Countdown to Christmas

FREE Printable Download Countdown to Christmas and a Countdown to Back to School! Many children find the holidays so overwhelming, a countdown can help bring concrete structure to their days.

Having spent the long Summer here with Jack, everyday he asked when was he going back to “Rosskey” (what he calls his school Knockrooskey). I had used a Visual Schedule the previous Summer which counted down the days to back to school! I was very sorry indeed I could not find it last summer nor had I time to make a new one with 4 children running around. It was a disaster! 

So for Christmas I was NOT making that mistake again, especially when there is such a build up to Christmas day and then after the 26th it feels like we are all in no man’s land, having no idea of the day/date. I get confused around Christmas time so I cannot begin to imagine what it is like for children with Special Needs who need routine structure to keep themselves regulated and their anxiety at bay. 

I have created a December/January Calendar together with Icons including: 

1. School
2. No School
3. 25th December
4. 24th December
5. Tree Icons (to represent Christmas) 
6. New Years Eve 
7. New Years Day

I plan to start using this from the 1st of December with Jack and Conor so they understand exactly how far away Christmas is, how long it lasts and how long before they go back to “Rooskey”. 

A parent who follows my Facebook page requested this Printable in particular; I am glad she will be able to use it with her little girl. 

WHAT YOU NEED:

1. Printer
2. Laminator
3. Scissors
4. Velcro Coins (I buy mine in bulk from Amazon.com (not the UK Amazon) you get a better deal on the US site)

WHAT YOU DO: 

1. You will need to print off the PDF download
2. Laminate each sheet 
3. You need to cut out each ICON square (the ones that have trees/school etc) and attach Velcro Coins on to the back of each one
4. On the sheets that contain the Calendar you need to attach the corresponding Velcro coins (the opposite to the soft/rough Velcro coins you used on the Icon squares)
5. Starting then from the 1st of December you and your child will place the correct icon on the appropriate square for each date, depending on the day etc

I hope you will find this useful and helpful over the Christmas period. The main thing I am hoping it will ease is Jack’s anxiety and hopefully it will give him more structure to his weeks off from school. 

You can find your FREE DOWNLOAD here.

I would love to hear how you get on with your Christmas Countdown so feel free to comment down below or contact me over on my Facebook page. 

If you liked this post then you may also like:

A FREE PRINTABLE LETTER TO SANTA

 

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Thank you for reading. 

AMANDA