Elf Day 17-19

Back by popular demand (by Higgins), obstacles in the hallway! I didn't want a repeat Elf visit (last time was crepe paper), so this time I did paper chains of snowmen, penguins, and snowflakes. I think the penguins were my favorite!

To make the paper chains, I used a roll of banner paper, folded it over multiple times and cut out the shapes. It was pretty easy to do, although it was occasionally challenging to cut through so many layers of paper. You want to make sure your shape touches both sides of the folded over sides of paper. It is also much, much easier to sketch out the shape on the top of the folded paper than to cut free handed. Trust me. The piles near the elf are my Oops! piles.

Design touching the folded edges

I think next time, I would make it so the snowmen were touching by their hats or sides, not top to bottom. I also wanted to get more obstacle chains put up, but it was already midnight by the time I was done with these, so I called it a night.

I also made some faces on one of the sets of snowmen. I think I may later add a game to it, something along the lines of find which one is different (Find The Snowman with the...). I have some with glasses, some with buttons, some with only one button, nose and no nose.

Day 18: He was in our bedroom last night, near hubby's side.
Day 19: Hanging out in a robe in the kids' bathroom.

I am running out of ideas and time to do something crazy fun with the Elf this year. He has been pretty tame this time, except for a couple of fun visits. I'm hoping to be more on the ball next year.

Elf Day 14 to 16

Day 14: Higgins left his toy snake out last night. It seems like the Elf ran into a bit of trouble.

Day 15: Bernardo made such a mess of his desk, that our Elf decided to squeeze in and hide.

Day 16: Eugene hid on the railing this morning.

Elf Days 11-13

I've been wanting to put the Elf in a clear balloon for awhile. Our Elf has been really boring this year, so I finally decided to do it. I bought 18" clear balloons on Amazon. The balloons worked really well and the kids got a huge kick out the Elf Stuck in the Snow Globe.

Day 11: Snow globe
Day 12: Snow globe again. Kids had spent the night at Grandma's and the Elf didn't move.
Day 13: Bernardo had cleaned out his bookshelf and had put some books in a box to save for later. It was still in the hallway, so the Elf hid behind the box. Yes, my son may be a little bit like me and have a love for books. He labeled the box "Fragile".

Elf Snow Globe Directions: It was a little tricky to get the Elf inside the balloon. I would definitely recommend working with someone else, one person to hold the balloon open, one person to stuff the elf in. I tried using a glass to hold the balloon open and it broke the glass. Not fun! Once the Elf was in, I used a hole punch and made the snow for the globe and just placed inside the balloon. I cut a small piece of cardboard, wrote "Help! Stuck in a snow globe." and placed inside the balloon. I used a balloon pump to inflate the balloon. I found it pretty cheap at Target. I had crazy plans of making a type of seat for the Elf to be on inside the balloon (I had it set up as a soda bottle bottom, a bit of bating, and a white twist tie to keep the elf on the bottle bottom.) However, I did not manage to get it done by myself and I wanted to get it done before the kids got home from school. TIP: Do not inflate too much, the balloon may pop and it is really hard to tie! I used a styrofoam bowl, turned upside down, punched a hole in the center, and shoved the tied end of the balloon through. I placed a piece of packing tape over the end to help keep in place. I shook the balloon until I got the Elf close to where I wanted him in the globe. I then used a silver and red permanent marker to write on the bowl base of the snow globe.

There are also 36" clear balloons, if you wanted to go bigger or make it easier to get the elf inside the balloon.

Christmas Time Is Here Again!

Oh my gosh! Christmas is in a week! If you are running a little behind like I am, here is my list of Christmas themed fun, activities & crafts, food, elf, and gift ideas. I hope the Holiday season finds you all happy and well!

