A Different Kind of Countdown

Our family begins our Yuletide celebration with a 3-week countdown. It’s one of our most favourite traditions— a seasonal activity every day until the Solstice. 

A bit of parenting experience has taught me that, most times, any post-holiday blues stem from an inevitable yearly reflection, a re-realization that they ‘grow up so fast’. It’s beautiful, but it’s also raw.  This little itinerary reminds me that I did enough with our kids— we made memories.

Each day in the month of December, I leave a card for our children listing the day’s fun. I don’t go out of my way to plan things we wouldn’t already be doing, or things that cost; in fact, I use our countdown to plan out the list of events I was already hoping to squeeze in. Instead of buying advent calendars with candy or trinkets to gift each day, I use this method to pace our typical holiday schedule, so we don’t over-plan or overspend.  

What do I include? Well, at some point, we will get out our Christmas books, so that fits nicely onto a card at the beginning of the month. This way we have three weeks to enjoy them. 

Other ideas are:

• Craft station set up to make gifts

• Afternoon hot chocolate

• To the tree farm! 

• Let’s decorate gingerbread

• Anyone up for a car tour of our town’s lights?

• Toy catalogues + a marker for circling anyone?

• A walk in the snowy woods together

• Let’s leave a treat in our neighbour’s mail box

Some days will be more exciting than others, and that’s alright. Each year we modify the activities based on our life, and you can too! Maybe you can only fit it in on weekends, or maybe you jot a note on each day of the calendar. Of course, there will be times when it just doesn’t work.  On those occasions, I keep a little stash of chocolate, stickers, and hot chocolate packets to tuck away with the day’s note card instead of an activity. The goal is never weeks of rollercoaster-like highs, but rather an opportunity for connection, sparks of child-like joy, and if we’re lucky, a memory for the bank. 

Jacquelyn Toupin lives with her family in a heritage farm house that’s been in her family for several generations. You can follow them on YouTube @oldfarmnewfarm or on Instagram @raisinghay