A sweet countdown to Christmas just for your Spouse!
Are you ready for the hustle & bustle of Christmas to begin? Oooohhh…I am! I absolutely LOVE Christmas time!! *sigh* OK….”observation time” – I feel that when the Christmas season hits, we usually tend to focus more on the kids, don’t you agree?? Of course, the wonder and joy on their faces when they experience a FABULOUS Christmas definitely HELPS. {lol} If you want to make sure your spouse knows how much you adore him/her during THIS holiday season and doesn’t feel neglected, have I got an idea for you! Cuz ya know, Christmas isn’t JUST for the little ones! ?
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A few years ago, I decided I wanted my husband to have something FUN to look forward to when December hit, I created the FIRST set of “Jamie’s Christmas Countdown”. Twenty-five days of L.O.V.E. just for him! I am going to show you my original Countdown and if you are SUPER busy, {Who isn’t, right?!?} there is a “quick” version that you can instantly download! 🙂
I grabbed a spool of beautiful cherry red ribbon, 25 clothespins, and some removable clips that you can put on your walls without ruining them. They are pretty cheap and you can purchase them anywhere – I got mine at Walmart. I then sat down and numbered a piece of paper from 1-25 to represent the 25 days in December leading up to Christmas and went to town planning my countdown! I put stars next to the nights that were Fridays & Saturdays, since those were the nights that I KNEW we would have time to either do a date night or stay up late. Next to each number I wrote one of three things:
- A Compliment – something I LOVED about him {this made up 2/3 of the countdown}
- A Service – something I was going to do for him{this was HALF of the last ⅓ of the countdown}
- A FUN Christmas Activity – something we could go and do together – having to do with the season {this made up the remaining HALF of the last ⅓ of the countdown}
I made sure that they were ALL mixed up. BTW – don’t try to book every last weekend as things will come up, so make sure your schedule is flexible! Also – HE might secretly be planning fun things for you, so make sure to keep some of your weekend nights open. I would let him know in advance what particular nights you have “set” plans, just mark put a heart on those days on your family calendar & tell him that those are nights he should keep open.
I typed up all of my different cards & scrapbooked each one. I went overboard that year and decided to do them ALL different themes/colors/sizes. Yep, I was crazy… in love!
Here are a few of the “Compliment” cards:
Make sure you take this opportunity to point out to your spouse ALL of the wonderful things that you love about him/her! You can NEVER compliment a person too much!! Let them know how much you adore the funny quirks that only YOU know about! 🙂 Feel free to throw some of your inside jokes on the cards! I definitely threw in my share! I had so much fun reflecting on our years together and jotting down the things I loved about him.
NEXT – the “Service” cards!
Here’s an example of one of mine:
One night he came home to a trail of rose petals leading to our Master Bathtub where a candlelit bubble bath waited. {Wink} …thus the term “bubbly”….
Think about things your spouse would REALLY enjoy and then use those as your “service” cards! For example, my husband LOVES back scratches and I give super “wimpy” ones… or so he says. 🙂 In my defense, uhhhhh… ok, so I AM a wimp! {lol} Anyway, I promised to give him an AMAZING back rub! I also don’t love to cook, so I made the ultimate sacrifice and told him I would create ANY dessert he wanted. {That was a HUGE sacrifice on my part… and do you know what he “ordered”?? Apple pie! You better believe I made it from scratch! Longest five hours of my life. J/K…maybe it only took me three?!?}
You get my point, right? Remember that December is going to be a CRAZY busy month for you… so don’t promise anything you can’t deliver on! 🙂 LAST but not least are the actual FUN Christmas activities that you will do together. I chose to keep them all a secret and use the cards as “teasers”.
Here are a few of mine:
Some other activities I planned for us was a Christmas “Movie-a-thon” & watching all of our FAVs while eating our favorite Christmas treats, checking out the lights at Temple Square {this was when we lived in Utah}, planning a night under the stars {we camped out by the Christmas Tree on a blow-up mattress}, going to the Festival of Trees with his family, etc. They don’t ALL have to be Christmas-related! We had an entire night of Wii games. There are SO many fun Christmas things you can do together! This is where you can also involve the whole family! Have a “make a gingerbread house” night or decorate Christmas cookies or go caroling to your neighbors. Just make sure they are all activities that he {or she} would enjoy! THEN – you, of course, need to end the Countdown with a LOVE note!!
