Christmas Countdown: Ideas for Adding Magic to the Holiday

Christmas countdowns are everywhere we look! There’s always the much-celebrated Christmas in July, the countdown to holiday movies, endless holiday week countdowns on Instagram, and those who are itching to get their Christmas tree primed and ready as soon as the Halloween decorations are put away. If you’re looking to enhance your Christmas countdown experience and create new Christmas memories, we have many ideas for adding magic to the holiday.

The Rustic Christmas Countdown Kit

Please note: The Rustic Christmas Countdown Kit is no longer available, but you can easily recreate this look with current Stampin’ Up! products. We’ve included ideas below to help you design your own inspired Christmas countdown.

Want to create your own Christmas countdown similar to the one made with the Rustic Christmas Countdown Kit? Check out these Stampin’ Up! products that will help you achieve the same idea!

Pictured here are crafting projects from our Christmas Tags & More — Pictured here: Christmas Tags & More

Envelopes: Try the Jolly Delivery Dies to create little boxes to hold your advent treasures.
Die cut greenery: Our Christmas Greenery Dies will give you a variety of faux flora to work with when creating your wreath-like design.
Number badge: Combine the 1 ¾” Circle Punch and a set of number stamps to create the numbered countdown badge on each little box.
Embellishments: Tie a bow with any number of coordinated ribbons and then add some sparkle and festive flair with fun adhesive-backed embellishments.

Hanging: Arrange them on the mantle with a garland or hang them individually with a jolly bit of baker’s twine.

The Rustic Christmas Countdown Kit (RETIRED) from Stampin’ Up! Is the perfect Christmas countdown calendar designed to create everlasting holiday memories in a simple way during the busiest time of the year. This is a unique kit with a multitude of personalization options, including gems, holiday flowers, bows, and exquisite paper greenery, allowing you to design and create 25 individual paper envelopes to remember.

This advent calendar design is the perfect way to countdown to the big day! Fill the envelopes with a note or small treat and enjoy the holiday touch that the countdown kit will add to your home this holiday season.

How to Use the Rustic Christmas Countdown Kit

When starting any craft project, it’s always most important to be organized! If using a coordinated suite, be sure to open the kit, examine the contents, read the instructions, and sort out all of the materials to begin. If you’ve put together your own crafting project from new and existing supplies in your papercrafting stash, just give it a once-over! Make sure you’ve got everything you’ll need (including basics like scissors and adhesives) so crafting can go smoothly once you get started. Once you have all of your materials laid out, you can begin to plan for how to create your own unique Christmas countdown kit. Follow the specific instructions to get started on building your countdown kit, or check out this video for some helpful tips that you can adapt to your own project.

A few things that might make your process smoother as you create your own advent calendar decoration ideas include:

Working in batches. Start with foundational pieces, such as assembling envelopes or boxes, and move on to cutting out or stamping numbers for the daily badges, as batch work makes things easier. Your brain and hands get into a rhythm, and it’s harder to run out of a certain element since you’ll know up front how many of each item to make.
Embracing variety. A Christmas countdown is such a fun way to create 25 individual miniature moments. This doesn’t mean each one needs to be painstakingly unique, but switching up bow placement, paper design, or the type of greenery die used can increase the excitement of opening up each day’s little gift.

Letting your own style shine. The best part about making your own Christmas countdown decor is that it gets to be as personalized as you want. Add kids’ names, hint at family traditions, and use the colors and patterns that add merriment and style to your own home without comparing to what someone else might create.

New 12 Days of Crafting Advent Calendar

Pictured here is the 12 Days of Crafting Advent Calendar. With 12 different doors to open, every day is going to feel like Christmas with this pretty little advent calendar. — Pictured here: 12 Days of Crafting Advent Calendar

Another fun way to enjoy the advent of Christmas is to gift a loved one (or yourself!) with 12 days of creativity and a dozen ways to enhance your papercrafting stash! Behind each door in this festive calendar from Stampin’ Up! is a handy tool, stamp set, designer paper, ephemera, or other embellishment, all coordinated for you or your crafty friend to create gorgeous handmade cards or scrapbook layouts year round.

