When Time Moves as Fast as a Turtle

If you know us, you know we go to Walt Disney World often. We've visited seven times in the past ten years. Almost seven years ago, we began a tradition of visiting Disney for our children's first birthdays. Our youngest was born last December, so we have one last first birthday to celebrate.

Of course, our kids know that we always go for birthdays; there's no surprise there. But the two middle ones can't quite comprehend "in X months," or "we'll go in December." It had gotten to the point that every time we got in the car, the three year old would say, "Us going Dizzy World?"

I've been pinning ideas on Pinterest for awhile now, and I came across a few ideas for countdown chains that looked like the characters. I looked them over, but realized my kids' favorite characters hadn't been made (or pictured, at least), other than Mickey. So I put a little thought into it, and I asked them their favorites (just for confirmation; they haven't changed in two years), and we pulled out the construction paper, scissors, and stapler.

We're still four months out, but I have three kids that are old enough to understand, so I needed to make four months into six chains. Easy enough; I made three month-long chains, and three "third-of-a-month" long chains.

The oldest's favorite princess is Rapunzel, as she looks a lot like her.

Number two daughter had to make a tough choice between Ariel and Tiana, but Ariel seems to have the slight lead this year.

And my boy loves his Mickey, so that was an easy choice.

But, as with most of the little Disney fans right now, their favorites are the Frozen characters. My oldest daughters look like the sisters, and my son follows them everywhere, like Olaf. So it was a no-brainer to make the smaller chains the Frozen gang.The kids are excited to begin tearing strips, and I'm happy to not have to constantly answer the "how much longer" question.

Do you have a trip to Disney coming up soon? This was an easy project for my kids to work on patterns, major color choices, counting, and motor skills. It will also be a test of their patience in whether or not they can refrain from tearing them too soon. If you've got young kids and a trip coming up, this is a quick, easy project, and it's not difficult to make up a chain for favorite characters. (Pinterest has multiple pins for the old-school princesses).

Happy crafting, and I hope your next trip isn't too far off!