ACTIVITIES & FUN:

• Christmas BINGO
• Christmas Celebration Alternatives
• Christmas Gingerbread House
• Christmas Word Scramble
• Christmas Time Word Find
• Christmas Scavenger Hunt
• Christmas Time Fun Crossword Puzzle
• My Favorite Holiday Books
• Examining Snowflakes 
• Ice Bowling 
• Icicles 

CRAFTS: 

• Happy Holiday Cards
• Tree Card Holder
• Foam Gift Bags and Tags
• Easy Christmas Napkin Rings
• Easy Christmas Light Garland
• Easy Christmas Luminaries
• Hand Print Reindeer
• The New Advent Calendar
• Reindeer Food
• Paper Snowflakes
• Golf Ball Snowman 
• Cottonball Snowman 
• Potato Stamps 
• Toilet Paper Penguin  
• Snowman Coloring Page 

ELF: Here is the link to my elf post. I update it when I get new ideas.

GIFTS:

• St. Nick's Day was 12/6, but there are a lot of stocking stuffer ideas that will work great for Christmas!
• You've Been Elf'd. Spread a little holiday cheer to your friends and neighbors. We also made and delivered cookies to our neighbors a few days before Christmas last year. They seemed to be a big hit! :)

• Life Experience Gifts. Tired of giving gifts that sit on the shelf? Try giving experience gifts!
• Gifts For Them That Help You! 
• Don't Forget Safety!
• Amazing Baking Gifts
• Don't Forget the Batteries: Tech Gifts
• My Favorite Christmas and Holiday Books
• Gifts for the Entertainer and Hostess
• Gifts of Fitness
• Remembering Others This Holiday Season
• Biking, Hiking, and Camping Gifts...Oh My!
• Woof, Meow, Bubble Bubble...Don't Forget Your Pets!
• End Of The Year Teacher Gifts. This is a list of end of the year teacher gift ideas, but many of them would work for Christmas as well.
• My Father's Day and Mother's Day posts also have some great ideas for gifts.

FOOD:
     DRINKS:

• Peppermint Shake (Alcohol and non-alcohol version)
• Easy Fruit Flavored Water (It tastes great, looks pretty, and is super easy!)
• Warp Corp Breach (This may be more New Year's, but it's delicious and fun!)

     SNACKS & APPETIZERS:

• Edible Snowflakes (This is more of a fun snack to make with the kids.)
• Christmas Veggie Tray
• Hanky Pankies
• Soft Twist Pretzels (Goes great with Beer Cheese!)
• Popcorn Snowmen Cups (Or make candied popcorn with red and green candy melts or chocolate drizzled for dessert!)
• Snowman On A Stick
• Bear On A Sled (Could work for a kid dessert).

      MEAL ITEMS:

• Easy Christmas Themed Lunch for kids
• Checkered Potatoes (Sweet and regular in the same dish!)
• Fondue
• Broiled Parmesan Crusted Zucchini
• Grilled Brussels Sprouts
• Cooking A Turkey
• Popovers (Great alternative to traditional rolls.)

      BREAKFAST:

• Individual Crumb Cakes
• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
• Apple Cinnamon Muffins

   DESSERTS:

• Cookie Time! (Sugar Cookie recipe)
• Christmas Swirl Cookies
• Stained Glass Cookies
• Rice Cereal Ornament Balls
• Personal Jello Fruit Cups
• Layered Jello
• Chocolate Chip Caramel Pretzel Cookies. Although not a standard Christmas cookie, these are always a big hit!
• Turtle Sugar Cookies
• Fortune Cookies
• Hidden Surprise Pound Cake. I made this for St. Patrick's Day, but substitute a tree or star and it would be great for Christmas!
• Ice Cream Sandwiches with red, white, and green sprinkles
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Cherrios Balls
• Snow Cream (More of an activity with the kids, than an actual Christmas dessert for a big group.)
• Pie Cookies (Using Christmas themed cookie cutters)
• Rainbow Cupcakes (with red, green, and white batter)
• Easy Caramels

Elf 2017 Days 4 - 9

I may be a little behind updating the Elf. I am still baking lots and lots of cookies. We give them to the neighbors each year, hubby brings in platters to work, and we have them for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day events.

Eugene moved most days, although he forgot twice. He also hasn't been extremely exciting this year. I have a few ideas for him, but haven't been able to implement them yet.

