So this little guy turned up this morning, (a little on the tardy side but better late than never, I didn't mention this to Miss 3 though. He told me he was a visiting a little while ago from Not Socks Gifts the North Pole but was waiting for the right time to visit). Tried to pop down the chimney of the old gas fire that Mr R pulled out last week. Didn't get the memo that the fire had moved outside temporarily (although it seems to be permanent fixture on the deck at the moment!).
He came with a letter addressed to Miss 3 explaining basically how it works -
- Who he is (a magical Elf)
- Why he's here (to spy on Santa's behalf)
- Can he please have a name (we decided on Elfie)
- The rules (basically don't touch him, otherwise his magic will go away and he won't be able to report to Santa how naughty or nice you've been)
And then he made himself some Kiwi friends and has fitted right in.
Now that's the easy bit done, usually there's a month of activities to think about but luckily enough the Elf on the Shelf journey has been carried out many times before.
Here's a Cheat's Guide to make the Elf on the Shelf fun (and easier!)
1. Check out lots and lots of inspiration here on Pinterest like this one from My Life and Kids
2. Come up with a bit of a plan! There are some lovely people who have compiled activities for each day in calendar month form on Pinterest, you can find them here
I absolutely love this one from Mama Cheaps, Inspiration for both Slackers and Overachievers I'm totally following the Slackers one (and maybe thinking about the Overachievers one)
3. Think about your kid's interests and what they are into/have been excited about throughout the year.
Here's a few ideas based on Lily's interests that I've come up with so far........
I have a few ideas that involve her toys (I think watching the Toy Story movies 1, 2 & 3! lately have inspired some of these)
Dinosaur Piggyback
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| Snippets from Suburbia |
Hanging out with the Frozen Movie Cast
Mat Time (Lily loves being the Teacher)
A convoy of vehicles to the North Pole - maybe a sleigh like this one
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| The Organised Housewife |
Elf Donuts - I blogged about these super cute treats last year
Movie Night
Making Pancakes
Reading a toy catalogue
Playing a little Poker
The Voice audition
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| Picklehead Soup |
