Elf on the Shelf

Only a couple more nights until Christmas which means you only have to find a couple more locations for your Elf on the Shelf. By this late in the Christmas game, I'm sure that you, just like myself,  have found yourself standing in the middle of your house, elf in hand, searching desperately for a place to put it. Well, I have decided to share all the locations I have put my elf into one handy post in the hopes that together we can get through those last couple nights of elf brain freeze.

1. I'm Back

    This handy location was perfect for when our elf reappeared. But it can be used as a going away as well. Simply position your elf on the window and write on the window with the dry-erase marker.

2. Mistletoe Mischeif 

3. Trim the Tree

     Our Elf brought a special gift from Santa as a reward for good behavior. 

4. Hanging Around for Movie Time

5. Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

6. Riding a Reindeer

    Don't forget to use other Christmas decorations in your elf's adventures! 

7. Video Game Downtime 

8. Tea for Three

9. Fishing Fun

10. The Reason for the Season

      Even an elf can bring the focus back to Jesus.

11. Mouse Chase

12. Snowflake Craft

13. Self Portrait

14. Picture Perfect

15. Bat-Elf

16. Candy Land with Friends

17. Gingerbread Village Fun

      Our elf brought magic "seeds" to plant in our gingerbread garden (bowl of sugar) and we planted them and found they grew into candy canes. 

18. Bathroom Decoration

19. Hanging in There

20. Having S'more Fun 

21. Christmas Cookies

22. Stocking around the Christmas Tree

23. Story Time

Well, there you have it! 23. ideas for your elf that aren't really messy or crazy. Even the more elaborate scenes only took a few minutes to put together. 

Merry Christmas!

The Eleventh Day

This morning our Elf, Bell, reminded us of the reason we celebrate Christmas. He had joined the nativity scene under our tree and was kneeling next to Jesus's manger. 

Our activity for today, as dictated by our countdown penguin, was to turn off all the lights in the house, turn on the tree lights and sit and look at the tree. Of course, we waited until it was dark outside so it would have the best effect. After dinner, Client One turned off all the lights while I plugged in the tree lights and pulled up some Christmas music in my phone. Honestly, it was peaceful and beautiful.

Tonight's book was Counting Christmas by Karen Katz. It starts with number ten and counts down to  number one. Of course, everything you count is Christmasy. 

And that's all for today! Good night! 

Day Ten of Our Christmas Countdown

This morning Bell was found fishing for Goldfish crackers in one of our bathroom sinks. He even brought Christmas colored Goldfish! Sitting next to him was a bag of Goldfish for us all to snack on throughout the day. 

Our activity slip today instructed us to make a present. Now, yesterday, Client One went out and bought presents for just about everybody on her list. One of those people was her daddy. She picked him out a cute little orange teddy bear and I could tell right away that she loved that bear and would want to keep it. Sure enough, when I asked her if she wanted to find her daddy something else she was more than willing. So, today, she colored him a little wooden picture holder. Client Two also "colored" him a little snowman ornament. (By "colored" I mean that I attempted to guide his hand while he tried to eat the markers.) Both projects turned out well.

Client One had AWANAs tonight since it is Wednesday, but she asked if she could go ahead and pick out her book and unwrap it before she left. I agreed since I knew it would be a later night and letting her unwrap it early would probably make bedtime smoother. Tonight's selection was Santa Paws which features adorable animals. What's not to love? Even Client One's cat wanted to check it out. 

 

And that completes our day! Merry Christmas! 

Day 9 and Counting!

Our little elf warmed up to some of the other toys by reading them a Christmas story. It had a little reindeer puppet that he had his little hand in. All the toys seemed amused. Client One also found the day's location fun.

Today's activity slip read:

Let me just say that anyone who has ever wrapped presents with a three-year-old deserves a massive gold star. I enjoy wrapping presents but wrapping presents with Client One was not quite as much fun. She's at that age where she wants to do everything by herself but doesn't quite have the skills to do it on her own. That combination makes for a very long and messy wrapping session. Earlier today, I had taken Client One to the Dollar Tree to pick out presents that she could buy. I'm actually a little impressed at the amount of thought she put behind each selection. She actually chose some good, appropriate stuff! Now everything is wrapped, labeled and under the tree.

Tonight's special Christmas book was a cute little board book about Christmas Angels. (Once again, the book is with her in her room.)

And that completes our day! 

On the Eighth Day of Christmas Fun...

This morning we found Bell enjoying tea and cookies with Client One's Cinderella ballerina Barbie and Pat the Bunny. It seems that Bell is quite taken with Client One's Barbies. As you can see in the picture below, he is giving Pat a creepy elf stare. I'm afraid he's going to try to take the bunny out of the equation so he can have the Barbies all to himself.  I may need to keep a closer eye on him. Client One loved the little set up, though. She loved that he had used his Christmas magic to transform some of our sprinkle butter cookies into elf-sized treats and that some of the little cookies had little nibble marks.  She, of course, also wanted a cup of tea but I sensed that today was not a good day to add extra sugar and caffeine to the equation, and I was right. Let's just say our little elf does not have a lot of good things to report to Santa tonight.

This morning, after laughing at our elf and stealing a mini cookie, Client One pulled out our activity for the day, Our slip this morning read:

Client Two got to participate a little bit today. This afternoon, I played one of my iTunes Radio Christmas stations and Client One danced around. On the second song, Client Two wanted in on the dancing and Client One helped him to stand and dance a little bit. They both enjoyed it but after another song, they were done. Client Two become more interested in trying to eat the nearby Christmas ornaments and bits of the Christmas tree. Client One danced around a little bit more with her stuffed animals before wandering off to color.