Now – if you are thinking… TARA!! Are you crazy?!? When am I going to find time to scrapbook 25 cards?? No worries! I found a pre-made cute Christmas note card that you can download to use for YOUR cards. Just So Scrappy has super cute digiscrapbooking kits. She created a FREE {ooooohhhh…and we LOVE free….} download that would be perfect for this countdown idea! Just right-click on the image below & drop it into a Word Doc to resize it to be ANY size you would like! I would suggest printing these on white card stock, as they are in color. Cut them out and if you would like to make them “pop,” adhere them to Christmas-colored paper.
I also typed up the numbers #1-25 in my FAVORITE font that you can download & cut apart. THEN – instead of putting your cards in an envelope, just flip them over and adhere the numbers on the back. Voila! You are done!
Oh yeah, don’t forget to jot the actual “script” on each card! 🙂
I then put up the removable hooks in our entryway, strung the festive ribbon along it, and clothespinned the cards up. It looked FAB-U-LOUS!!
I made sure to put it up the last day of November before he got home from work. He was extremely surprised to come home to this and was SO excited when I explained that he would get to read one each morning for the entire month of December!
If you still have children at home, you can involve them by letting them “help” Daddy read his card each morning. You could make this countdown something for the whole family but in my humble opinion, I think your spouse would be pretty touched if you did this JUST for him/her!!
.…AND….this was one of our most “commented on” Christmas decor!! All of our friends and family LOVED not only the idea behind this but also how festive it was and how it completely dressed up our entryway! 🙂 Have fun creating your OWN Christmas Countdown!
Update: New for 2014!
We know how much you all loved this DIY crafty countdown… that’s why we’ve created a printable version just for YOU! Visit our post: Christmas Countdowns Printable Packs for the full scoop on how to create a gorgeous Christmas advent for your sweetie! The best part? We’ve designed not just 1, but 2 countdowns!
In addition to a special banner for just your spouse, we’ve created a DIY countdown for the WHOLE FAMILY!
Start creating cherished Christmas memories today!
We love your comments
Oh my gosh! I just got this in today’s email, I knew that I could count on you ladies to come up with something. It’s just my husband and I so I needed an advent calendar that was for adults. I didn’t see this last year. But I plan on combining this with your naughty stocking that we did last year. Thank you so such, ya’ll saved the day!
You are SOOOO welcome! So glad we came through for ya! 😉 XOXO
Hey! I just wanted to let you know that I LOVE this idea and wrote about it on my blog a year ago, referencing this blog. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I am so glad you love this! It’s such a fun way to make sure your sweetheart feels special and to create even more treasured memories. XOXO
I also LOVE the font that is used for the numbers 1-25. Can you tell me the name of it and where you got it from?
Came across your idea this morning as I was looking for Holiday ideas. My sweetie and I will be having our 26th Christmas together this year. Our kids are still young so the holidays are def all about them which we love.
But I’m in love with your idea of making my husband feel extra special too.
Its so easy to get caught up in all of the craziness and forget about taking a little one-on-one time (which is what we all need most this time of year-especially!!).
Thank you THANK YOU for the idea and reminder!
I am so pumped about this idea! I loved someone’s suggestion because we have a 4yo and an infant, so we have A LOT of days taken up by activities with them. The twelve days still let’s me do this, focus on our young children as he would want as well and add the mystique of when those 12 will bring a card!
Aw, Jilly!!I am SOOO glad! Have so much fun!!!
I’m going to do this for my husband but I’m going to hang it in his office at work! I know he will love it!
I did this for my sweet guy this year. He’s pretty amazing and has taken on a lot with me since I already had three sons from a previous marriage. He’s amazing with them and we definitely focus most of our attention on them this time of year. Since I am a full time college student my budget is limited at best. I wanted him to know how much he means to me on a daily basis and I thought this was perfect. At first I wasn’t sure how excited he was but a couple of days ago after checking his card for the day (it was a compliment one) he came over to me hugged me and said I sure do love you. He tells me that a lot so I teasingly replied oh really what did I do now? He said- all of this. You sure know how to make a guy’s soul to feel good. It is working! I’m so excited that I could do something to make him feel good. He hasn’t even gotten to this weekend when we will be home alone! 😉 thanks for the fantastic idea!
Found this right after Thanksgiving. Got to work. I am homebound so putting date nights & outings wouldn’t work. So I made 25 envelopes filled each with a card each a love quote or love poem all singing my love & appreciation for my husband. Tonight he will open day 6. He has absolutely loved it!!! Says he will keep them forever. Also says it was the best Christmas present present he could get. Thank you so much for the alternative to ordering a present on line.
