FREE Christmas Calendar Countdown Chain

Need a Class Advent Calendar? Then download our FREE Christmas Calendar Countdown Chain Template today! This Santa themed Advent calendar countdown is really simple to make and perfect for kids of any age. Best of all these Christmas countdown calendars make any classroom look festive and fun in no time!

We’ve seen so many different Christmas Advent Calendars on the web. When we found these Christmas Countdown Chain Calendars all over Pinterest we loved the idea so much we wanted to give it a try! After looking at all the ideas, and there’s so many to choose from, we realised that if we didn’t want absolute chaos in the classroom we needed to create a simple template for the kiddos to follow. So we set to and made a colour and a black and white version of the countdown calendar template for you to add to your FREE Christmas Resources For Teaching.

Now all kiddos are different, some kiddos will love a template and others can do the Christmas craft independently, so it’s your call. In this post, you’ll find the materials and the step-by-step instructions for BOTH versions of the Santa Christmas Countdown Chain, which we also included in the Free template.

All you have to do is decide which version of this fun Christmas craft you’re going to do with your kids and download the Freebie at the end of the post! Enjoy, comment & tag us @aplusteacheroz to share your creations!

Related Post: Must-Try Christmas Book Advent Calendar

What is A Christmas Countdown Chain Calendar?

A Christmas Chain calendar is a fun type of Advent Calendar for kids, to help count down the number of sleeps or days until Christmas. Each day a link is removed from the chain until all the links have gone! It’s a great alternative to the commercial Advent Calendar as it doesn’t contain sugary treats and you can make it yourself. This Santa themed version is the perfect class advent calendar.

How To Make A Christmas Countdown Chain Calendar

The countdown chain is made by cutting up strips of paper and then fixing the two ends of the strip together to form a circle. To make a paper chain, thread another strip of paper through the first circle and secure the two ends together as before. continue until you have made a long link!

You can even make a countdown chain calendar to keep track of how many days there are until other occasions too, like a Birthday. Our favourite is to make one to count down the number of days left at school before the end of term.

Materials For Santa Advent Calendar To Make At School

To make the Santa Chain Countdown Calendar will need:

Toilet Paper Roll or Construction Paper
Foam Paper
Markers or Paint Pens
Scissors
Hole Punch
Pipe Cleaner
Craft Pom Poms
Glitter
Ribbon or String
Our FREE Santa Christmas Advent Calendar Template (at the END of the Post)

Santa Countdown Chain Calendar Instructions

If you decide not to use the Free Christmas calendar template follow these instructions.

The Christmas advent calendar consists of 2 parts:

Chimney Topper
24 Countdown Chains

To make the chimney topper cut a piece of brick red construction paper to cover a toilet roll tube completely. Decorate the paper in a brick pattern to create a brick wall effect.
Decorate the top of the chimney with some glitter or cotton wool snow.

3. Use red construction foam or card to cut out some Santa boots.

4. Decorate the Santa boots with pompoms and some red card.

5. Roll the brick effect paper into a tube. Then attach it to the toilet roll using glue or double-sided tape to create the chimney.

6. Use some glue or double-sided tape to attach Santa’s boots to the inside of the chimney. Make sure they are upside down so it looks like Santa is diving down the chimney.

7. Prepare 24 strips of paper for the chains. You will need 12 green and 12 red.

8. Put aside one of the strips for later.

9. Use only 23 strips for the next part. To make a paper chain fix the two ends of one of the strips together to form a circle. Then thread another strip of paper through the first circle and secure the two ends together as before.

10. We alternated the strips red, green to create a pattern, you can even decorate the strips to make them more festive if you like.

11. Continue until you have used 23 of the pieces of paper to create the countdown chains. Put aside, they will be attached to the topper shortly.

12. Take the strip of paper you put aside and attach it to the Chimney tube topper. This strip is going to be used to link the topper to the countdown chain.

13. To link the topper to the chain attach the 23 chains you made earlier by threading the strip of paper on the chimney topper through the first link on the countdown chain. Your

14. To hang the Christmas Calendar in the classroom take a hole punch and make 2 holes on the chimney. Thread some string or we used a pipe cleaner through and tie together, then hang!

Click the image below if you prefer to use our FREE Christmas Calendar Template. Full instructions are included in the printable.

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