Elf on The Shelf Days 14-18

 

Christmas Ideas

Last year, we were traveling around the US and were not in town for Christmas. We did Zoom with family and friends and mailed gifts back. (Click here to see our travel blog.) I have craft/activity, food, and gift ideas down below.

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:

• Here is a link to my gift idea post.

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!)
• Frozen Bourbon Milk Punch. (I had this in New Orleans a couple of years ago, and it is delicious!)

    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 On A Shelf Days 8-13

Looks like Mini E got in on the action!

Sledding, hammocking, riding the dog’s toy dragon, pretending to be an astronaut in a rocket,  being a burrito elf next to a burrito kid, climbing a steep snowy mountain 

Elf Shenanigans Days 1-7

This year we have our regular Elf and our RV elf (Mini E), to help celebrate the season.

Our elves have gotten up to a few shenanigans this season. I wonder what 2 elves will do?

It’s hard to be an Elf in a Human sized house!

(ElfAPotty is made from a cardboard box. The toilet is made from a reused K-cup and toilet paper roll.)

Christmas Gift Ideas

It seems the older everyone gets, the harder it is to come up with ideas! In case you need some gift ideas too, here are my gift lists:

• 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.
• Last year, we traveled the US in a RV and have made a new gift list for RVers! The links are to our other blog.
• Fun Christmas Gifts for RVers
  
• Practical Christmas Gifts for RVers
  

 
 *If you buy an item from Amazon using my links, I may receive a small commission for the referral. It does not affect your cost at all! If you want more information, please visit my Disclosure page.

St. Nick's Day is 12/6!

I know we are just about to celebrate Thanksgiving, but St. Nick's Day is right around the corner on Sunday 12/6! If you are Christmas shopping this weekend, you may want to keep an eye out for little stocking stuffers. I have some ideas below, as well as a little history on St. Nick's Day.

I used to love St. Nick's Day when I was a kid. I remember waking on December 6th, eager to see what my stocking of goodies contained. When I was a little older, I learned that not everyone celebrates St. Nick's Day. In the US, it seems like it is more in the German and Dutch ancestry communities. I grew up in a city with strong German roots and St. Nick's Day was always celebrated. My mom had never heard of the holiday until she came here for college.
 

Who Was St. Nick?
St. Nicholas (St. Nick) was the model for the jolly man himself (Santa Claus). St. Nicholas was from a wealthy family and would secretly give out gifts to people. The story I remember hearing was about a father who had three daughters. He was poor and could not afford dowries for the girls, which were needed in order to get married. Without the dowries, their futures looked bleak. Nicholas threw a bag of gold coins through a window into the house during the night for each daughter. (There are different stories with different times frames: 1 night, 3 nights, 3 years.)

How To Celebrate:
The night of December 5th, place a stocking or shoe outside the children's door(s) and fill it with goodies. You could also hang them on the fireplace. In the morning (on December 6th), open the stockings!

Growing up, we each had our own stocking that we put out in front of our bedroom door the night before St. Nick's Day. We got mostly candy in our stockings. My husband's family tradition was to put their Christmas List in the stockings for Santa to pick up. They also got an orange (and candy) in their stockings. Some families put out shoes instead of stockings.

Stocking Stuffer Ideas:

• "Gold" $1 coins in honor of the bags of gold coins St. Nicholas gave. (You can ask for them at the bank.)
• Candy. My favorite is Candy Cane Tootsie Pops. The boys like getting the soda flavored jelly beans. Target has cute ones in the holiday section that come in a small soda bottle shaped container.
• Small games or deck of cards.
• Books or comic books.
• Small coloring books, crayons, colored pencils, markers, fun shaped pens, puzzle books, etc. The coloring book link is to Amazon, but Target and Michael's often have these Grab & Go packs for $1.
• Barrettes, headbands.
• Grab and Go games. These fit into stockings and are great for car rides or while sitting in restaurants. Some of our favorites are Clue, Connect Four, Trouble, Battleship, and Guess Who.
• Special ornament. We get each kid their own ornament every year. It has their name and the year on it. (Even if I just write it on with a Sharpie.) We try to make it special for that year. (An apple/desk/pencil if they started school, a horse for their first horse ride, an ornament from vacation, a train if they took a train ride, ballet slippers or musical instrument for first show/concert.)
• For older kids: gift cards to Amazon, iTunes, movie theater, laser tag, their favorite store. Or a new phone case, ear buds for phone/computer/iPod.
• Hot chocolate mix.
• Small stuffed animals.
• Lego's. There are so many kinds! (Ninjago, a box of Lego's, Nexo Knights, Minecraft, Friends, and now even Mario). Lego also has Ornaments. Kids build the Lego figure and place them inside a clear round ornament to hang on the tree. The boys loved them. The mini-figure packs are also great stocking stuffer. (Lego has these in stores or online. Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart, and sometimes even the grocery store will carry these.)
• Small toys. (Hexbugs, small Nerf guns, Matchbox or Hot Wheels)
• Art supplies. (sketch pads, pencils, pens, paints, crayons, stickers...)
• Pez Dispensers. I loved getting each year as a kid. I used to have a small collection of them, but they got misplaced during moving. They come in a lot of varieties! (Christmas, 12 Days of Christmas, Star Wars, Avengers, Scooby Doo, Princess, Presidents...)
• Toothbrush.
• Flashlight.
• Temporary tattoos.
• Chapstick or lip gloss.
• Small fruit (clementines, apples).
• Compass. 
• Gum.
• Elf On The Shelf. Our Elf, Eugene, originally came to us on St. Nick's Day.
• New video game or DVD. The boys sometimes get a joint St. Nick gift of a game or DVD.
• Advent Calendar.
• For Kids: Even though they may get it a few days late, they'll still enjoy it! There are the traditional chocolate calendars, which I always see at Target/grocery stores/craft stores. However, there are also a lot of non-food types available too! 
• Toys: Lego City, Lego Star Wars, Lego Friends, Lego Harry Potter, PlayMobil, Play-Doh, Minions, Hatchimals, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hot Wheels, Disney, Paw Patrol, Crayola, VTech, military men toys/figures
• Crafts: charm bracelet, brain teasers/puzzles, and even a bead craft option.
  
