Elf on The Shelf Week Four

The last week of Ralph hi-jinks has been and gone- here is what he got up to in week four!

On Monday morning we found Ralph chilling in the fridge, although he did have a blanket on too.



Ralph sent a subtle reminder to the boys to brush their teeth after all the Christmas lollies.



The boys put the tree up with minimal help this year, and so Ralph did some adjusting on Wednesday with the help of a toy fire engine.



Thursday found Ralph helping me with domestic duties!



On Friday, Ralph brought some DIY ornaments for the boys to do as part of their Christmas Craft Day.



Ralph said goodbye on Christmas Eve, and left us with a Santa key and a book to read.



The boys have had so much fun waking up every morning to find Ralph, and even my husband got into the spirit of things and helped out. I know that people are very divided in their opinions of the Elf on the Shelf, but for our family it was a great chance to connect and have fun.

Elf on The Shelf Week Three

I am a bit late catching up on Ralph's antics this week as I have been busy teaching cupcake classes and dealing with the first week of school holidays!

Ralph has been busy too, and it seems like he needed a caffeine fix on Monday morning.



Tuesday was our Polar Express themed day, so Ralph decided to create a train track to ride on.



The boys were delighted to wake up on Wednesday morning and find Ralph reading in their bedroom.



On Thursday, Ralph brought a new book with him to prepare for an upcoming celebration!



Friday was our family movie night, and Ralph provided the popcorn!



The boys took a while to find Ralph on Saturday morning- they had been playing with the Duplo and so Ralph borrowed the Batmobile and dressed up as Batman.



Sunday was a very special day in our household, as Lucas turned 7. Ralph decorated a special birthday chair for Lucas to sit on, and even had a cupcake outfit on to join in with the celebrations.



The next week will be the last week of Ralph's antics as he will return to the North Pole on Christmas Eve, but he still has some great tricks up his sleeve!

Elf on The Shelf Week Two

Ralph the Elf has been up to more shenanigans this week, and the boys have been laughing every morning when they see what Ralph is up to.

On Monday, Ralph was photocopying himself- maybe he wants to be a twin?



Tuesday was our gingerbread themed day, and so Ralph helped out by providing a gingerbread house kit for the boys to make.



We caught Ralph having a hot chocolate bath on Wednesday!



Thanks to some free printables from the Elf on the Shelf official website, the boys found Ralph colouring in a picture of himself when they got up on Thursday morning.



Friday is my personal favourite, which my husband set up- didn't he do well? Hulk against Ralph at Connect Four.



On Saturday we went shopping for Christmas ornaments for the tree. This is an annual tradition for our family and so our tree is a real mish-mash of items! Ralph was glad to help out financially for the boys to purchase an ornament each.



Sunday was another Elf antic care of my husband- climbing our lamp for a better view of what the boys were up to for his report back to Santa.



I can't wait to show you what Ralph has planned for next week, as there are definitely going to be some props and more goodies courtesy of Ralph.

Elf on The Shelf Week One

An Elf on the Shelf was welcomed into our family on December 1st- here is what he has been up to for the first week of December!

When the boys came out to breakfast on Thursday morning, an elf was waiting for them! We read the book while waiting on breakfast, and the boys had a think about what to call our elf. The decision was made to call him Ralph the Elf, and so we made it official and then talked about why Ralph was here. Ralph will be in a different position each day, but he also has our advent activity tags.



When the boys woke up on day two, they found Ralph snuggled up on the couch wearing his pajamas as it was Pajama Day at school. Lucas thought this was pretty hilarious!



The boys caught Ralph sending emails to his elf friends on Saturday morning!



Ralph gave us a hint about what to make for Sunday morning breakfast, so we all enjoyed some delicious pancakes before a busy day.



My two can't wait to see what Ralph the Elf will get up to next week!

Getting started with The Elf on the Shelf

The Elf on the Shelf phenomenon has been steady in America for the last few years, and recently this cute tradition has found its way into New Zealand. Unlike other overseas traditions that I am less than thrilled about, this is one I can actually get on board with!



So, what is The Elf on the Shelf?
The official Elf on the Shelf toy is a sweet elf who reports to Santa each night, letting him know if the children in his assigned household have been naughty or nice. Every morning, he appears in a different location at your house so that the children can have fun finding him.

Does the Elf have a name?
Each family can choose a name for their Elf- register it online and get an official adoption certificate.

How do I explain his appearance?
The official set comes with a beautiful storybook, telling the story of The Elf on the Shelf. This means that all the explanations are done for you!



Isn't this just a way to get kids to behave?
I hope this Elf will encourage good behaviour in my children, but I think the best part about this is the fun that your children will have trying to find your Elf. For me, the whole of December is full of fun things for my kids to do and I really hope that this will be the start of something that they will remember as part of their childhood. Children only have the magic of Christmas for a short while, and so I want to encourage their imagination while they are still little enough.

