Pull a 30-inch length of plastic wrap from the box and lay it flat on a table. Leave one end attached to the box to make it easier to work with.
Place one piece of hard candy at 1-inch intervals down the center of the plastic wrap.
Fold both sides of the plastic wrap over the candy.
Curl a workable length of curling ribbon with scissors. Cut into 6-inch pieces.
Tie one 6-inch piece of curling ribbon midway between each piece of candy.
Tie a large bow to the top and bottom of the plastic wrap. You may need to staple or tape the back of the bows to the plastic wrap for extra support. Hang the countdown chart in a conspicuous location.
Begin the countdown on December 1 -- the example discussed here assumes you are making an edible countdown chart for the Christmas holidays -- or other appropriate holiday date. Each day cut one piece of candy off the bottom of the countdown chart. Eat the candy and count the number of days left until the big event.
Count the number of days until the event for which you are making the chart. Use a ruler and a pencil to divide your cardstock into boxes. There should be one box for each day. Go over the pencil lines with a permanent colored marker. If your event is 18 days away, for example, you would divide the cardstock into 18 sections.
Number the sections on the chart counting backwards from the total number of days until you reach the day of the event. For instance, if you are making a chart to countdown the number of days until summer vacation and you figured out that there were 42 days left, you would put "42" in the first box on your cardstock, "41" in the second box and so forth.
Calculate the half-way point to the event. Color that square on the chart any color you choose. This acts as a visual reminder that you are half way to the end of the countdown.
Mark an "X" in the appropriate square to indicate the passage of that particular day. You can also color in the squares to show the passage of time.