10 Easy Elf On The Shelf Ideas

I'm always trying to find new ideas for my little elves to do.  After 5 years, I feel I have exhausted on ideas!  But luckily, with the internet, a clever husband and just last minute uh ha's we're having another successful year!  Here are 10 of my favorite Elf  Moments from this year!

1.

Movie night!  Grab a bag of microwave popcorn, some popcorn boxes and a movie to advertise that it'll be movie night tonight!  We watched the Grinch, and added the Grinch stuffie to the set up to make it more fun!

2.

Make your own Christmas Cards!  I had these on hand, but if not, go to your local craft store for blank cards and envelopes, stickers, scrapbook paper and glue sticks and have your elves display all the items so the children can make some homemade Christmas cards for family and friends!

3.

Give them an Elf!  My kids get upset because they can't touch the elves.  So the elves gave them each their own stuff elf so they can hold on to them and sleep with them every night!  It was a big hit!

4.

Paper Elves!  Grab some paper, fold it accordion style, draw half of an elf body on the folded side, cut it out and open it up and you have a hand to hand of elves!  It was a cute decoration that the elves made for our home!

5.

Elf Refueling Station!  Elves love Cocoa!  I have some empty cocoa k-cups that I saved and some paper straws and placed the little elves next to the Keurig for a cocoa station.  This could be done next to teapot and elves drinking cocoa out of an empty cocoa packet.

6.

Empty Out The Pantry!  Those little elves love making messes!  This was easy, and I was able to "clean" out the pantry.  Just pull everything out of the pantry or cabinets and place the items on the table or counter top.  My kids found this to be hysterical!  

7.

Snowball Fight!  How easy is this?!  Crinkle paper into balls and place them around the living room or area you plan on placing the elves with a sign that says Snowball Fight Anyone?  We actually took the crinkle up paper and had a "snowball fight" with the kids!  They had a lot of fun!

8,

Elf Igloo!  It's been really cold here where we live!  So it felt appropriate to set up some toilet paper rolls in a shape of an igloo to represent to cold weather we have been dealing with for the elves to feel at home (North Pole).  Note:  If you have cats, cover it with a blanket so they don't destroy the igloo!

9.
Green Light!  Elves love Christmas lights!  So we bought some green lights from Walmart and replaced all our lights with the green ones.  The elves left a note that said to turn on all the lights to see what they did!  The kids loved the green lights!!!

10.
Minion Banana's!  We watched the trailer for the new Despicable Me 3 movie that comes out next year, the kids were very excited!  Which made me think of the Minion Banana faces!  I told the kids the Elves were excited about the new Despicable Me 3 movie too!!

DIY Cardboard Fireplace

I have always wanted to make a cardboard chimney for the holidays.  A real one would be better, but since I don't live in a place where that can be allowed that's not going to happen, I thought for years how great it would be to have a fake one.  Well, I could got buy one for like $400.  Nope, not what I want to spend.  So one day while I was surfing Pinterest, I came a cross a pin that excited me.  It was showing you how to make your own cardboard fireplace.  I loved it!  I said that's it, I'm going to make one this year!

So today I did!  Unfortunately, the pin does not link a source but I will link the pin that shows the images on how to create one:  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/497014508851561224/

This is how mine came out!  I'm very excited.  I ended up using a lightweight vinyl brick roll.  It was easy to put on and I just cut off the extra that I didn't need and secured it with strapping tape.  For the inside of the chimney I used black card stock.  For the top, I had some left over wainscoting that I used for my daughter room, so I secured it to the top of the chimney as a shelf.   It was pretty easy to do and now I have a fireplace for our stockings to hang.

Family Photo

This year I needed to do a Family Photo and decided to do it a little different this year!

All I did was buy a piece of poster board and lined it with green paper like this...

I then used my green screen software, and edited it.  I started with my baby girl since she did not need to hold the frame and then worked my way up.  It was fun to do and I think it turned out really well!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas 08

Christmas morning was calm. We all got to sleep until 7:00. I got my coffee and then Tristan came out of his room. As he walked down the hall, squinting from the bright light, I said look Tristan, Santa came. He said oh yeah. His looked so happy and surprised. Here he is with his hot cocoa yelling "Merry Christmas"


Shortly after, Brayden woke up. He was pretty happy & surprised too.



Here are some Christmas present moments....

A Wonderful Family

Christmas was very nice. I was afraid with limited funds, that Christmas may not be as exciting for my boys. But not true at all. My parents provided some lovely gifts that they all got to enjoy. We then went to my brother and sister in-laws for presents and dinner there too. My sister in-law did so much for my boys. More than I can thank her for.
I was touched by everything she gave us. But one thing that got me was she made those no-sew blankets for all three boys. Not small ones either. They will be able to use them for years to come.

Here is Brayden's



Here is Jayden's




Here is Tristan's

Homemade Christmas Cards

Things are really tight this year. So I made some easy, no skill needed Christmas card. I found these instructions HERE. Very simple, and fun!

Yahoo Best Answer

Wow! I am very honored to get a yahoo best answer on Yahoo Answers. I've got them before with just everyday questions, but this one is a treat for me. It was about Christmas trees, and making them more decorative. My tree still needs a lot of help. But because of the doves, it got reconition. I hope to add more next year. Some one suggested squirrels, nuts, you know more woodland creatures. I've never had a theme before, but it looks like I'm leaning to a Nature Theme.

Here is the question link:
My xmas tree needs a makeover. see pic?

Fruit Loop Garland

My son and I did this. He had fun, and snacked as we put it together.
All you need is some Fruit Loops, Scissors, Tape, and Yarn.


