Sometime in our southern Wisconsin childhood, my sister and I made our first paper chain. My guess is that it was a countdown to Christmas. Lovingly crafted using red and green construction paper, child safety scissors and a glue stick.
As a kid, the fun things are always so far away.
How long until my birthday?
How long until spring break?
How long until summer camp?
How long until Santa comes?
Explaining to child that something is 6 weeks away doesn't mean anything.
A countdown chain changes all that. You can actually see that you are getting closer to the fun.
There is great satisfaction in ripping off another ring.
While adulting and doing other serious things, it's possible that you might forget to remove a ring. Bonus excitement when you take two or three down at a time to get caught up!
The key to a successful paper chain is that you only use it for something fun.
No counting down to your oil change or your wisdom tooth extraction.
You know better than that.
Our current sisterly practice is to create countdown chains for vacation. Too much being an adult and not enough crafting here in Maui, so I'm using my sister's chain as an example.
As you can see from the picture, vacation time is almost here. 12 work days left.
Not that I'm counting or anything.
