Trip Countdown Ideas
Whenever we take big vacations (primarily Disney trips), we tend to have some sort of "countdown". We vary when we start this countdown, but it is always something fun. Below are a few of our countdowns for trips. Hopefully they can inspire you and your family!
1. Countdown Paper Chain - You can get as creative as your family wants with this countdown idea. We decided to make our chain look like Mickey Mouse. So we had 4 "parts". White Connector, Black Mickey Ears, Red Shirt (with colored buttons), and yellow "shoes". On the white connector and yellow shoes, we wrote the number of days left that that piece of paper represented. We started at day 40 since we had 4 parts. Each part is connected with a staple. However, we did not stop there. On the back I put a small number on each one. Brad and I took 20 parts a piece, but we took them so that we each had an alternate day. We investigated and wrote down 20 unique or rare facts about Walt Disney World. I connected them in order in such a way that I did not see them. Each morning we took turns reading our fact to each other. As we went, we even made a list of things to look for if such was listed as a fact that day.
2. Marker Board Countdown - We have a ceramic plate that we keep in our kitchen that has slots that ribbon can go through. With our Disney trips, I use Disney ribbon. We list different countdown information on this plate and update it daily. For instance, for our September trip, we listed how many days until Disney, how many workdays until Disney, and how many gym days until Disney.
3. Random Lunch Notes Countdown - At approximately day 30, I would begin randomly writing notes and adding them to Brad's lunch in the mornings. The notes would always list how many days we had until Disney, but it would also list different things such as "In three weeks we will be spending the day at Magic Kingdom" or "In two weeks we will be eating dinner at Be Our Guest".
4. Picture Text Countdown - For my most recent trip, my mom and I went to Disney and a cruise. Since we do not live together, I had to come up with a way we could still have a countdown. I decided on day 32, I would create some sort of picture and send it to her every day. It always listed the number of days remaining, but sometimes it would also list little facts about our trip or about where we were going. Below are some of the examples. I used Pixelmator to create most of these pictures.
5. Traditional Calendar Countdown - With about 45 days remaining until our Disney trip in September 2014, I sat down with Brad and we made out a calendar for the last 30 days. We listed things we could do most days as a way to get excited for our upcoming trip. Some days we would watch a Disney movie. One day we even had a Disney themed party. Or we would do some sort of craft. Either way, we would look at the calendar each day to see what new thing we were doing to countdown to Disney.
6. Present Countdown - So we didn't actually do a present countdown. Instead, a week before our Disney trip, we have each other a $20 Disney related present. But I do think it would be a neat idea for someone with children to do a present countdown. So maybe with 10 days remaining, you could give your child a Disney related present. It doesn't have to be a very expensive present. It could be something as simple as a coloring book, pajamas, or glow sticks for parades!
