Counting down the days until Christmas was always a fun tradition for me as a kid. I was a big fan of the advent calendars that held little chocolates or ornaments to hang on the tree. Another favorite way to mark the passing days was with a Countdown Chain.
Making your own Christmas Countdown Chain is a super fun and easy craft you can do with the kids. Simply cut 25 strips of paper (about 1/2″ thick), and loop them together one by one. Use staples (or tape if your kids are really little) to keep them together. Find somewhere to hang your chain, and let the kids have fun tearing off a link every day in December. Christmas will be here before they know it!
As a side note, two years ago I decided I was going to make a felt version so we could reuse it from year to year. It works great and the velcro has even held up over the years. My only complaint is that ripping paper is actually much more fun!