Tonight, Client One wanted "one of the little ones" for her Christmas book. She unwrapped the smallest one to find a simple little classic. The Friendly Beasts is actually a song, so instead of just reading it, my Hubby attempted to sing it. He was a little off on the tune, having not heard it for awhile, but Client One enjoyed it nonetheless. I'm glad we found this little book a couple of years ago in a little bargain book bin. It's simple and cute and well-loved. 

And that completes our eighth day of Christmas fun! Now, to get some sleep and assist that crazy elf. Let's see if I can keep him away from the Barbies tonight.

Seven Days of Christmas (So Far)

This morning our little elf, Bell, was found riding our little reindeer. My guess is that he had a little extra Christmas magic and wanted to take a friend with him on his journey last night. Client One was with her Nanny until after lunch, so it was awhile before she got to see her little elf, but she thought it was funny that he was riding the reindeer.

Since she was gone all morning, it was after her nap when she got to check her activity for the day. Today our slip read:

Once we had our marching orders for the day, we headed into the playroom to make a couple of Christmas cards for some of Client One's friends. She drew a Christmas tree on the front of each one and then she decorated the rest of the card with some Christmas dog and cat stickers. She really liked the ones with the orange cat since they reminded her of her Tiger Cat.

Tonight, Client One got to choose her book as soon as she got home from church. Tonight's book was a pop-up version of The Nutcracker. Client One was perfectly enthralled with the story and insisted on reading it twice. She loved the way that the pictures popped up and kept poking at them.

And that completes our seventh day! See you tomorrow for more Christmas fun!

The Sixth Day of Christmas Fun

This morning Bell was found relaxing and playing Hubby's Game Boy. It seems that with all the rushing to the North Pole and back again, he needed to unwind with a little fun. Of course, when Client One found him, she was delighted, but she followed her initial delight up with, "Does daddy know he's playing his game?" I assured her that he did not mind sharing with Bell.

To be honest, we forgot to check our activity right away this morning because we went out and did a bit of shopping before the roads and stores got too crazy. Once we got back home, we opened it up to find:

This is an activity we have actually done every Christmas since Client One was a baby. In previous years, she did not participate as much in the actual making of the chain. This year, however, she did a good deal of the work. I cut out the strips of paper (she could have done this fairly well, but it would have taken her forever) and she looped them together and helped me tape them together. We made a decently long chain and she had fun placing it on the tree. She was very proud of her creation.

Client One went off to spend the night with her Nanny and Poppy tonight and I forgot to have her choose a book before she left. They stuck with the Christmas book theme at bedtime and read her a Twelve Days of Christmas book but I wanted to make sure a book still got unwrapped. I spend a long time wrapping all those suckers and by George they were all going to get unwrapped in a timely manner! Since Client Two is usually already in bed when the book gets chosen, he often misses out on the nightly story. So, we decided that tonight he could choose the book. The book he chose was Richard Scarry's Best Christmas Book Ever! Richard Scarry is classic and fun. This book is actually an assortment of Christmas stories and activities which makes it a wonderful Christmas treat. Client Two absolutely loved the book and was enthralled by the fun pictures.

And that ends the sixth day of our Christmas fun! I can honestly say this is one of the best Christmases ever!

Day Five of Christmas Fun

Last night, after returning from his visit with Santa, it seems Bell made good friends with our Penguin salt and pepper shakers. They got together and made a fun snowman from marshmallows, sprinkles and chocolate in a powdered sugar snow. Client One was delighted to see her silly elf's fun this morning and did not even seem to notice that he did not bring her a gift this morning.

Our activity today, as dictated by our penguin advent calendar, was to go to Bob Jones University for their lighting ceremony. 

Obviously, this was one of the planned (and rigged) events. It is also a tradition that we do every year and something I actually did when I was a child, myself. We met some family at a local pizza place for a quick dinner before heading over to the campus. We found a good spot and enjoyed some Christmasy treats. The ceremony started with some fun Christmas caroling as it got darker and darker. Then, at the high note of the second verse of O Holy Night, the entire campus lit up. I love watching the expressions of my clients more than I actually like seeing all the Christmas lights come on. Client One was in awe. Client Two was very fussy, but he stopped fussing to look around. All in all it was a nice evening.

When we got home, Client One got to pick out her Christmas book. Tonight she chose My Penguin, Osbert by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel. I love this story. It is sweet and cute and the illustrations are wonderful. Client One loves penguins so this book is right up her alley and I am sure we will read it a million more times before Christmas.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas Fun...

This morning our silly little elf was hanging upside down from the Blu Ray player in the playroom and swinging from his little hands was a new Christmas DVD for Client One to enjoy. Attached was another little note from Santa reminding her to be good and letting her know that she might not receive a new gift every day, even if she remained good. He said he had to save some gifts for Christmas. Of course, we immediately had to watch the new movie before breakfast or anything else could be done.

Follow Bell's adventures on Instagram! #MyLifeasaSAHMomChristmasFun

After the movie and breakfast, we opened up our penguin door to see our activity for the day. It said:

I had really meant to get something to make a Christmas snack, but I had forgotten. My bad. So, I texted Hubby and told him to bring home a Christmas snack and he brought home a yummy Christmas tree Rice Krispie treat. Yum! Client One was happy. She got to eat her Christmas treat as soon as we were done with dinner.

Tonight's chosen books was A Star for Jesus by Crystal Bowman. It is a great book for telling the Christmas story. Client One likes it because the book has a fun shape. (I would have gotten a picture but she wanted to sleep with it in case her stuffed animals wanted to read it.)

Well, that concludes our fourth day filled with Christmas fun! I know the post is shorter today, but this mommy is tired! (And I think Bell might need a little extra help and preparation for his new location tomorrow!)