First cut a string to any length you want.
Then place a piece of tape at one of the ends of the string. This will be used to thread the fruit loops on. Don't put to much on it, just enough so the loop will slide on.


Knot an anchor at the other end of the string with a fruit loop.


Now thread the fruit loops on the string...to whatever length you want.




Here is the finish project..

My boys, Grandma and Cousin Robbie

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My Christmas Tree Is Up!

Finally, it took me 3 days to get my tree up. Of course I was sick one of those days, so I couldn't do to much. Not to extravagant but, I like it. I did do the doves like I mention earlier this year. Looks neat. Here are some pictures.

Make Your Own Gift Tags

Here is another idea on how to make your own gift tags with things around your house.

Materials:

Piece of Paper
Scissors or Cutters
Tape or Glue
Aluminum Foil
Hole Punch
Stickers
Colored Pen

1. Take a piece of paper and fold it in half



2. Then fold in half again


3. The fold it half again


4. Now unfold it


5. Cut along the folds with scissors or a cutter



6. Take a piece of aluminum foil, bigger than the tags, and wrap it around the tag as it was a present. Make sure the shiny side is facing out.





7. When you're all done, flip it around.


8. Now decorate anyway you want. Add a hole for the tie or not.

A Small But Merry Christmas

As I'm putting up the tree today, and listening to some Christmas music, it's really hitting me that Christmas is not that far away. I also realize how small it's going to be this year. Small with gifts, but I'm going to make it big with warm memories. I'm going to do all that I can to make it a happy Christmas for my boys. I love them so much, and of course as parents we all want the best for our children. Though, they're young and really don't know what Christmas is. My oldest, Tristan who is 4 is starting to understand, but still don't do the "I Want" speeches. Looks like I'm going to be only afford 1 gift each this year for them. Just writing that, brings tears to my eyes. But, I grew up with small Christmas' and you know, they really warm my heart when I think of them or look at the pictures from my childhood. My parents didn't have a lot of money, but they always made it great, even if it was just the 4 of us. I just hope I can give my boys those kind of memories too.

I was watching the news, and all those people standing in line for Black Friday, and spending lots of money on gifts, that makes you wonder if their child will appreciate it. I admit, at a different time, I was one of those shoppers. I also remember before I had children, I would go to the local bank, and pick 2 angels from the tree, and buy like crazy for those who would have small Christmas'. It felt so good to do something good, even though I would never meet those children, but I would think of them Christmas morning,unwrapping their gifts and hoping they loved what they got. Someday, I hope to do that again, someday.

For now, I'm going to make this Christmas as special as I can for my boys. They're only 4 years old, 22 months old and 9 months old, but there's always pictures for them to look back on.

My Top 10 Favorite Christmas Movies

10. Home Alone 2 - Lost In New York



9. Comfort & Joy



8. The Santa Clause



7. Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer



6. How The Grinch Stole Christmas - Ron Howard



5. Beauty & The Beast Enchanted Christmas



4. Muppet's Christmas Carol



3. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation



2. Home Alone


1. Little House on the Prairie - A Christmas They Never Forgot

Beauty And The Beast

This isn't really Christmas related, but in a way it is. Last week my mom and I went to our local school Christmas craft fair. They have about 50 vendors, it's big. We go every year, and every year the student perform some sort of musical. We never buy the tickets. Why? I don't know. But this year, it was Beauty & The Beast, my favorite Disney movie. So I convinced my mom to buy the tickets, she said it'll be an early Christmas present for both of us. I was ecstatic.

So last night my mom & I went to Disney's Beauty And The Beast. I have to give the actors and crew 5 stars. It was an awesome performance. The leads were all superb . They're singing, oh, was right on. I kept thinking some of these singers need to go for an American Idol tryouts, they were that good.

Over 4 years ago, my mom and I went to Pennsylvania on a bus tour, and one of the things on the itinerary was a dinner & theater, which was Beauty And The Beast. Those actors were older and professional, and I LOVED the performance there. But I have to say, the High School performance was just as good as those who performed at that dinner & theater performance. I'm still in WoW. My mom was hesitant at first, because being on a work night for her, she'd be awfully tired the next morning. But she enjoyed it and was glad she went. She said it was worth it.

Also I encourage any theater teacher out there, who don't know what to perform for their school, do the Beauty And The Beast! It's a great story, that everyone loves!

I really recommend everyone to check out there local school theater. Those kids work hard, and who know, may someday be famous! Plus it's great to get involve with the community!

Found a clip on you tube of the play...hopefully they'll be more.

Christmas Chain Advent

Today My oldest son and I put together a Christmas Chain Advent. Here is what you'll need...



3 pieces of construction paper. (May need more, depends on how many colors you'll be using to make the chain).
Tape or Glue
Pencil
Ruler
Scissors
Marker


Step 1
Using 1 piece of construction paper mark 1 inch along the edge.
Turn it to the opposite side and mark 1 inch along the edge again




Step 2
Connect the 1 inch marks from left to right using your ruler



Do the same with the other pieces of construction paper until you have 25 1 inch strips.



Step 3
Now number the 1 inch strips. I use red & green so red was all odd numbers and green was all even numbers. But if using more than two colors pick your own pattern. This is how the chain will be connected.



Step 4
Cut out all the strips



Step 5
Take #1 chain and roll it in a circle



Step 6
Tape or glue the ends of the circle together



Now you have your first chain.



Step 7
Now with #2 slide it in the circle of #1, then tape the ends together to form 2 chains.



Step 8
Keep doing this until you have a chain of 25

Here is our finished chain..




Now on December 1st your child will rip #1 chain off, then on December 2nd your child will rip #2 off, and so on.

I put a little jingle bell on #25 just to give it more excitement for my son. Do whatever your imagination can think of.