Pregnant and tired, and just found this, but think the hubby would love to know he is the focus of my attention since everyone else always asks him about me and the baby. I will be modifying it to a Twelve Days of Christmas to make it more manageable for this year 🙂
Just found this and I still have time…love your site and concept. Marriage should remain a priority, and I love that I have found some more inspiration!! 🙂
xo
Morgan
I just finished my countdown for my husband!! I will be putting it up tonight for him, I can’t wait!! Thanks for this great idea.
You are SO welcome!! Enjoy!! XOXO
I just made this for my husband and he’ll get to see it tonight when he gets home! Such an Awesome idea! thank you so much for posting! I wish I could share a photo!
Thank you for sharing this. I just finished my version on Christmas postcards and am sooo excited to put it up. My husband is going to be blown away that this is just for him–what an awesome and super fun idea!!!
Hey Tara!
I hope this isn’t a stupid question… I am going to make my own scrapbook version of your craft and am just curious about how you got the red faded edges on your text boxes…? Did you add it on there after you printed them or do it on the computer?
Thanks!!
Katie
Definitely not a stupid question. 😉 I actually inked my paper after it was printed. There are these small little ink pads you can get at scrapbooking stores that are super convenient! Hope that helps! XOXO, Tara
I would PAY your to make me this for me and my husband!!! I love it but I am not crafty and with my crazy 2 year-old I just don’t have the time to 🙁 -Autumn B. Please email me AutumnBurian@gmail.com
lol I wish I had the time! I am so glad you like it but unfortunately, my free time is very limited these days. I would suggest going the easy route. You can either download that image in the post, print it off 25 times & use that OR purchase 25 Christmas cards that are fun & write on those. Doing it that way would drastically cut down on the amount of time! Best of luck! XOXO
I love this! I’m already getting started. I know you said you made your cards yourself, but how did you make them? Did you just use cardstock and folded it into a card?
Hey Liz! Yes, I used cardstock & scrapbooking paper to create my cards. If you use lots of bright & festive holiday colors – this makes the BEST Christmas decor!! 😉 Have fun!
Tara,
I can’t wait to do this idea this Christmas for my husband, it’s SO AWESOME!! I LOVE this site! Thank you!
You are so welcome! I’m glad you like it! XOXO
Any ideas of how to do something like this for someone who travels??? He leaves on Monday and ususally returns on Thursday nite or Friday. Thanks!
Hey Myrtle! You could do it a few different ways… send the cards with him to open up each night & then you can hang those up when he returns. Make the ones during the week fun little things you love about him – love notes. The weekend ones can be things for you two to do together. If you want to keep it up for decor.. you could open them & take photos of that day’s saying, etc. Another idea would be to send him with things enclosed in a bag… and as he opens up his cards during the week, while gone – you have coordinating things in the bag. For example – open up the bag titled #3 {for the 3rd day} he opens that up & it could be his favorite treat. Another bag could be everything he’d need for a relaxing night… and so on. He will look forward to what you have planned for him each day & it will hopefully close the gap of distance just a little for you two during the holidays. Have fun planning it!
Just wondering where the ““quick” version that you can instantly download!” is located. LOVE your idea!!
Hey Karen! Right-click on the image in the post to save to your desktop. You can insert that into a Word Doc – resize to be any size you’d like, & print! 😉 Enjoy!!
Hi, where is the quick download of the list ?
Hi Ivonne! I am not sure what list you are referring to. There is an image in the post that you can right-click on, save to your desktop, & then put it into a Word doc to use to write on. Is that what you’re talking about?
I blog over at https://www.2crafty4myskirt.blogspot.com/ and I just wanted to let you know that today I posted a round up of Christmas Countdowns. I featured this project in the round up. Please let me know if you are not ok with that and I will remove it from the post! Thanks!
Thanks, Alese! I checked it out & you found some darling ideas! Thanks for the feature! XOXO
I am totally going to make this happen for my hubby this year. However, I have been thinking a lot about the service cards, and other than the suggestions you give (which I’m totally using), I don’t have a lot of other ideas. I always do services, but I am not sure how to put it on a card because they’re those unspoken acts of service. Does that make sense? Any help here?
Hmmm…. I would just write down things that you know your sweetheart would enjoy, but that you don’t normally do. OR – you could even write down a few things that he totally hates doing {maybe a chore?} and let him know you will take care of it day…? Does that help? Good luck!
Love this idea! Question… what font did you use for your cards? I am in love with it!
