There are 3 key parts to any great adventure: The Build-Up (before), The Adventure (during) and the Memory Sharing (afterwards). We've made more than a dozen trips to Disney World and still celebrate the traditions we've created for each of these 3 parts. One of the fun things we do during the ?Build-Up? is to create a special calendar which we tick off daily as we countdown to our next Disney World vacation.

This project is incredibly simple. Anyone with access to an online computer with a printer can make one. There are lots of ways to personalize it with your favorite Disney characters and special stickers.

We create the calendar for the month of our holiday and the preceding month. So - if we're going in March ? we create the calendar for February and March. I print on both sides of a single page. You can print in color ? (which looks great!) ? or in black and white so kids can have the fun of coloring the calendar too!

Requirements:

Computer with Internet access

Printer & paper

Crayons or markers or stickers

Directions:

1. Use your computer to go to this Internet site - http://disney.go.com/magicartist/calendars/index.html

This is the Disney ?Calendar Creator? page.

2. Use the arrows in the "MONTH" box to scroll to the month and year you want to print.

3. Select the character you want to put on your calendar. You have lots of choices.

4. Use the "Drag and Drop Stickers" to mark special dates.

Note: To grab the stickers: move your cursor over the sticker you want. Click once and release the button on your mouse. Move your cursor to the date you want to mark. Click once to 'drop' the sticker.

5. Select "B&W" on the left side if you want to print in black and white. (Then the kids can color the calendar themselves.) Otherwise - your calendar will print in color.

6. Select the "PRINT" icon on the right side to print.

You're done!

TIP 1: I like to use "Mickey" for the Countdown Calendar because his "drag and drop" stickers include an airplane and a "Mickey" icon. I use the airplane image to mark the days of our flights to and from Orlando. I use the "Mickey" icon to mark the days we'll spend at the resort.

TIP 2: I print my calendars on 2-sided glossy photo paper. They look great. (You'll probably need to provide a marker to write on the glossy paper.)

These calendars make great gifts too. Deliver your calendar with a special marker or pencil. I've found terrific Disney-logo products at our local Dollar store. (They also have great Disney stickers that kids can use to mark off the days, if they prefer.)

You can roll up the calendar, tie it with a bow and attach the special pen to the ribbon. Or pop it into a special folder with some of the coloring pages you'll find here: http://disney.go.com/magicartist/coloring/index.html.

Add a fresh box of crayons and a sheet of stickers to make a great gift and help build the excitement for a special boy or girl as they count down the days to their great Disney Adventure!