Terrifyingly fun Halloween advent calendar with a twist

The other day, my son asked me to make him a Candy Corn Countdown for Halloween. And since Halloween is the new Christmas, I decided to put a fun little twist on this fun tradition and it only took me 10 minutes!

If my kids are going to get extra candy this October, they are going to have to work for it. So, this advent calendar is perfect. Each day is a spooky adventure with a yummy treat at the end. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s make it first.

Print/cutout Candy Corn Countdown

This advent calendar only cost me $3 to print. Just download the PDF below and email it to your local printer. You can also print it at home but I wanted it laminated. I would recommend printing it on cardstock too.

FREE PRINTABLE – Halloween Candy Corn Countdown Download

Cutting the individual squares using a paper cutter.

I would recommend a paper cutter but scissors would do in a pinch. I left lines on there so it would be easier to cut.

Assemble and glue

Once you have everything cut out, you’ll need the following supplies to finish your Candy Corn Countdown.

Scissors
Glue gun
String
Scotch tape

Cut three pieces of string that are each about 26 inches long. Lay everything out first the way you want it to look and then start hot gluing. I glued the string to the back of the countdown sign first and then glued each individual candy corn number in order.

Supplies needed for Candy Corn Countdown

I did three strips of numbers adding up to 31 but you can do two or even one really long one too.

Now for the twist

This is requires a little bit of work on your part. Each morning, before your kids get up, tape one of the 31 extra random squares with Halloween pictures on them, somewhere noticeable around the house. It can be on the TV, a light switch, on their toothbrush, on the toilet. You get the picture.

As soon as they find the Halloween picture for the day, attach it to the corresponding day on the countdown. As a reward, they get a piece of candy corn!