Do I have to do elaborate scenes?
Only if you want to! Sometimes, the simplest things are the best- Tall, Short, Tiny and a Pickle has some great simple ideas  and Pinterest is full of ideas that do not involve any effort. I know that Christmas can be a busy time, but this way I hope my children will get out of bed on time every morning so that we can start the day, as December can be quite full on with the end of school and there have been grumbles in the past. Even something simple like placing him in the fridge with the milk can be fun and doesn't require any props or settings.

What if someone touches the Elf?
Part of this tradition is that the Elf loses his or her magic if touched. However, there are kits you can buy to re-magic him, as well as a reminder not to touch the Elf again!

What kind of props can I use with my Elf?
You can buy so many accessories, outfits and pets for your Elf! How cute would this tutu be for a little ballerina, or even a reindeer to keep your Elf company. I have some Elf PJs for our elf to wear when he brings Christmas pajamas for the boys.



Where do I get my Elf from?
I got my Elf from Smartypants, a fabulous local shop that sells New Zealand wide. I try to support small, Kiwi businesses where possible and this shop has some fabulous Christmas ideas, dress ups and even a pocket money zone instore, as well as great Elf on the Shelf accessories.

I love this idea, how do I get started?
Your Elf can arrive at any time- the most popular are the day after Thanksgiving, 1st December or the 5th December. He can arrive in stealth mode, in the morning, or at night, whenever suits you and your family. Creating your own traditions for the arrival, goodbye and daily mischief is all part of what makes this so fun!

I need some more ideas!
The past few years, there have been Instagram posts using #kiwielfontheshelf - to share ideas, inspire and keep the motivation up! Every Monday in December I will also be sharing our elf's weekly antics, so please check in to see what he is up to and get some ideas for your own Elf.

NB: I was not compensated for this post, however I have provided links (non-affiliate) for ease of shopping.

My Top Five Christmas Photos

There is something about photos that always makes me smile- I love flicking through my scrapbooks and remembering all of the things that have happened.

Christmas is a time where I tend to take a lot of photos- I document our daily Christmas activities and December also happens to be my son's birthday, so my camera is often out.

Sharing these moments every year with my family and friends in Christmas cards is also a wonderful way of keeping people up to date with what is happening in my life, and who doesn't love a Christmas card with a family photo?

Christmas 2009 was extremely special to me, as I had just welcomed my first son into the world! He was a week old on Christmas Day and even though he slept right through the celebrations, I still took a lot of photos.



One tradition that happens every year is that my father dresses up like Santa Claus, and I just love the wonder in my son's eyes in this photo. My Dad has also been known to dress up like Batman- he is such a kid at heart!



My son then had a big announcement to make on Christmas Day 2011, when we told the family that our second son would be making an appearance in July 2012.



By Christmas 2012 we were a family of four in our new house. This photo was the header for our family newsletter, which was sent all over the world.



Spending Christmas Day with my boys and husband is important, but I also get my other family members involved. I absolutely love this photo of me and my sister on Christmas Day last year, and once again I wanted to share it with my friends overseas.



 Family photos are a must in my family on Christmas Day, and  putting my favourite photos from the year on our Christmas cards and letters is one thing I love to do each December.

I have family and friends all over the world that receive my cards, and I have recently discovered that I can send photo cards or even online cards with minimal fuss that will still allow me to share my photos and Christmas greetings. I do take a specific family photo each year with the intention of sending it out to people, and so to have it on the front of a card is the perfect solution. My favourite design this year is a toss up between the Christmas Finestra or the Happy Happy Joy Joy for multiple photos for my overseas friends, as Paperless Post ships to the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

Do you send out Christmas cards every year- or even a newsletter? I would love to know your traditions on this!

Personalised Robot T-shirts

As part of the Christmas presents for my nephews, I decided to make them each their own t-shirt using my Cricut and the white Iron-On Vinyl.

I purchased some green T-shirts, and set about designing a robot image using the Robotz Cricut Cartridge. I then simply welded each nephew's initial into the centre of the robot's stomach, and sized each robot according to the T-shirt size.

To get the correct robot size for each shirt, I measured the length of the T-shirt and divided that by 2.25. I then used that measurement as the height for each robot, which kept the ratio even across all the shirts.

I used the instructions that came with the iron-on vinyl to mirror image cut each robot, then adhere it to the T-shirt.



My nephews were very happy with their new shirts!



This is a project that could easily be adapted for different themes or with more girly images. I have lots more projects planned- check out this Frozen Tote Bag I also created with the Iron-On Vinyl.

My favourite Christmas ornaments

I love decorating the tree each year, and some of the ornaments I hang on my tree have real sentimental value. Today I would like to share some of my favourite Christmas ornaments with you, and I would love to hear any stories of your own favourite ornaments!

