Countdown to Christmas Jars

Three years ago, I naively volunteered to be an adult "leader" for a group teenage girls who meet at my church on Wednesday nights.  I use the word "naive" because I really had no idea what I was getting myself into.  Sure, I was educated about the time commitment and the preparation that was expected of a leader but I had no idea that I would get so emotionally connected to these girls.  I've met with this same group of girls nearly every week during the school year for 3 years now and I've gotten to know each of them pretty well.  They have a very special place in my heart.  I care deeply for each and every one of them.

With wrestling, baseball and travel soccer I have far too much on my plate already to return as their "leader" this spring.  It absolutely breaks my heart to not be a part of the group but I know my limitations.  That won't stop me from being a part of their lives though.  I will continue to pray for each and every one of them. 

I wanted to give each of the girls a little treat to enjoy over the Christmas holidays so I had to get my creative juices flowing.  I decided to make a countdown to Christmas jar  filled with chocolate because every one of these girls loves chocolate.  I had some leftover chalkboard paint and that served as my inspiration.  I bought the rest of the supplies for my project at Wal Mart: a dozen mason jars, red Christmas ribbon, a box of chalk and a bag of Hershey kisses.

I painted the lid of each jar with chalkboard paint (2 coats), filled them with 25 kisses and tied a ribbon around each one.  All that was left was to print labels, tie them around the jar with twine and attach the chalk.  I wrote 25 on the top of each lid to indicate how many pieces of chocolate were in the jar.  The girls can eat one piece of chocolate each day and then change the number on the lid to indicate how many days remain until Christmas Day.

These countdown jars are good for any big event really.  After Christmas, the girls can fill them up again and countdown to the next big event.  (the end of school, Easter, a birthday)  I used to use candy countdown jars to help my kids countdown the days until daddy would return when we would travel with the Air Force.  It a great visual reference for kids and you can fill them with any kind of treat that you your kids like.

By the way, if you fill your jar today, there are only 30 days until Christmas!

Ciao!