A birthday countdown is the perfect way to help get excited for the big day ahead! Birthday traditions like this can be a memorable part of celebrating your family member’s birthday. I’ve created ten different free birthday calendars for you to print and enjoy! Some of these templates are perfect for your home printer and use only black and white ink, other templates are more colorful! You can print these off on card stock at a local print shop. You could even laminate them and reuse them for each birthday that comes around!
Your child’s face will light up each day as they cross off their birthday countdown calendar and look forward to celebrating their big day.
- What is a birthday countdown?
- Why use a birthday countdown?
- Types of birthday countdowns
- How to use a birthday calendar
- Free printable birthday countdowns
What Is A Birthday Countdown?
A birthday countdown is the perfect way to share in your excitement at a special day ahead. Using a countdown calendar template is easy. Simply print off your birthday countdown calendar of choice, and then cross off or color in each day as your family member’s birthday draws nearer. I’ve included some templates with numbers and some blank ones in case your little one wants to practice writing in the numbers themselves!
This simple birthday tradition is perfect for even the youngest family members in your household. Children who are too young to count can still cross off the days one by one. Older children can practice counting every day as they get excited watching the number get smaller and smaller.
Why Use A Birthday Countdown?
Birthday countdown calendars are kind of like a Christmas advent calendar. They build anticipation for an upcoming event. Looking forward to something is so much fun! It helps add joy into our lives. Creative ways to celebrate important dates, like using a printable countdown calendar, are easy and fun ways to start the celebration early.
Birthday countdown calendars also help us visualize time. If your child is excited for their birthday but doesn’t quite understand days and weeks yet, they may be confused about how much longer they need to wait until it’s their big day. I’ve included a calendar with thirty one days in case your child has started asking about their birthday a whole month before the day! Other, smaller calendars only have seven days to build up to the event the week before.
A birthday countdown is an enjoyable way to start a new simple family tradition. Traditions do not have to be big, expensive or time consuming to be fun and exciting. Don’t be afraid to start a brand new family tradition no matter the age of your children. It is never too late or a bad idea to build new amusing happy rituals into your family’s yearly routines that will help make your children feel special and important.
Family traditions help strengthen family bonds. Strong family bonds help foster a greater feeling of belonging and help build a child’s identity. Family traditions can also increase a child’s feeling of belonging. Being able to participate in a happy ritual that connects them to their culture helps them create an identity and understand their place in the family and how important they are.
Family traditions also provide time for connection. Spending time together, participating in your family traditions, means more interaction and bonding. Security, belonging and connection… these are all great reasons to use a birthday countdown as part of your family birthday traditions.
Birthday Countdown Ideas
Printable birthday countdowns like these ones I’ve made for you are my favorite because they’re a solid, real item a child can feel in their hands and cross off one day at a time. Your child can practice using and holding a writing tool like a marker or crayon. In addition, they can also practice their counting skills (forwards – how many days until the special day, as well as backwards) by crossing off a number every day.
Another fun birthday countdown idea is to make a paper chain. As the birthday countdown starts, you can add a new paper link to your chain decoration each day and watch it grow. This chain can then become part of your birthday party decorations.
Lastly, you could find a countdown mobile app or different kinds of countdown clocks for your phone that can help build anticipation for your big event!
How To Use A Birthday Calendar
Start by downloading a free template. This set of 10 free templates will give you a lot of options! Then use ‘print preview’ on your home printer to make sure you like how it looks. Or upload it to your local print shop website and print it off any size you like. You can even put it on thick card stock and laminate it! Use washable or dry erase markers on a laminated countdown page so you can reuse it for years to come.
Whether you are a whole month away or just a week away from the big birthday event, it’s not too late or too early to start your countdown. Choose whichever template fits best for the number of days there are left! You can use a template like this for your whole birth month, or just the week before the big day. Keep your countdown somewhere that you’ll remember to see it and use it each day. Putting it on your fridge or wherever you display your child’s art can help keep it in view.
Choose a time of day that works for your family to cross off another day. This could be first thing in the morning when everyone is together before school and work, or around dinner time. Think of a moment when you’ll usually be together with your child. Remember, birthday traditions don’t have to be perfect to be fun. Miss a day? Just cross two off and keep going. Life happens! Your child isn’t going to remember that you missed a day, they’ll remember feeling special, important and looking forward to being celebrated.
Free Printable Birthday Countdown Calendars
Here are some templates that are of varying lengths. Some are 20 days, some are two weeks, or one week, and I have even included one option that’s the whole month! After you download the set of 10 PDFs, choose which one you would like and use ‘print preview’ on your printer at home to make sure you like the way it looks. You could even have your birthday countdown calendar laminated to reuse it later. Or if you have a plastic report cover sleeve, you could use that on top of your calendar and a dry erase marker instead of lamination.
All ten templates are free for you to use at home with your family for personal use (not for resale or business purposes).
Final thoughts on printable birthday countdowns
I hope you have found the perfect template here to use! It’s a great way to get your household excited for upcoming birthdays and make your birthday boy or birthday girl feel special.
Check out this article for some great US destinations to celebrate a 40th birthday. And don’t forget to use a birthday countdown for your own birthday mom and dad! Kids love celebrating their parents too.
For more great birthday party ideas check out more of our articles!
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