Countdown ideas

[disneygal29]

Family trip is not until June, but looking for ideas to do a countdown for my 5 year old niece's first trip to the world Any good(easy) ideas that have worked in the past for all you pros out there???? Thanks in advance for all your creativity!!!

 

[BELLEDOZER]

Since no one has given you any ideas yet, I've got a couple that you might consider. The first is to go to any Home Depot, and go to their paint chip section. There you will find that Behr paint has paint colours with a Disney theme. The paint chips are shaped like Mickey Mouse heads. Grab a pile of different colours. Then go to your local craft store and pick up a large piece of poster board. Cut out the Mickey Mouse heads, then number each one individually for the amount of days you want the count down calendar. Then in the middle of the poster board write "DIsney vacation" or basically whatever you want to say, then get a glue stick and glue all the mickey mouse heads onto the poster board around what you have written. The idea is each the child can take off one of the numbered Mickey Mouse heads till there is none left.
My second Idea is to go on the Creative Disign forum and look up Countdown chains. There if you do a bit of looking, you can find all kinds of countdown chains that you can print off, and make a countdown chain out of. Just a couple of idea's for you to think about. Have a great evening!

 

[amyj1024]

I am using a mickey punch and a big can--I am going to print out a picture and tape it around the can. Then I am going to cover it with Mickey heads....we will only need 45 once I give it to my kids. Then we will take one head off each day--revealing the picture underneath until we leave for Disney.

Just wanted something different than the paper chain thing, and I didn't want it to take up a lot of space. I can post pics when I am done if you want?

 

[cmusschoot]

I printed off a picture of Disneyworld on cardstock and cut it into 10 pieces (for a 10 day countdown). Each day my son found the numbered piece, glued it down and when the picture was complete..we were on our way.

 

[BELLEDOZER]

I had an idea...why don't you pickup a small waste paper basket at a dollar store. Then find a nice pic of some Disney characters and glue it to the side of the can. Pickup some healthy snacks, such as fruit juice gummies, wrap them individ and put them in the can. Each day she can pick a wrapped treat out of the can, and the closer to the trip the emptier the can. Just something I thought up, as it's similiar to an advent calender, but geared to a trip.

 

[eeoconne]

The week before the trip, I woke up my kids each morning with a different character. For example, I would say wake up, it's Mickey Mouse Monday, we have only 6 more day until Disney. They were so excited each day to see what Character it was. We did, Tigger Tuesday, Winne the Pooh Wed, Thumper Thursday, Phineas and Ferb Friday and Stitch Saturday. On the day we left, Stitch Saturday, I made a sign with Stitch clip art. I also had 2 little Stitch stuffed animals sitting on the counter when they came down for breakfast. They were very excited!!!

 

[tassma]

Hello,

We have a countdown calendar that I made with felt. The kids helped me and we use it for the three weeks before the trip. I put trip/Disney related stuff in the pockets and my two kids take turns opening them each day. I have put Croc jiblets, leapster games, toothbrushes and travel toothpaste, etc in the pockets (the dollar store helps here). For larger items I hide them and put a clue in the pocket, then we have a little treasure hunt.

My kids love it and it makes the time pass quicker. I will try to post a photo of the calendar.http://

 

[disneyfan2]

We are going mid Dec and thought we would skip the Advent calendar this year, and make our own to lead up to surprise the kids we are leaving for Disney

 

[1971DBday]

I do two things:

1. I do "Disney Quizes" in their lunch boxes each day starting at the 30 day mark. I make them rhyme with how many days to go and it's usually a ride, show or special treat they can get at the parks. They come to the car at the end of the day with no hello...just blurts of what the answer could be. This year the answer to the trivia is a picture of the answer on the next days quiz.

2. We also do a countdown calendar on the fridge. Since this is our 4th trip in a row we use pictures from the previous years trip with word bubbles coming out of the mouth (i.e. "I can't believe we will be eating another Mickey Premium Bar in 14 days"). If this is your first trip you can just use pictures from the internet of different rides, parks, hotels, etc.

 

[mchelle77]

Since no one has given you any ideas yet, I've got a couple that you might consider. The first is to go to any Home Depot, and go to their paint chip section. There you will find that Behr paint has paint colours with a Disney theme. The paint chips are shaped like Mickey Mouse heads. Grab a pile of different colours. Then go to your local craft store and pick up a large piece of poster board. Cut out the Mickey Mouse heads, then number each one individually for the amount of days you want the count down calendar. Then in the middle of the poster board write "DIsney vacation" or basically whatever you want to say, then get a glue stick and glue all the mickey mouse heads onto the poster board around what you have written. The idea is each the child can take off one of the numbered Mickey Mouse heads till there is none left.

I did this, here's a pic. My DD LOVED it.