Holiday Planning: Egg Carton Countdown Calendar

Just 12 more days 'til...

Submitted by
Kayla Chong

Get your kid in on the holiday planning by making this easy countdown calendar out of an egg carton. Now you can stop listening to, "How long ... ?" until Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, summer vacation, back-to-school, his birthday, etc.

Empty egg carton:
Huevos rancheros, anyone?
Cardboard:
An old shoebox or cereal box will do.
Marker
Glitter or glitter glue
Tempera paint and paintbrush
White glue
12 small, inexpensive prizes:
Like stickers or candy. They need to fit in an egg cell, so think smaller than 12 drummers drumming or a partridge in a pear tree.
Scotch tape

Whip up a frittata and give your child the clean, empty egg carton.
Have him paint it any color he likes with the tempera paints. He can add a little sparkle by flinging some glitter onto the wet paint.
Help him cut out 12 circles (about 1½ inches in diameter) out of cardboard. They don't have to be perfectly round.
He can jazz up the circles with a little paint and glitter if he so desires.
Have your child (or help your child) write the numbers 1 through 12 on the top of each of the cutout circles.
When the egg carton and circles are decorated to your kid's heart's content, have him close his eyes or leave the room as you fill each of the 12 egg cells with a little surprise.
Cover each of the cells with one of the numbered circles (not in numerical order, so it's a bit of a hunt) and tape them down.
Twelve days before the long-awaited event, have your child open up the cell numbered 12 and fish out his prize. The next day, he can open number 11, the following day number 10, and so on until the final day, when your holiday planning pays off!