Birthday Countdown Fun

If you've ever used an Advent calendar to count down the days until Christmas, then you know how fun a countdown before an event can be. A birthday countdown is a great way for children to mark off the days before the big event and helps parents avoid a constant barrage of, "Mom, is my birthday soon? How soon? Is it now?" as the day draws closer. To make a birthday countdown calendar, you should ideally start 30 days before the child's birthday. You'll need to decide if you want to put prizes in the calendar each day and, if so, buy 30 prizes. Remember, the prizes don't have to be big or expensive. Temporary tattoos, stickers or individually wrapped snack size candies all work well. If you plan to make this a yearly tradition, it is worth the extra time and effort to make a permanent calendar from fabric, wide gross-grain ribbon and adhesive numbers. Lay the ribbon across the fabric in five rows and sew down at the two side edges and the bottom. Then, divide the ribbons into six sections and sew down the sides of the sections to form pockets. Stick the numbers onto the pockets. Make a placeholder that the child can move from one pocket to the next as you count down the days.