With never-before-seen products, you’ll be anxiously awaiting each time you get to peek behind a door and discover new ways to increase your creativity or spread that joy to a loved one. Plus, with this many quality products from Stampin’ Up!, you know this gift will be the hit of the season.

Pictured here is the 12 Days of Crafting Advent Calendar. We love all the unique DIY advent calendar ideas that will help make the most of the holiday season for your family and friends. — Pictured here: 12 Days of Crafting Advent Calendar

Creative Ideas For Your Christmas Countdown

There are a million ways you could count down to Christmas, but we’re partial to a few that have been big hits over the years. We’ve found that anything that brings people together, like reading, crafting, and playing, is always the ones that leave a lasting impression and cherished memories for years to come. Here are a few of our favorites!

Christmas Countdown With Books

Holiday countdowns are a memorable tradition for many families, and they can be done in so many ways! A popular idea is to have a basket of wrapped holiday books to use to countdown every night. The books are the same every year, but they are only placed out at Christmas, so they always feel special when they come out and kids are always happy to see their favorites!

Christmas Countdown With Handmade Ornaments

Crafting themed Christmas ornaments is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit each year. You can work from a coordinated kit for a fun and simple daily crafting session or create your own ideas from festive papers and printed die cuts designed for the holidays.

Christmas Countdown With Festive Activities

Other people countdown with a Christmas activity every day in the month of December, whether it’s decorating the tree, crafting holiday ornaments, baking cookies, or driving around and looking at Christmas lights. I’ve even seen DIY advent calendars with shoe bags being hung over bedroom doors with a small treat placed in each clear shoe slot for a countdown idea. What about sweet notes for a holiday countdown? Perhaps a message on favorite holiday memories or what the person means to you! The options are endless, but the core memories will be activated!

Christmas Countdown With Handmade Cards

Why not celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas by creating a set of simple but elegant handmade cards (this Christmas Wishes Kit from Stampin’ Up! would be a great place to start) to express love and gratitude for friends and family! You could make a card each night and together write a special note for a loved one. Drop it off with a plate of cookies—or not!—and let the power of the personalized touch do its magic!

4 Clever Ways to Use Your Christmas Countdown as Holiday Decor

Incorporating your Christmas countdown into your holiday decor is a fun way to integrate every part of your holiday season and ensure your handmade advent is less of a to-do and more of an exciting part of the celebration. Here are four fun ways to make the most of your countdown’s placement in the home.

Put it on the mantle. We love the idea of 25 tiny presents nestled into your favorite garland on the mantlepiece. It feels instantly cozy and special, plus it’s hard to forget a day when your Christmas countdown is on full display right over the fireplace.
Make it your centerpiece. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a month-long tablescape for the holidays? Sure, it’s a little dramatic, but we’re into anything that gets the family excited. If that feels like too big a commitment, try putting a tiered display stand on a lazy susan for instant childlike appeal and convenience.
Hang it on the wall. The best kind of art is handmade, so why not put your Christmas countdown right where it belongs, next to your favorite family photos? You could even play a find-the-day game by using temporary adhesive to tuck your daily advent envelope or box into open spaces on a gallery wall!
Decorate the tree. Hanging your holiday advent on the Christmas tree is another way to ensure it stays top of mind all season long. You can hang them as individual ornaments or string them up on the boughs alongside your popcorn and cranberry garlands!

Create a Memorable Christmas with Craft Supplies

Christmas is the ideal time of the year to break out the craft supplies—a lot of memories can be created around the table. Whether it’s through using stamps, Christmas card kits, Christmas Designer Series Paper, products from the Stampin Up! Catalogs, or whatever you have on hand, when you take the time to craft together, you’re taking the time to make memories. Holidays are so special, and crafting with friends and families during this time of year will create lifelong core memories.

The Stampin’ Up! community is always available to help. Connect today with a demonstrator or visit the Stampin’ Up! website, or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube to find the best holiday crafting inspiration.