Elf 2017, Days 2 and 3

This Elf is a little tired, so no crazy shenanigans the last couple of days. We're working on the crazy amount of Christmas cookies we make every year. I'm also having a little hard of a time being creative with spots so far this year.

Higgins has requested that Eugene make the crepe paper barricade again this year, so that may make an appearance again this year. Apparently, it was his favorite Elf event. 😊

Day 2: Eugene hid in Higgins' wrestling mask on his dresser.
Day 3: Hid in Bernardo's room by the mini Christmas tree, Harry Potter tin, and the Cyberman paper mache head I made for his Doctor Who birthday party a couple of years ago.

Elf On The Shelf 2017

Eugene arrived ahead of schedule. He normally arrives on 12/6 for St. Nick's Day, which is his anniversary in our house. He normally likes to do something big for his yearly debut.

This year, he made a paper snowman on the boys' bathroom door. (He didn't want any fighting over whose door the elf should have made the snowman, so he picked a neutral door.)

If you have white doors, it's even easier. Use the whole door as the snowman body. Cut out the coal for eyes, mouth, and buttons. Tape to door (brown tape or painters tape works best). Add a scarf (paper like mine, or ribbon) and a hat. I used construction paper to make the decorations and a roll of banner paper for the snowman body.

It's Elf Time Again!

Our Elf is a little lazy and comes on St. Nicholas Day (tomorrow!), which is the day we originally got him. I am still coming up with this year's ideas for our elf Eugene. However, I do have some of his more exciting past adventures listed below. I'll update this post when I get new ones! (All of the Elf ideas, both boring and exciting, can still be found on the blog under Categories/Elf On The Shelf.)

• Lightsaber fight with Storm Trooper and Darth Vader
• "Doctor Who" Elf vs. a Dalek
• Crepe Paper Barricade
• Minecraft Steve Elf with Diamond Helmet and Sword
• Relaxing on a marshmallow chair. My most insane idea yet, as I stabbed my fingers multiple times with toothpicks. However, when I was done, Eugene did have a nice (yet small) chair and foot rest made of mini marshmallows.
•  Super Hero E!. While he may just be pretending to fly on the curtain rod, he did have a cape.
• Playing hockey
• Parachuting in
• Stuck In A Snow Globe 
• Snowman Door 
• Ice skating
• Making a garland for the tree
• Zip Lining to the tree
• Zombie Attack. Playing Plants VS Zombies.
• Making a S'more in the pantry
• Making paper snowflake decorations
• Sledding on the tree
• Swinging from the ceiling fan
• Poker Night
• Popcorn Snowman Snack Cups
• Elf Packed Lunch (Full of all the things an elf wants to eat.)
• Treasure Hunt. Eugene likes to leave things for the boys when he goes home. One year it was a wrapped present, another year he left them a treasure hunt.
• Minion bananas
• Elf Circus
• Hiding in a bottle.  The link to my post has instructions! It's pretty easy and the boys were amazed. :)
• Making a snowman. I stacked larger sized marshmallows to form the snowman. I used an edible marker to make the face and buttons, although melted chocolate would work well too. You could "glue" the marshmallows together with chocolate or hold together with a toothpick down the center.
• Placing Bows on toys.
• Making a Snowman on the Door 
• Some not as exciting ideas: 
• Drinking hot chocolate (mini marshmallow filled cup from the kids kitchen set)
• Flying on the dinosaur that was hanging in Higgins' room.
• Using my Christmas Scavenger Hunt card.
• Candy Cane Scavenger Hunt
• Eating gingerbread cookies
• Wrapping a present. (This was left on his last day and was a game we bought for the boys.)
• Leaving a note to clean their rooms.
• Sleeping in a curtain
• Elf sized donuts. It's fun to have 2 plates: one that the elf is eating, and plate with note that these are to share. Originally, I made these for the leprechaun, but changed the candy melts to a darker green, red, and white for an Elf sized treat. 
• Sick Note from the Elf
• Writing a Story with the Elf