities. This one is so versatile.

Make a fun magnetic Christmas countdown calendar, that the kids will love, with just a few supplies.

Looking for a unique Christmas countdown that you’ve never done before?

You can use these fun sock advent calendars to create a fun and unique Christmas countdown!

This Christmas countdown made from scrap fence board, chalkboard, and Behr Paint will help entertain the kids during the long march to Christmas Day.

The top of the tree is where you keep track of the days left til Christmas with a chalkboard. So cute, right?

Make your own easy wood-painted reusable advent calendar to countdown to Christmas! You can fill the little drawers with whatever you’d like.

Jessica was using a Jesus Storybook Bible Advent Calendar with printables to share the story of Christmas.

Create some Christmas magic! Use this countdown to do a special activity every day.

There is also a free printable with the activities if you want to download it!

This DIY advent calendar doubles as a charming Christmas garland that looks like a string of peppermint candies. 

Fill this advent calendar garland with candies, and since it's made with durable fabric, you'll be able to use it year after year.

This DIY Christmas Countdown Calendar is all about Activities, Experiences, and Memories!

Each mini felt bag, which looks like Santa’s bag, with the printed activity is hung on a garland so that it can be attached to a fireplace mantel and double as Christmas decor!

There’s also a free printable for the activities in this post!

Use a muffin tin and the free printables to make this advent calendar you can reuse year after year!

Make a papercraft version with lots of detail, or you can utilize the free printables to make it simple!

This acts-of-kindness advent calendar is the perfect way to put the focus on GIVING and not receiving this holiday season!

The Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar works like any other advent calendar. Every day you open one of the boxes.

On December 1st, you open box number one. Each day, whatever acts of kindness you pull out for the day, that’s what you do. There’s a printable sheet of 24 things or you can make your own.

An ornament advent calendar is a fun and easy way to count down to Christmas! This calendar uses just a few supplies, many of which can be reused for years to come.

Have a fur baby? Count down to Christmas with an advent calendar made for your dog.

If you're looking for fun activities to do to countdown to Christmas, grab this free printable with 72 activities you can do with your family together to celebrate!

An easy no-fuss calendar is included as well – and more!

Make this cute and easy Christmas countdown clock with a tree slice, paint, and a few accessories.

Get your children excited for Christmas by using this adorable Christmas Countdown.

It is the perfect way to get the children involved in counting down the days of the month leading to Christmas Day.

Count down the days to Christmas with this beautiful reusable advent calendar with paper pockets. The whole thing is put together on a Dollar Store piece of foam board, so this countdown comes together on a budget!

The paper pockets are perfect because you can put either a piece of paper with an activity or slip in a candy cane when you have too much going on that day!

Countdown to Christmas with this DIY advent calendar made of adorable paper houses.

The easy-to-build house-shaped shelf made with two 1x4 boards holds 25 little paper houses to open every day till Christmas. Each house is big enough to hold a treat or present for the day.

Looking for a Christmas countdown that you can reuse year after year?

This chalkboard advent calendar is made with 25 little paper mailboxes for you to fill up for each day in December.

This refillable rustic advent calendar is the perfect farmhouse Christmas decor.

Make an advent calendar from faux grain sacks and numbered clay tags for an easy Christmas countdown that you'll use for years to come!

Learn how to make a Christmas advent calendar from an old shutter for an affordable take on a unique way to count the days down until Christmas!

The mini envelopes can be stuffed with activities or little treats.

What better way to count the days until Christmas than with a Giant Outdoor Christmas Countdown Marquee Sign!

By using a light background and light colors on the plaques, the lights make the lettering and numbers show up crystal clear.

With Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to start counting down to Christmas!

This Christmas countdown can be made using an old window, a door with a window, or even a photo frame.

I love this idea of a Christmas countdown ornament. Using a small wooden plaque, this can totally be made on a budget.

How cute is this countdown to Christmas arranged in this wire tree?!

You can download the printable file with 36 different service and family-oriented Christmas activities. The whole project can come together in just 30 minutes!

This set of free printable advent calendar mini envelopes makes creating an activity advent calendar for your family simple (and beautiful!) with 4 styles to choose from plus lots of tips to make it stress-free!

Using a 24-pocket shoe organizer makes the perfect Christmas advent calendar! This grinch themed one is perfect.

You can purchase and download the file to get 24 storybook PDF pages to put in your calendar, which tells the How The Grinch Stole Christmas Story.

If you want to make a DIY advent calendar that would make a huge statement, you’ll love this one.

This DIYer made this one using a big canvas. Kids will love this for Christmas!

This paper advent calendar village is easy to make and a really cute way to count down to Christmas day!

All you need is some construction paper and a few other decorative touches to make this cute holiday countdown.

This mason jar countdown to Christmas project is easy to assemble and perfect for all ages!  Turn a case of mason jars into an advent calendar!

Your kids will love counting down the days until Christmas and getting a small treat on each day. All you need is a case of small mason jars, stickers, and labels to get started!