First up is this adorable owl from Stitchaholic, complete with a candy cane holder! I have two of these on my tree and I think the chevron pattern is adorable.



We each choose a new ornament for the tree each year, and my 6 year old chose this train last week. I think it was a very good choice, as it is so shiny and it is his favourite colour too. It also matches the other red and gold train ornaments I have on the tree- our theme next year might end up being trains!



This little apple ornament was from my days as a Brownie. In 1990, I was presented with this apple at my last Brownie camp of the year, and I still hang it on my tree each December.



Lucas made me this red glitter ornament last year on his last day of preschool, and he was very excited to find it in the box and put it on the tree. He kept reminding me that he had made it- seeing him so proud of his creation means that this will be going on our tree each year.



Another new favourite is this cute hand print tree that my 3 year old made at his preschool- which we only found yesterday in his bag and immediately got placed on the tree. I love that he did it in gold and red, my two favourite Christmas Tree decoration colours, and he is also very proud of his creartion.



These ornaments are a mixture of handmade and store bought, old and new, but each one brings a smile to my face.

10 Christmas activities for boys

Nothing beats the happy squeals of children in the lead up to Christmas, and a lot of the reasons I do a December Daily each year is to make Christmas a fun time for my kids.

Today I thought I would share some of the things I have done with my boys to make Christmas fun.

Going to the Santa Parade is always good for some fresh air- it has become more cultural over the past few years but you are still guaranteed to see Santa.



Speaking of Santa, you have to get a photo with him!



There is sure to be a Christmas Display in your area, which is always a fun day out as a family. Each year we go to Santa's Grotto run by a local church, and they have some amazing displays. It gets bigger each year and attracts a lot of people, so we tend to go in the mornings when it is quiet.



Have a Candy Cane Hunt- on a sunny day sneak out to the garden and hide some candy canes, then sit back and let your children and some friends or neighbours find them.



Make homemade Christmas cards for teachers, neighbours and friends. A lot of boys like to do craft if it has a purpose, and making homemade cards is a great way to say thank you.



Create your own icecream cone Christmas Trees for a special family dessert. Simply mix green food colouring with some coconut, then cover an icecream cone in icing sugar mixed with some water to create a paste. Sprinkle over the coconut, stick on some lollies and you are done!



Stage a Christmas photo shoot by letting your boys stand in front of wrapping paper taped to the wall.



Baking Christmas Cookies is great for science, mathematics skills and fine motor development. Plus, tasting the end result is always rewarding.



Making ornaments for the Christmas Tree is another great way for boys to get creative for a purpose. Here I made some green salt dough and pushed a marble in the dough, which the boys then filled in with glitter glue. I added a vivid 2015 and light strings, and will hang these on the tree.



Design Christmas potato stamps and have a go at making your own wrapping paper, perfect for grandparent gifts to be wrapped in.



I hope some of these activities inspire you to have fun with your boys this Christmas!

Hosting a Cookie Exchange

One of my favourite parts of Christmas is hosting a Cookie Exchange!

If you have never heard of a Cookie Exchange before, here is how it works. You invite your friends and family to each bake a specified number of cookies, which then get split up and divided between all of the guests. There are also some set aside to eat on the night, so that people can vote for things such as most creative cookie, best use of sprinkles and most festive decorations.

Best of all, there are so many free printables out there that you don't have to do a lot of work to make your Cookie Exchange successful. Invites, voting forms and awards are already done for you, so that you can enjoy a night of tasting with your friends and family.

Once you have invited your guests, the first thing to do is bake your cookies. It is perfectly acceptable to enlist your children and others to help with this step! My boys love baking with me and it helps to teach them important skills.



One of my favourite Christmas Cookies to make are these Peppermint Mocha Brownie Cookies, but you can create whatever Christmas cookie you feel like.



Be sure to provide some sweet and savoury snacks for your guests- even though they will be eating cookies it is nice to have a break and nibble on something different. Here I have a Christmas tree made from crackers, cheese and cherry tomatoes, some pretzels with chips and dip, meringues with berry compote, and my famous Chocolate Peppermint Cake.



Have a sampler of the different cookies on some festive plates, and let the tasting and voting begin!



With the free printables you can give out some fun awards, and some of them can earn prizes. I have found that Christmas themed kitchen items such as Christmas mugs with hot chocolate sachets are a popular prize.



Cookie Exchanges really are a fun way to celebrate the Christmas season, and you get to leave with so many different baking options. I would suggest providing some containers so that each guest has a box full of baking to take home, and have someone in charge of dividing up the cookies evenly. Usually if I have five guests coming I specify 30 cookies per person- which means 5 per guest and one each to try during the actual party, but feel free to suggest more or less depending on circumstances and how many guests you have coming.

Have you hosted a Cookie Exchange and have some great tips to share? Let me know in the comments!