Elf Days 17-19

Day 17 (12/20/16): Eugene decided to curl up with a blanket and a good book.

Day 18 (12/21/16): The elf decided to come in our room last night.

Day 19 (12/22/16): Eugene was too tired to make it all down the stairs and stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

Elf Days 14-16

Elf Day 14 (12/17/16): Eugene was sitting in my chair today by the computer.

Elf Day 15 (12/18/16): After hearing that Eugene had been a little boring this year, I decided to create their favorite game scene. Today, Eugene was dressed as Minecraft Steve with a diamond helmet and sword. He was standing in front of a Minecraft scene. (See below for details.)

Elf Day 16 (12/19/16): The Elf was hanging out on the lamp today.

Minecraft Steve Elf:
I know that there is a way to cut open the elf and add the bendable wire so it will hang and pose better, but I'm afraid I'll ruin him with my limited skills. Instead, I try to find ways to prop or tie him up. This time, I used a red wrapping ribbon. I wrapped under his arms, underneath the white collar and tied to the Christmas tree branch. It seemed to work pretty well.

I took a screen shot of a Minecraft scene and cropped in half so I could print each half on a full sized piece of paper. I then taped them together and scotch taped to the wall. The Steve head was pretty easy to make, but did take some time. It's not perfect, but I finally called it quits around midnight. I cut out the bottom square to fit the Elf's head in. If you would like to use the images, they are posted below. I printed them to fit a regular sheet of paper in the landscape position (11 x 8.5 inches).

Elf Days 10-13

Day 10 (12/13/14): Eugene was hiding on top of the fridge.

Day 11 (12/14/16): Eugene was hanging out in one of the stockings this morning.

Day 12 (12/15/16): Eugene was in Higgins' room. He started a short story and told Higgins to finish it. Eugene has horrible elf handwriting, so I'll type what it said:
     "Finish The Story!
     The Story of Higgins and Eugene
     Eugene was an Elf. Higgins was a boy. Eugene liked to hide. Higgins liked to"

Day 13 (12/16/16): The Elf was hanging out on Bernardo's bookcase and left a note, "Eugene was here!".

Christmas & Winter Fun (Including Gift Ideas!)

It's hard to believe Christmas is 2 weeks away and Christmas break will be starting soon! 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
• SnowCream (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 Days 6-9

Day 6 (12/9/16): Eugene moved up higher today to sit in the sleigh. Higgins said the elf is pretending to be Santa.

Day 7 (12/10/16): I pulled something in my back, so Eugene is staying down low for a while. Today he is sitting in the Christmas tree.

Day 8 (12/11/16): Hanging out with the snowman Advent Calendar.

Day 9 (12/12/16): Hiding in the poinsettias on the table. He blends remarkably well.

Elf Days 4 & 5

Day 4 12/7/16: Well, someone touched the Elf again, so Eugene stayed put another night. Higgins added a stuffed animal to keep him company.

Day 5 12/8/16: Finally! No one touched Eugene, so he moved into the boys' bathroom to hang out.

Elf Day 3

Day 3 (12/6/16): Happy St. Nick's Day!

Higgins touched Eugene with his foot last night, so there was no Elf movement this morning. Poor Elf.

I think Eugene needed to drink some coffee so he could spell words correctly in the note.

Elf Day 2, Doctor Who

Elf On the Shelf Day 2 (12/5/16)

When I tucked Bernardo into bed the other day, I saw his Dalek Yahtzee game on his self and it gave me a new Elf idea.

There are some big Doctor Who fans in our house. In fact, Bernardo loves Doctor Who so much, that he had a Doctor Who themed birthday party this year, which gave me a few props to use. He has a Tardis poster on his door, as well as the Sonic Screwdriver he made at the party. I propped Eugene (the Elf) up on some note cards, placed the Sonic Screwdriver in his hands, and dressed him up with a fez and bow-tie (Bernardo's favorite Doctor is #11). I then placed the Dalek close to the elf. I wonder who will be exterminated?

Now if only Eugene could bring the new season of Doctor Who to Netflix faster, we would all be happy!

Elf On The Shelf Day 1

Eugene came out a little earlier than normal this year.
Day 1 (12/4/16): Eugene put bows on their stuffed animals in their beds. Originally, he was going to put bows on the boys heads and take a selfie while doing. The selfies were going to be printed out and placed on their doors. However, when I took the elf "selfie", it looked super creepy so I just put the bows on their toys.

Elfing Fun (Elf On The Shelf Ideas)

It's that time of year again: Elf time. 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!

• 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.
• 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
• Crepe Paper Barricade
• 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.
• Lightsaber fight with Storm Trooper and Darth Vader
• 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.
• "Doctor Who" Elf vs. a Dalek.
• Minecraft Steve Elf with Diamond Helmet and Sword. 
• 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 got for the boys.)
• Leaving a note to clean their rooms.
• Sleeping in a curtain
• Elf sized donuts. Have the Elf eating these, but have another plate with note that these are to share. Originally, I made these for the leprechaun, but change the candy melts to a darker green, red, and white and they would work great for an Elf sized treat. 
• Sick Note from the Elf. 
• Writing a Story with the Elf.