Hey Amanda! I cannot remember the font I used, BUT it’s a DJ Inkers font. I LOVE all of her creations! You honestly can’t go wrong… any of her fonts are adorable!
I love this idea and think it would be perfect for my hubby. In your post you mentioned there is a quick version to download. Can you point me in the direction of the quick version? I would love to do this for my husband but with a few special needs kiddos it would be so helpful to have a quick version.
Hey Heather! It’s the image in the post… right above it, it says to right-click on the image, save it to the desktop, & then you can upload it into a Word document… print them, and write on those! You could even add text boxes on top & type your different things on each card. 😉 Have fun making this!!
I love this idea!!! {excited sqeal} With trying to make Christmas a magical time for our children my husband and I can overlook the importance of keeping it magical for us as well. This is just the thing we need to bring that magic back! Thanks a bunch!!!
You are so welcome, Aimie! I agree with you 100%!! 😉 XOXO
I LOVE these ideas, but seriously, how do you find time for all this? Just the cards looks so involved, not to mention the planning. lol Gotta take the time to do something like this for my hubby one day.
Oh Girl! I DIDN’T have the time! lol I worked on those cards in my free time the previous month. It took a while, which is why I totally recommend the FAST version of this for the busy wife! 😉
I really like this idea! how long did it take to make all of these?
Hmmmm… the homemade ones took a while since I wanted to make each one look a little different. If you print off the image provided & write on that, it would be a LOT faster! You could even purchase colorful envelopes {green & red} to make the countdown look festive & just write on slips of paper to put inside each envelope. The length of time this take will probably depend on how crafty/detailed you’d want to be. Have fun making yours! Your sweetheart will LOVE it!!
This is such a sweet idea. My husband is deployed to Afghanistan, coming home in early January. This is perfect for Christmas this year- he doesn’t want me to send gifts to him (kind of silly anyhow, he’ll be home right after Christmas) but this will be more meaningful than anything I could possibly give him! Thanks for sharing you’re wonderful gift!
You are so welcome! 😉
I love this idea. I just had my first baby this summer and she’s been getting a lot of my attention. For Christmas, I decided to do a theme for my husband which is Things we can do together and your website has been fabulous when it comes to ideas! This will be a perfect way to lead up to all the dates that he will be getting this year for Christmas!
YAY!! So glad you are excited about this idea. Congrats on the new baby! XOXO
After 14 years of marriage I plan to do this, what a wonderful idea. Even amidst our currently busy/constant lives with 4 children ages 4 and under this is something I can do to remind him he’s still the love of my life, despite both of our attention being on 4 other little beings in our family at the moment. Love your site.
I’m so excited to do this!! We just found out our weekly income is being cut by 25% each week until the week before Christmas and so there goes any money for Christmas gifts!!! But I have all the paper and everything I’ll need!!! Thank you for the idea!!
this is awesome!!! I have been pretty lousy in the gift giving department b/c we have concentrated on the the kids so i wanted to do this!! seems pretty cool and doesnt break the bank!!! love this idea!!! thank you!!
I was unable to download the list for Christmas countdown. Will you please send it to me? I would sure appreciate it. Great ideas!!!
Hey Lisa! It’s actually not a download… I made it. 🙂
I absolutely LOVE this! I am going to do it for my hubby this year but I’m only going to give him 1 card a day he wouldnt be able to see all of them and not want to look at them haha thanks for the great idea!! <3
I don’t know how I missed this post before…but I’m SOOOO doing this this year. Thanks!
I am IN LOVE with this idea. 🙂 I’m so going to do this for my boyfriend this December. I’m going to do the ribbon along the banister of the stairs, I think. Thanks for the AWESOME idea!
You are SO welcome! 🙂
Good Morning. I love these and I love the font. Can you tell me what font you used?
Thanks, Crystal! It’s a DJ Inker’s font. LOVE her stuff!! {Google it, you will fall in love, too!}
What was the name of the font you used from DJ Inkers? 🙂 I love it!
Oh gosh – I don’t remember! lol So sorry! But, they are all darling, so you can’t go wrong!
I can’t figure out where and how to download it?
I would like to download as well! Did you figure it out???
Hi Monica! I actually made all of the cards myself. 😉 What are you referring to? The “Just So Scrappy” image? The directions above were: “Just right-click on the image below & drop it into a Word Doc to resize it to be ANY size you would like!” Good luck!
