Mini Christmas Countdown – Christmas Craft for Kids

Disclosure: I have partnered with Maplelea and have received compensation for this post. All opinions in the post are my own.

With Christmas on its way, kids constantly ask “How many days until Christmas?”. Well, why not help them make their very own Mini Christmas Countdown. This Christmas Countdown is a great way for them to countdown to Christmas with their favorite doll. It’s also the perfect size for them to display in their bedroom!

But before we start working on the Mini Christmas Countdown, does your child have a doll that will help them countdown to Christmas?

Toy gift idea for Christmas – Maplelea Girls™

Does your child have a doll that they love to play with? Emanuelle never had a doll that she “connected” with. I mean, yes she had dolls… but never really played with them. However, that changed when we surprised her with her very own Maplelea Friend.

Maplelea is a 100% Canadian owned and operated small business (in operation since 1986!) that produces high quality 18” dolls and Canadian-themed accessories since 2003.

Maplelea Girls™ are age-appropriate dolls that encourage creative play and healthy, active lifestyles. They help children learn and love Canadian culture, heritage and geography. They are intended for children 6-12+ (safe for children 3+).

There are 7 Maplelea Girls™ from different regions of Canada (West Coast, the Rockies, rural prairies, urban Ontario, the East Coast, Quebec, and northern Canada).

Each of these Maplelea Girls™ has its own distinctive personality, strong values, and stories to tell. They each come with a starter outfit, a story journal, and a keepsake box.

When we sat down to pick a Maplelea doll for Emanuelle, we ended up getting a Maplelea Friend. There are over 24 Maplelea dolls to choose from. We picked based on her eyes, hair color, skin color, and hair length… basically we picked out one that looks just like Emanuelle. hehe

Curious to see Emanuelle’s reaction to the arrival of her new friend? Check out all the different expressions that Emanuelle had during the unwrapping.

As you can see, she was OVER THE MOON happy!

If you are looking for a Christmas gift for your child that will get a out of this world reaction, get them Maplelea Girls™! Seriously! I’m so happy I took photos of the unwrapping, I do wish I would have filmed it too though. The screams of excitement were awesome!!

She got a bunch of Canada-themed accessories to go with her:

Emanuelle named her Maplelea Friend Cloe. Isn’t that a cute name?

Ever since Emanuelle got her Maplelea Friend, she has her with her all the time. She’s her little sidekick. It makes my heart happy each time I see them together.

Ready to see how we made the Mini Christmas Countdown for them to countdown to Christmas together? Awesome! Here we go!

Mini Christmas Countdown

Supplies:

• 4×6 Wood Frame
• Mini Chalkboard or small block of wood
• Cork sheet
• Craft paper cardstock
• Glue
• Mod Podge
• Red glitter
• Scissors
• Graphite paper (optional)
• Hot glue
• Paint brush
• Cardboard
• Glitter sheet (optional)
• Mini velcros
• Small vinyl numbers
• Greenery (optional)

Instructions:

(The first part of this tutorial is how me made a fire mantel to display the mini Christmas countdown.)

Step 1: We cut the bottom portion of the 4×6 wood frame, to make it look like a fire mantel.

Step 2: We then proceeded to cut the cork sheet and cardboard to fit inside the 4×6 frame (fire mantel).

Step 3: Next, we glued together the cork sheet and cardboard.

Step 4: Using hot glue, we attached the cork sheet and cardboard to the fire mantel, making sure that the cork side was facing forward.

Step 5: Time to make little stockings with craft paper.

We drew a stocking onto a piece of craft paper and cut it out.

We used the pattern to create a total of 4 stockings.

Step 6: To give the stockings a fun look, we added glitter to the cuffs of the stockings.

We had a sheet of red glitter paper in stock, so we used that.

If you do not have glitter paper, just apply glue to the cuff and sprinkle glitter over the glue.

We cut the glitter paper to size and used glue to attach them to the stockings.

Step 7: Once the stockings were all done, we hot glued the stockings to the fire mantel.

(Now time to start working on the Mini Christmas Countdown.)

Step 8: With the fire mantel completed, it was time to start working on the mini Christmas countdown.

We applied a coat of Mod Podge on the mini chalkboard (wood block if that’s what you have to work with) and sprinkled glitter over it.

We repeated applying Mod Podge and glitter all over the outside and inside edges (no need to do this on the bottom of the edge though).

Step 9: While waiting for the Mod Podge and glitter to dry, we made a banner out of craft paper just a bit wider than the chalkboard frame.

We then used our vinyl cutter to cut the word Christmas out of red vinyl.

If you do not have a vinyl cutter, you can use a red pen/marker to write Christmas on the banner. You can also find beautiful lettering on the computer, print it out, and use graphite paper to transfer the lettering onto the banner.

Step 10: At this point, the glitter and Mod Podge had dried. We then applied a coat of Mod Podge over the entire frame (to seal all the glitter in place).

Step 11: Next, time to add the word Countdown to the chalkboard.

We were planning on writing directly on the chalkboard with a chalk pen I purchased, however it ended up being a bulky pen… it was too big to use to write on the chalkboard.

Instead of running to the craft store to buy a thin one, I found a quick solution. I used Canva (online graphic design) to create a graphic. I selected a black background and used a cute font to write Countdown in white. I made sure that it printed the same size as the chalkboard.

We printed it, cut it, and glued it into place (once the Mod Podge and glitter had dried).

Step 12: We attached the Christmas banner just above the word Countdown on the glitter frame with glue.

Step 13: We cut out 14 small rectangles from the sheet of cork.

We made sure that two rectangles fit side by side on the chalkboard underneath the word Countdown.

Step 14: We applied vinyl numbers onto the cork rectangles. (You can also paint the numbers on the cork.)

We did 2x 0, 2x 1, 2x 2, 2x 3, and 1x 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Step 15: Time to add hook & loop fasteners to the rectangles. We stuck the loop side onto the back of all the rectangles.

Step 16: We stuck 2 (hook side) onto the chalkboard underneath the word Countdown.

Step 17: Using glue, we glued two pieces of wood (pieces for the frame we cut off) behind the fire mantel for it to stand on its own.

We also glued one piece behind the countdown and fire mantel to attach them together.

Here’s how it turned out:

DIY Mini Christmas Countdown

Didn’t the Mini Christmas Countdown turn out awesome?

Emanuelle had SO MUCH fun making it. She even offered to make one for Gabrielle!

She didn’t ask me if I wanted one though, so sad. But I think it’s because I already have a bunch of Christmas Countdowns.

Seriously, I may have a Christmas Countdown problem. hehe I made a Wall Mounted Advent Calendar, an Outdoor Christmas Countdown Marquee Sign, and a Glass Mounted Christmas Countdown. hehe So I like counting the days until Christmas, no big deal. hehe

Cloe and Emanuelle officially started counting down to Christmas on Saturday. hehe Cloe got to change the number yesterday and today was Emanuelle’s turn. Isn’t it sweet that they are getting along so well?! :)

I hope that Emanuelle and Cloe (her Maplelea Friend) have inspired you to do some Christmas crafting!

And don’t forget, if you are looking for an awesome Christmas gift for that special child in your life, check out Maplelea! I’m certain you’ll be able too find a special friend for them!

Have a GREAT day!