Ideas for countdown chain? Something different

[TexDisneyMom]

We always make a countdown chain when our trip gets closer, but I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of something different than slips of paper made into a chain. What does your family do to countdown the days?

 

[CamColt]

Once we took M&Ms and counted out the numbe of days til our trip(once we got somewhat close). Each kid got a bag with that many M&Ms in it. Every night after dinner they had 1 M&M until there were none left.

 

[audrabolster]

Once we took M&Ms and counted out the numbe of days til our trip(once we got somewhat close). Each kid got a bag with that many M&Ms in it. Every night after dinner they had 1 M&M until there were none left.

You could get cute disney mickey candies or something like this and put them in a cute disney jar (or bag, or whatever) and each day eat one until there's none left!

 

[abby]

We took a piece of paper and made a calander for our days until we left, then my dd got to put a princess sticker on each day until all the squares were filled in. She loved picking out a sticker each day.

 

[MommyWithDreams]

I put up bubbles on the wall and each night we added a mickey head!!! We also did the chain.

 

[sandymandr]

I put up bubbles on the wall and each night we added a mickey head!!! We also did the chain.

ooooh, that gave me a great (if not a little loud) idea....I've got a teen, so the chain thing is not real exciting for her, but I can put balloons up and she can pop one each day! And if I can figure it out, maybe even put a little surprise in each one! Or maybe even fill with Mickey head glitter confetti.....uggggggh, the vacuuming! Thanks!

 

[TexDisneyMom]

Thanks for all the great ideas!

 

[Husker Mickey]

We also do a calendar thing with a trivia contest for all who are going. My husband even made trophies this year with bobbleheads from the Rice Krispies box, I think. We have a page a day so that you can tear off that day. We use old Disney maps and travel brochures to decorate. I also have found stickers to help. Have fun!

 

[PrincessKell]

love the mickey heads!

This year because we are not telling dd she gets to go on a mommy/daughter trip. We are getting her little Dollar type disney stuff to give her wrapped each day. She will have no clue why she is getting them. Then the last day she will have a new Disneyland something with a sign that says You're going to DISNEYLAND! and she will get a phone call from Mickey or Goofy (because she is not too fond of Goofy. thinking maybe this will help. haha)

 

[TiggerandTink]

We used some of our pilfered mickey head paint samples from Home Depot and made a calendar for the month before we left. Each day one of the kids got to take one mickey head off. Underneath we wrote little sayings, or asked them a question about DL, or reminded them of something to pack (like don't forget your swimsuit). They really enjoyed it.

 

[lilallybean]

I got a piece of black poster board and traced plates to make a big Mickey head, and then cut it out. We then took clothes pins and wrote the name of one character on each one. We clipped the pins on the edge of the Mickey head. Each morning the kids took picked ONE pin to remove and then in our 'Disney trip' notebook wrote something funny they would say or do when they found that character for autographs. Like---Captain Hook....make tick tock sounds!

 

[ballarinamom]

I DID THE HOME DEPOT HEADS TOO! We used thfor eachday and had a sticker of the castle with fire works for the last day.
Also we have taken a long strip of paper and glued Hershey's kisses in a long line. Each day, DD unwrapped a kiss. When she got to the top of the strip, it was time to go!

 

[TexDisneyMom]

Yesterday I went to Home Depot and almost felt like a theif picking up 25 mickey heads........

 

[TexDisneyMom]

Well we decided on what to do. We made each kid 25 countdown bags. I used paper lunch sacks and put different things in them, like bubbles, small yo-yos, candy, small decks of playing cards (old maid, crazy eights) and then I took the spending money we are giving them and divided it out randomly thru the bags. I used mailing labels and decorated them with Disney clip art and put little sayings on them. Some had touring plan tips, others would say things like "are we there yet". In the end they will both get exactly the same thing (DH and I even divided the candy equally) but it will be fun because it is unkown what each will get every day.

The bonus to it was DH and I had fun making up the bags!

 

[lyzziesmom]

Here's what we do for a countdown: We number our Mickey Heads and decorate them with Disney stickers, then use double-sided tape to randomly stick them to the back of the door to the garage (the door we use daily to leave the house). Every morning, we take off the highest number -- the kids have a great time searching for it! When it gets down to the last one that says Let's GO! then we know it's time to go! It really helps my DD3 understand how many days are left, since she doesn't yet grasp the concept of a calendar but she can look and see at a glance if there are a "lot" of Mickeys or just a "few" Mickeys. And the stickers, sometimes ones we bought at Disney, help get us in the mood as we will discuss the characters or parks represented on each Mickey head when we take it down. We've been throwing them out but I think next time I will save them for scrapbooking or for future use. Here's a picture of my DD9 showing off our last Countdown Door o' Mickeys:

 

[DLovinFam]

I love all of the great count down ideas! Almost makes me wish we weren't keeping it a secret from the kids so I could do one of these. We are surprising the kids 5 days before we leave. We are going to have an Iron Chef competition. My mom and dad will be the judges. They will magically make the scores come out even and they will present the family with a huge check that will have all of the details of our Disneyland trip spelled out on different areas of the check.

Well, I guess the kids will have 5 days to count down, so I can still use one of your great ideas. ;o)

 

[Brady's Mom]

With all of your cute countdown ideas it almost makes me want to tell my 3 DS's that we are going to DLR in March instead of December. They know we are going this year so we can talk about what we want to do and what we want to ride and who we want to see. They just don't know we will be there from Mar. 4-8. My 11 year old might figure it out as we get to the airport. Although we are "taking" grandma and grandpa to the airport that morning. He just doesn't know we are getting on the plane with them!!! Heee Heee I am soooo excited. Only 3 weeks left.