Hi Kara! I actually made all of the cards myself. What are you referring to? The “Just So Scrappy” image? The directions above were: “Just right-click on the image below & drop it into a Word Doc to resize it to be ANY size you would like!” Good luck!
This is great! I am so excited to try it this year with my hubby!
tara, and i thought i was the only one that said “love you mostest!” =) can’t wait to do this for this upcoming Christmas. my girls are 12th and 10th grades and they are good back scratchers and head rubbers too. =) they will love helping me with this. thank you for the great inspiration. =)
I love this! Wonderful idea! I’m posting about it on my blog today. Found it thanks to Pinterest. 😉
Merry Christmas ~
Jennifer
I just discovered your site tonight and love it I wish I had discovered your site sooner. Thinking I may change this to the 12 days of Christmas for hubby since the 1st is almost over. What an amazing site so many great ideas.
This is an a completely awesome idea filled with love. My husband and I have been stuck in a rutt lately. The fire and passion cease to exist! Hopefully, this will help rekindle some of the romance we are missing. Thank you 🙂
Awww, thanks for the sweet comment, Melissa! It was sure fun to make for him! Hope this helps make Christmas a little more special this year! XOXO, Tara
I did this last year and WE loved it. It was wonderful to see the joy he got from it. So guess what doing it agian this year. Now the next couple days up late working on it, because I waited until last minute agian
I LOVE this idea! This is exactly what my husband needs. He works so hard so that I can stay home with our baby and he’s been feeling a little neglected lately. I’m going to get started now!
He will LOVE it, Alexis! XO, Tara
Blown away!! Love it, I am always trying to find “cute” ways to say and show him how much he means to me!! Thank you!
I love this idea and can’t wait to try it! just wish the printables would work. It says the link won’t work. 🙁
Jennifer – it’s fixed now. Try it again. 🙂
I can tell I have a lot of reading to do over here. It’s not too early for Christmas. Is it ever?
Nope! I keep telling myself I need to start on Christmas in the SUMMER! Hasn’t happened yet! 🙂
Great idea! I have it made and hanging up. A few of them are still blank, but he has no idea. My husbands so excited, because he thinks they are going to tell him what his presents are. I guess in a way he is right! Thanks so much!
Got mine done in the nick of time–here is my blog post
https://lifeinthejct.blogspot.com/2010/11/christmas-countdown-for-hubby.html
Thanks so much–going to hope for some downtime tomorrow night with the baby to get it done!
@Amy Byrd – Yes….just the card design is the free download. I also included a free download that I created….which are just the numbers #1-25 with the words, "The Christmas Countdown"….these are to adhere to the back of the cards you make. I didn't create the actual thing you write to your spouse since I am assuming every person would want to say/do something different for their spouse….but you can get a lot of ideas from the pictures above. Good luck! 🙂 Your man is gonna love it!
P.S. The font is DJ Bumble, I think….it's a font I purchased from DJ Inkers.
Tara–is just the card design a free download–I couldn't find the countdown sayings? And a random question–what is the font you used–I am trying to make mine in Elements and love the dotted font!
@Lindsey – it's on Just So Scrappy's website. I didn't create the quick version….I just found it. Click on her link to be sent to that post & scroll to the bottom for the free download. You can insert that png file into a word document and resize it to any size you would like. 🙂
I love this idea and am excited to try it. I'm embarrassed to say (maybe I'm not reading it right) but I thought it said you had a "quick" version available to download. I can't find it. Help! Thanks. 🙂
Lindsey
LOVE THIS IDEA! Been married 18 years and looking for some ways to spice up our holiday celebration. Thank you so so much! And the free downloads are the motivation I need to get this done for this Christmas!
What a great idea! I love all of your ideas. Over from Blog Frog. I'm going to bookmark you gals.
Love love love this! Thank you so much for making it so easy for us to recreate!
This would be perfect for my hubby's and my first Christmas together!
This is a fab idea. We did something similar last year but took it in turns of buying the pressies and writing the notes. It made it really special.
WOW, Tara! This is amazing!! I am so excited to do this one for my hubby!! He will SO love it. And thank you for all the free printables. This looked like a lot of work for you superwoman. Thank you!!
Two words. FREAKIN'. AWESOME. You are so talented and creative, and it is so apparent how much you love your hubby! Thanks for your all your hard work creating this so we can easily download it and make such an awesome memory and tradition too! You ROCK (and girl, you are NOT WIMPY! You often carry the world on your shoulders.) Love ya!!!
This is a fab idea. My DH will love it! Thanks for sharing.