• Books: I saw short story advent calendars this year, how cool is that! There are a few different types including Marvel, Disney, and Lego activity/story books.
• Simple countdown versions 
  
• Fill your own verisons: decorative wooden, hanging bags/satchels--I think these could be easily made/customized as a DYI project too.
• NOTE: I have had a hard time find the Lego calendar when it gets closer to December. Sometimes I would find it, but it was through a 3rd party seller and they had raised the price by at least $10. Check online and in stores early to make sure you get the one you want and for the regular price.
• For Adults: There are a lot of adult themed Advent Calendars too! 
• Master of Malt offers many different alcoholic calendars (especially whiskey and scotch). 
• There are adult chocolate advent calendars (nicer chocolates). 
• Costco has offered both a beer and wine advent calendar. 
• Tea
  
• I even saw some with socks for every day! 
• For Pets:
• Dogs: 
• New Toy (Honky Hedgehog, bone, ball)
• Whimzees. These are the teeth cleaning treats I buy for J. She loves them, and I like the ingredients a lot better than some of the other dental products out there. Plus, they come in some cute shapes!
• Bully Sticks
• Booties for their feet. These are the only booties J will wear. They are thin enough she can still feel the ground, but still protect her feet from ice and snow.
• Homemade Peanut Butter Pumpkin Biscuits (click link for recipe)
• Cats: 
• Toy

LINKS:
St. Nicholas (Wikipedia)
http://www.stnicksday.com/



*This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links. If you buy an item from Amazon using my links, I may receive a small commission for the referral. It does not affect your cost at all! If you want more information, please visit my Disclosure page.

Making Cranberry Pie In The RV

Months ago, I saw a recipe online for Cranberry Pie. I saved it because I really wanted to try it for Christmas. I was a little worried about baking it in the RV, but after successfully baking some Christmas sugar cookies, we gave it a shot. It was easy, delicious, and turned out well.

It took a little longer to cook than the directions stated. I have a pizza stone under the rack to help disperse the heat, so I think it causes the temperature to run a little low.

The pie was both sweet and a little tart, and even the cranberry skeptic loved it. I would definitely eat this warm, soon after it comes out of the oven. We had some cold the next day and it was nice, but the flavor wasn't the same intensity.

New Release!

We've been on the road now since July and online school, and remote work having been going pretty well. The boys are seeing and learning so much, not just in school but in first hand experiences.

We learned a lot as well and experienced so many new things. As of yesterday, I am no longer the only published author in our family! Hubby was inspired to write his own Christmas book, making it campground and RV themed. It is available as an eBook on Amazon's Kindle and Kindle apps. We are working on a paperback version, but running into a few technical difficulties and hope to have it out soon as well. If you are interested in the book, you can find it here.

Mini E, Elf Days 8-15

 

Day 8: Hid in a very messy desk.

Day 9: Hid behind hubby's green screen for work.

Day 10: Didn't move very far, as he was sleeping on top of our bedroom slide-out.

Day 11: Hid in the pantry guarding the new bag of chips. 

Day 12: Left a rummy game for the boys.

Day 13: Sitting on a much cleaner desk.

Day 14: Hid in the cabinet by the plates, napkins, and coffee supplies.

Day 15: Somehow got stuck in the paper towel roll/holder.

Christmas Ideas

This year Christmas may look a little different for all of us due to Covid. We will still be traveling and won't be in town. We plan on connecting with everyone on Zoom or FaceTime. There are a few things listed below that will work as long distance games you can play together, like a scavenger hunt and bingo. Each group can drive around and find the items. I have craft/activity, food, and gift ideas down below.

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:

• Here is a link to my gift idea post.

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!)
• Frozen Bourbon Milk Punch. (I had this in New Orleans a couple of years ago, and it is delicious!)

    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 Shenanigans Of The Past

I thought I would refresh the list of the favorite Elf visits. I'm trying to get some inspiration for new ideas that I could translate into the RV this year.

If you need any ideas for your Elf (or reindeer/snowman/whatever creature you may hide), here are some of our Elf's past exploits. (NOTE: These are only some of his previous ideas, but all of his appearances can be found under Categories: Elf On The Shelf.)

• Lego House with fireplace and book
  
• Light saber fight with Storm Trooper and Darth Vader 
• "Doctor Who" Elf vs. a Dalek 
• 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 
• Ninja Elf
  
• Parachuting in 
• Stuck In A Snow Globe  
• Snowman Door 
• Missing Elf Alert Poster
  
• Hallway Obstacles:
• Crepe paper barricade 
• Paper chain obstacles 

• 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. 
• Elf Stuck In A Snow Globe 
• 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. 
• 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

*If you buy an item on Amazon using affiliate links, I may receive a small commission for the referral. It does not affect your cost at all! Your cost stays the same whether you use the referral link from my site or not. My Disclosure page has a little more information if you are interested.