DIY Winter Bucket List Jar + My Own List

Posted December 21, 2017 by shooting in Cincinnati, DIY / 35 Comments

DIY Winter Bucket List Jar

One of my recent library craft events was to make a Winter Bucket List. I already had ideas of things I wanted to do this Christmas/Winter season so I immediately signed my mom and I up. While we were indeed making a Winter Bucket List, it wasn’t simply writing a to-do list down on paper. Instead, we used glass jars and Popsicle sticks to create a really cute bucket list that doubles as decoration.

My Winter Bucket List

I was invited to share my Winter Bucket List with a variety of other bloggers today – the first day of Winter – so be sure to check out the linky at the bottom of this post! For now, I’ll share my Winter Bucket List and then I’ll explain how to make your own Bucket List Jar for any season!

Winter Bucket List: All the things I wish to do this season...what about you? #winterbucketlist @ontheblog Click To Tweet

  1. Make Christmas Cookies
  2. Watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Jim Carrey version)
  3. Eat a S’more
  4. Do a Random Act of Kindness
  5. Read a Christmas Book
  6. Go to Festival Of Lights (Cincinnati Zoo)
  7. Go to WinterFest (King’s Island)
  8. Make a Christmas Gift
  9. Drive Around to See Lights
  10. Go to a Cyclones Game (hockey team)
  11. Decorate Gingerbread
  12. Write and Decorate Cards

What’s on your holiday or winter themed bucket list?

Now…it’s craft time!

DIY Bucket List Jar

Supplies:

  1. Glass jar, or something else to hold your bucket list items (flip lid jar, just without the chalkboard label)
  2. Popsicle sticks (you can find them here)
  3. Acrylic Paint (I recommend Craft Smart brand)
  4. Black Foam Brushes (find them here)
  5. Decorative Rocks (find some here)
  6. Fine Tip Sharpies (I’d recommend black for the best result)
  7. Fun stickers to decorate jar (some ideas here, here, and here)
DIY Winter Bucket List Jar: What would you add to yours? #winterbucketlist #DIY Click To Tweet

Before you begin, you want to make sure you know how many bucket list items you want. That’s the amount of sticks you need to paint!

Step 1: Choose the color(s) you want your Popsicle sticks to be, then paint the sticks those colors (I recommend about two coats). I did gold and silver and my mom did green and red. Again, these make fun decorations, so holiday or seasonal appropriate colors are a great idea!

Step 2: Let your sticks dry – it doesn’t take too long. By the time you’ve gotten a few painted, the first one should already be dry. Once you’ve painted all the sticks, take the first ones you made (again, they should be dry) and start writing out your bucket list items.

You might not have a ton of room, so feel free to shorthand like I put “decorate gingerbread” when I really meant a gingerbread house, etc. I recommend a black fine tip Sharpie to get the best results, but you can always experiment and paint extra Popsicle sticks if need be!

Step 3: Once you’ve written out your bucket list items – or are just waiting for the rest of your sticks to dry – it’s time to decorate your actual jar! My mom and I used 3-D holiday stickers. Going with my gold and silver theme, I used gold, silver, and white stars to decorate the outside of the jar.

Step 4: Once the outside of the jar has been decorated, put decorative rocks inside the jar. This will keep your Popsicle stinks standing up once they have all dried/been filled out.

Step 5: The Popsicle sticks should be inserted in the jar however you wish and then voila, you have your very own Bucket List Jar. Our jars had a cardboard label so I used chalkboard paint to try and write Winter Bucket List. It didn’t look the best, so I’d recommend jars without anything on the front – plus you can decorate all sides however you wish!

I used examples of my jar throughout this post, but the photo above is the one that my mom made. I wanted to show the green/red sticks that she made! Plus, she used actual chalk to write Bucket List (this will erase, so you can always change up what you write!)

With the finished jar, place it where you can see it everyday – whether that’s a child’s bedroom or in the living room. It’s great decor, and you can use the bucket list however you want. Maybe you want to plan out the things on the sticks, or perhaps you want to pick a random one here and there and then do whatever it says that day (this would be easier for small activities, like read a certain kid’s book or watch a movie, etc.)

Would you make a Winter Bucket List jar? Let me know, and please repin the first photo if you like this DIY! And check out the link-up below to see the other Winter Bucket Lists! 

  • this blog post has no affiliate links; however, if you are going to purchase supplies from Michael’s (or other online shops), I recommend using Ebates to find coupons and get cash back. Use my affiliate link if you don’t already have an account!

35 responses to “DIY Winter Bucket List Jar + My Own List

  1. Love your bucket list and the bucket list jar is such a great idea. I have a few things on my winter bucket list that I am hoping to complete before Christmas.

  2. This is such a cute idea! I love making bucket lists for each season, I haven’t done a winter one yet. I might have to think about trying this, it looks like something I could even do with Ollie!

  3. What a fun idea! It would be easy to customize this however you wanted (different color paints, different containers, stickers) and make it your own. And I love all your bucket list items. Thanks for sharing this, Lauren! 🙂

  4. Danielle Park

    Such a fun idea, especially with kids. They on a quiet weekend they can pick out of the jar for something to do. Thanks for sharing.

  5. I haven’t really thought about doing a seasonal type of bucket list but I like that idea! The jar is cute and I like the idea of keeping it visible all the time. That would definitely help me to consciously plan to do some of the things on my list!

  6. I love the idea of putting your ideas in a jar! (I love collecting jars) I wrote my bucket list on my blog last year and forgot to look at it about half way through the year. This would be a great reminder!

    How have your winter outings gone so far! I should go to a light’s festival this year! So fun!

  7. That’s a great list. I’m sad to say it’s almost Christmas and we haven’t even gone out Christmas light looking yet… oops. I haven’t really read a Christmas book either… 🙁 oh well there’s still time right ha ha?

  8. So clever. And so glad you joined up with us for the Bucket List series. I have seen teachers use popsicle sticks to randomly choose children to answer a question. That way you don’t call on the same child over and over or forget to call on someone. This is such a great way to pick which bucket list activity to enjoy!

    I was just up your way early this month. My husband’s family lives just north of Dayton. We were there visiting and drove through Cincinnati coming and going. Stopped both times at the Dayton Outlet Mall. YES!!!!

    Have a delightful Christmas! See you in the new year. XO

  9. Jessica Bradshaw

    What a cute idea! I love random acts of kindness and I am all about it this time of year. What a great jar! Perfect for those days when you “have nothing to do”

  10. Such a cute idea!! I would love to do one of these with the kids sometime. Then you can look back and see what you got done. I’ve done a lot of what is on your Christmas bucket list, except I don’t think we’ll get to the zoo to see the lights… we’ll see! It’s gotten so much colder here and I hate the cold!! Hoping to find a mild night to go.

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

  11. Mother of 3

    Such a clever idea! We made a similar jar one summer and called it a boredom jar; my hope was the kids would use it instead of telling me how bored they were all the time. Lots of great things on your bucket list!

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