About a year ago, a local designer sent me a kit containing brightly colored paper and some glue dots. The paper, when separated along its perforated edges, made a month’s worth of chain-like links; the glue dots made an already easy job even easier. This is the idea behind Big Day Chains, and the papers come in patterns appropriate for birth dates and little kid birthdays, and weddings.

I’ll admit when I first went through the materials, I sort of shrugged. And then some friends of mine got very near the due date of their first baby and the whole lot of us could hardly concentrate on anything other than the 45 days or so before the little one was set to arrive. I ordered a birth date chain kit from Big Day’s Kristen Adams and gave it to the impatient parents.

It was a huge hit. They still have part of it hanging in the door that once framed the thirty links. Their daughter is now seven months old.

We — you know, most of us — do love a countdown. For me, the idea was probably imprinted on teenage Saturdays as I listened to Casey Kasem and Rick Dees countdown Culture Club songs on the weekly Top 40. (Um, blasts from that past available here) Maybe for you it’s about New Year’s Eve or a childhood advent calendar.

Whatever it is, there’s just something about savoring each day and having a tactile, tangible way to mark them as they pass that makes arrivals that much sweeter. I bought another Big Day Chain recently for a friend who got engaged. She won’t be ready to use it for another ten months or so, but I couldn’t help myself.

Sure, these are the opposite of DIY. (Even the just-barely-crafty among you could very easily make something similar yourselves.) But there’s certainly no foul in not doing things on your own, and, (here comes a mantra) we do love local designs. And the graphic prints, well-designed packaging, and ease-of-use — and low-sticker-price — make this a fun and no-brainer gift. Plus, Adams uses soy inks and 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

Well, what are you waiting for?

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See my previous Wedding Wednesday post here, and, if you’re planning your own Big Day, visit Seattle Metropolitan Bride & Groom for inspiration, ideas, and all the information you need for your Seattle wedding.