Have fun counting down to Christmas with this free Santa’s beard countdown calendar! This adorable cotton ball craft is such a cute way for kids to keep track of how many days are left until Christmas, and it’s lots of fun for them to do. Grab the free template below and add a cotton ball to Santa’s beard each day. Once it’s full, Christmas is here!
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This Santa’s beard countdown craft is such an adorable way to count down to Christmas! We’ve been doing it for a couple of years now, and it’s become a holiday tradition that our kids really look forward to.
The concept is really simple: add one cotton ball to Santa’s beard every day of December until his beard is full—once it’s full, Santa will come to visit! Make sure to grab the template below so you can use it to make your own DIY advent calendar at home.
Why You’ll Love This Printable
- Simple supplies: If you have kids at home, you probably already have everything you need to make this easy printable craft!
- Easy to download: You won’t need to enter your email address or track down a resource library password in order to download this printable—simply click on the download link under the preview image to be redirected to the PDF.
- Fun for kids: Our kids love the fact that this Christmas countdown has a crafty component! They take turns adding cotton balls to Santa’s beard, and get really excited when it starts to fill up.
- Cute family tradition: Print out this template every December to create a low-effort but memorable tradition that your kids will look forward year after year!
Looking for more Christmas-themed printables for your kids? Check out this Christmas Coloring Countdown, this Santa Letter Template, these Holiday Coloring Cards, this Christmas I Spy Sheet or these Christmas Tracing Worksheets!
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Required Materials
- Paper: Regular white printer paper is fine. You can also use white cardstock if you prefer.
- Cardboard: For best results, I recommend using part of a sturdy cardboard box (though in a pinch, the cardboard from a cereal box can also work). The goal is to give the advent calendar a sturdy backing so that it can support the weight of 24 cotton balls.
- Glue stick: You’ll be using a glue stick to glue the template to cardboard. If all you have is liquid glue, you can use that as well, but you’ll need to use only a small amount and won’t be able to start adding cotton balls until the glue is fully dry.
- Cotton balls: The cotton balls will eventually come together to create Santa’s fluffy beard. I bought a big bag at the dollar store.
- Liquid glue: We always use liquid glue to add the cotton balls to the template. If ever you don’t have any on hand, you should be able to use adhesive tape instead.
The full supply list and instructions can be found in the how-to card.
Download Your Free Countdown Printable
Click the text link below each image to be redirected to the corresponding PDF file. (The preview images are not print resolution.)
Please note that these templates are for school and personal use only and cannot be redistributed. When sharing this free printable, please link to this article rather than directly to the files. You can read our full printables terms of use here.
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Printing Instructions
Once you have downloaded the files to your computer, choose the version that works for you and print it out on US Letter-sized (8.5 x 11 inches) paper or cardstock.
You should also be able to print it on A4 paper by adjusting the “Scale to Print” setting on your printer to ensure that none of the printable area will be cut off. That being said, please note that since the file was designed in A4 format, printing it in A4 format will change the dimensions of the white border around the picture, and they will no longer be proportional.
You can remedy this by cutting off the larger borders at the top and bottom to make them equal to the borders on the left and right. If you do this, make sure you cut the cardboard backing down to the same size so that none of the cardboard is visible once the template has been glued to it.
How to Use a Santa’s Beard Advent Calendar (Step-by-Step)
Step 1: Print & glue template to cardboard. Print the template on paper or cardstock, then use a glue stick to glue the template to a piece of cardboard of equivalent size. (You’ll need to cut the cardboard down to the same size as the paper.)
Step 2: Add cotton balls. Once the template has been glued to its cardboard backing, have your children use liquid glue to add one cotton ball to Santa’s beard, on the circle that corresponds to the date, every day of December.
When Santa’s cotton ball beard is completely full, you’ll know it’s Christmas Eve, and Santa will be visiting your house that night! We’ve been using this countdown calendar for a few years now, and it’s such a fun little tradition for kids that barely requires any effort on our part.
How to Make This Template Reusable
We glued our calendar to a piece of cardboard and used liquid glue to add the cotton balls, but if you would rather make this template reusable, try laminating it using a thermal laminator and attaching the cotton balls with adhesive tape instead of glue.
Looking for things to put in your child’s advent calendar? Check out this big list of Advent Calendar Fillers for Kids & Adults!
More Christmas Crafts for Kids
If you have tried this Santa’s Beard Countdown Calendar or any other project on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear from you!
Santa’s Beard Countdown Craft
Materials
- free Santa's beard countdown template
- 1 sheet paper
- 1 pair scissors
- 1 piece cardboard
- 1 glue stick
- 24 cotton balls
- 1 bottle liquid glue
Instructions
- Use scissors to cut a piece of cardboard down to 8 x 11 inches. Print the template on US Letter paper or cardstock, then glue the template to the cardboard using a glue stick.
- Once the template has been glued to its cardboard backing, have your children use liquid glue to add one cotton ball to Santa’s beard, on the circle that corresponds to the date, every day of December. When Santa's beard is full, it's Christmas Eve and Santa will soon be visiting!
Thank you so much for sharing and for also making two versions!! 🙂 Printing for our elf on the shelf to give to my kiddos!
Yayyy, I hope they love it!! 🥰