The Playful Parent™

Countdown!

This idea is fun for any event that’s got you counting down the days. Days until a birthday, days until school is out, days until leaving for a vacation, days until Christmas—all are reasons to celebrate! Use this countdown calendar to make sure you’re having fun every day along the way—and not saving all the fun until that big event. This idea also creates more excitement about the actual event, and can help everyone get ready.

Summary: You’ll make a calendar out of balloons and use it to count down until an upcoming event.
Best For: Preschool and school-aged kids
Seasonal/Holiday Focus: Great for counting down until Christmas...Or New Year's Day...Or Valentine's Day...Or a Birthday...or...well, you get the idea! This for counting down to any fun event.

Supplies: Balloons, scissors, permanent marker, paper and pen

Before you Begin

Decide what event you’re going to count down until, and how many days you’re going to count. For example, you might count down 24 days until Christmas, but for most other events you probably only want to count down 10 days.

Ready to Go!

First, make a list of super easy fun things that you can do in the days before your event. For example, if you’re counting down until Christmas, you might think of singing Christmas songs together, decorating the tree, taking a gift to a neighbor, going out to look at lights after dark, and so on. If you’re counting down the days until vacation, fun things to do ahead of time might be putting together a toy bag to use in the car, getting out the luggage and making sure all the zippers work (and hiding secret notes in some of the pockets!), looking at pictures or maps of your destination and planning some of the activities, and so on.

Have fun brainstorming what could be on your list—and be sure to include the kids in this part! It’s OK to come up with more ideas than you need. Then, when you have a bunch of ideas, you can hone it down to the ones that sound like the most fun (and that fit into your budget!).

When your list is ready, cut it into strips with one item to do on each strip of paper. Fold the strips and put each one into a balloon. Then inflate the balloons (hope you have lots of breath!) and tie them. Mix them up, and then write a number on each one with a permanent marker. Make one idea-filled balloon for each day you’re counting down. Leave them on the floor, or tape them to a wall, or hang them on strings from the ceiling—whatever seems like it will make everyone smile the most.

Now ready to play? Each day, your child gets to pop the balloon that has the highest number and then you all get to do what the slip of paper inside tells you to do! (If you have several kids you can take turns popping the balloons.) Even though the big day hasn’t arrived yet, you’ll have a blast along the way.

Bonus

Consider using color themes to help with your countdown celebrations. Use red, green, and white balloons to count down until Christmas, pastel ones to count down to Easter, or your child’s favorite color to count down to a birthday.

--Mike & Amy Nappa

Why We Play

Research has shown that the ability to play is a critical part of maintaining a happy lifestyle, of sustaining social relationships, and fostering a creative and innovative personality.

Play actually shapes the neuron paths in the brain and makes us smarter and more adaptable to life circumstances.

Additionally, a healthy play-life as a child is a surprisingly accurate predictor of career success as an adult. 1

And...it's fun to play. So what are you waiting for? Use this Playful Parent idea to share a little bit of play-life with your children today!

1. Source: Play by Stuart Brown, M.D. (New York: Avery, a member of the Penguin Group USA, 2009.) Pp. 4-13