Kids will have fun making a Santa Face Christmas Countdown Calendar. First they color in Jolly St. Nick’s smiling face then glue a cotton ball on his beard each day. A full beard means that it’s Christmas!
Jump to:
- Cute Craft Alert: Santa Coloring Page Countdown Calendar
- Supplies for the Santa Claus Face Craft!
- Steps to Make an Easy Christmas Countdown Calendar
- Craft Tips for a Christmas Day Countdown
- Craft Variations on an Advent Cal
- What Do Kids Learn with This Fun Christmas Countdown Calendar Project?
- FAQ
- A Meaningful Christmas
- More DIY Advent or Countdown Calendars for Kids
- Come join the fun at WTN!
- Make a Santa Face Christmas Countdown Calendar
Cute Craft Alert: Santa Coloring Page Countdown Calendar
40 years of Christmas countdown calendars or Advent calendars reveal that they are a favorite holiday tradition at our house. 3 kids and 7 grandkids have participated in the daily Christmas countdown in various ways with Papa and I. We would like to share the tradition with you!
I had an uncle that sent Advent calendars with pieces of chocolate behind the daily doors. I loved the idea and adapted it for our family- doing different countdown activities each year. Felt figures, paper chains, or treats in socks each day helped us tick off the days till it was Christmas day!
Through the years we’ve tried to add meaning to this daily Christmas countdown with a daily reading and a daily ritual (like an act of kindness) to prepare for Christmas. I’ll list a few ideas below to add to your countdown calendar if you would like to join us in this fun tradition!
Supplies for the Santa Claus Face Craft!
You probably have most of the supplies to bring these cute Christmas Countdown Calendars to life in your home already!
- Free Printoff- Free Printable Santa Face Christmas Countdown Calendar
- Card stock or copy paper in white
- One piece of construction paper- I used red
- Colored pencils, colored markers, or crayons
- Cotton balls in the larger size
- Glue stick (preferred as it doesn’t drip) or school glue
Steps to Make an Easy Christmas Countdown Calendar
Follow along step by step, getting this awesome countdown ready with your family is so simple!
- Print off the Free Printable Santa Face Christmas Countdown Calendar. Only print on one side of the paper so you will end up with the coloring page and a poem page. I like printing on white cardstock but regular copy paper would work
- Let your child be creative and color the Jolly Santa face using Colored pencils, colored markers, or crayons. Their picture with Santa is their chance to make it their own which builds ownership in the project.
- Use glue to mount the Santa face coloring page on a piece of colored construction paper. This gives it more stability and adds a frame of color. I used red but any color will work.
- Glue the fun Santa poem on the back of the construction paper or hang it separately to read every day. It is a cute Santa face craft poem I wrote for you myself!
- Hang the calendar in an easy to see location, like the front of the refrigerator. I have magnet clips for this purpose but you could hang it with tape or punch holes in the top and add a ribbon if that’s easier.
- Starting on December 1, glue one large cotton ball on Santa’s beard each day. The numbers on Santa’s beard are from 1 to 24 corresponding with the days of the month. When his beard is full, the next day is Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Craft Tips for a Christmas Day Countdown
These tips can help make an Advent calendar even easier!
- Cardstock- Print the Free Printable Santa Face Christmas Countdown Calendar on white cardstock paper (single side only).
- Individual calendars- Let each child make their own calendar so they can do the countdown themselves every day. Then they are completing the calendar they made, there’s ownership in the process! (and less arguing! ha!)
- Glue stick- A glue stick doesn't drip so it works best. But if using school glue, put a drop on the cotton ball and then stick to the calendar for less dripping.
- Supplies at hand- Keep the cotton balls and glue stick in a small basket close to the calendar so it’s easy to access each day.
Craft Variations on an Advent Cal
Here are a few variations you’re welcome to try with this santa picture craft:
- 24-1 option- Instead of putting the cotton balls on the santa from 1 to 24, start with 24 and go down to 1. This is a backwards countdown telling you how many days are left until Christmas.
- Laminate the calendar- Laminating the countdown calendar allows you to use it year after year. Use sticky tack or tape on the cotton balls so they can be pulled off without hurting the calendar.
- Printing color- the countdown calendar on colored paper and skip the coloring page step.
What Do Kids Learn with This Fun Christmas Countdown Calendar Project?
Just gluing on cotton balls is a learning time and development for children.
- Number recognition and counting. Young kids will be identifying numbers from 1 to 24. They can count the cotton balls already on the calendar or count how many more days until Christmas.
- Picking up cotton balls, dabbing on glue and placing the cotton on the right place is great for developing fine motor skills. It also builds hand-eye coordination in a playful way.
- The calendar is a lesson in understanding time, in particular the passage of time. The concept of time is abstract and 24 days is hard to comprehend. Santa’s beard is a visible way for children to see what “yesterday”, “today”, and “tomorrow” mean. The Christmas Countdown becomes an answer to “is it Christmas yet?”
- The daily routine of adding a cotton ball to Santa’s beard helps build structure when the holidays are a bit chaotic. It can help reduce the anxiety of the holiday rush.
- The Santa Beard Countdown is an opportunity to build a meaningful family tradition. That was what I was wanting with my family, building connection to family and a ritual of belonging. I wanted to build good memories to look back on with fondness.
- Lastly, the calendar built anticipation for Christmas Day. It made it more than just opening presents, but of preparation and thinking of others.
FAQ
Yes! It helps with number recognition, counting, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, understanding time, and building family tradition and belonging.
How can you beat cotton balls? But you could tape on a coin or a piece of candy and then give the calendar to someone as a card when it is finished.
A Meaningful Christmas
This Santa Beard Countdown is so more than just a free printable. It’s a tool for teaching your children about numbers, the passage of time, and the pure joy of looking forward to something wonderful. It's a small, daily ritual that brings your family together and creates a tangible symbol of your shared excitement as Christmas draws near.
The holiday season doesn’t have to be a marathon of spending and stress. It can be simpler, it can be quieter, it can be about connecting with each other.
More DIY Advent or Countdown Calendars for Kids
Looking for more great DIY Advent ideas for kids? Here are a few favorites for you to try:
Come join the fun at WTN!
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Make a Santa Face Christmas Countdown Calendar
Equipment
- none needed
Items Required
- Free Printable Santa Face Christmas Countdown Calendar one per person
- Card stock or copy paper in white
- One piece of construction paper- I used red
- Colored pencils, colored markers, or crayons
- Cotton balls in the larger size
- Glue stick (preferred as it doesn’t drip) or school glue
Instructions
- Print off the Free Printable Santa Face Christmas Countdown Calendar. Only print on one side of the paper so you will end up with the coloring page and a poem page. I like printing on white cardstock but regular copy paper would work
- Let your child be creative and color the Jolly Santa face using Colored pencils, colored markers, or crayons. Their picture with Santa is their chance to make it their own which builds ownership in the project.
- Use glue to mount the Santa face coloring page on a piece of colored construction paper. This gives it more stability and adds a frame of color. I used red but any color will work.
- Glue the fun Santa poem on the back of the construction paper or hang it separately to read every day. It is a cute Santa face craft poem I wrote for you myself!
- Hang the calendar in an easy to see location, like the front of the refrigerator. I have magnet clips for this purpose but you could hang it with tape or punch holes in the top and add a ribbon if that’s easier.
- Starting on December 1, glue one large cotton ball on Santa’s beard each day. The numbers on Santa’s beard are from 1 to 24 corresponding with the days of the month. When his beard is full, the next day is Christmas! Merry Christmas!
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