One way to make the count down to Christmas a little easier is by finding fun ways to count down the days in a way they can understand. For really young kids, it is better not to start the countdown more than two weeks before Santa's arrival. This is enough to seem like an eternity to them-and it will keep them interested and involved with the holiday planning.

There are a number of Advent Calendars available on the market so that you can mark each day leading up to the holiday in a special way. One truly creative one is the building block Advent Calendar that has you combine smaller models into a bigger one once every week until Christmas in addition to opening a new door each day.

You really don't have to spend money on an elaborate advent calendar when you can easily create one of your own. All are built on the same principle whether it is opening a door, taking a piece away, adding a piece, or anything you can do on a daily basis.

To make your own simple and enjoyable advent calendar, use a piece of green construction paper and cut out in the shape of a Christmas tree. You can let your child use other colors of paper to create decorations or just use as is. Glue individually wrapped pieces of candy, like peppermint discs onto the tree, one for each day until the holiday. Each day your child will take one piece of candy from the tree and when they are all gone, the holiday is here! Not only is this a helpful way for little ones to count down to Christmas, they also get a treat every day.

Another way to count down to Christmas that is fun for all ages is "The Twelve Gifts of Christmas". Go to your local dollar or variety store and choose twelve small age-appropriate gifts for each child. Wrap them up in little boxes and top with small bows. These can be placed under the tree with the other gifts or on the tree as cute decorations. Your child will be permitted to open one gift each day until they are all gone and the big day is here! This is a great way to extend the joy of opening gifts without spending a lot of money!

Print out color sheets for The Twelve Days of Christmas and let your child color one each of the last twelve days. These are easy to find on a variety of sites and you should find them with the right difficulty for the age of your child. Find a place to display the art work as part of the Christmas decorations. Children love to contribute their own art work to any holiday and they will know when they get to "1" that they have made it to their favorite occasion!

You can also make a paper chain, but instead of using it for a decoration, make the chain based on the number of days until Christmas. Every night before bedtime, tear off a piece, and count the remaining links. Even small children can tell at a glance how many days are left if you use this method.

Whatever method you choose, make your holiday countdown a fun part of the festivities, and you will both look forward to the big day!