The Kid Was Away

so the Elves had a party.

Munchkin spent the weekend at her mom's....so the elves were able to cut loose a little.

And they knew yesterday was egg nog prep day! Munchkin was right, they are magic.

Stink at Posting

but we made it through our first December with Elf on the Shelf.

Neither Rain Nor Snow

nor stomach flu keeps the elves from their duties.

Yes, mom and dad were both struck down, and we are not alone. A good number of my friends and family, near and far, have this fun little bug.

Dry Erase Markers

are a handy elf tool

the ones of the baby wee the funniest, I think

the markers were from yesterday, my elves are having to really stay on their toes, as the Munchkin comes looking for them as soon as she wakes up. we spent yesterday at the grocery store, sadly in the midst of all the oh no, snow crowd. 

luckily we were able to get milk and bread, haha.

this morning, you can see they are ready for the snow we are supposed to get today.

Better Than the Toilet

which they did consider doing.

Luckily, they wrapped up breakfast instead;

a spoon, a bowl and the box of cereal

Lighting is Important

Went to the in-laws yesterday.

Red light at top of tree and dark room gave the angel a rather demonic quality.

Dontcha think?

Elf Baking

tiny pancakes. I mean, giant elf pancakes.

Packing Lunch for School

is sometimes a tricky job.

Miss Sophia is a little picky.

The elves lent a hand today.

4 clementines, honey, a bag of m&m's and 2 bottles of sprinkles.

Sounds well-rounded, eh?

Day 4 of Elf Shenanigans

Mine are relatively tame....for the moment.

They added a couple of stockings to the mantle.

So, I adopted TWO Elves on the Shelf

a girl and a boy. Jingle and Jangle.

They even got a Facebook page.

So far it is fun.

They got into the sugar.

And made a snowman.

Alternative to the Ugly Sweater

Comes in handy for those who don't particularly like sweaters.

Or maybe, like me, you look for sweaters at the thrift store and you find a really cool-heinous one that you can't wear.

Sweaters

I have a friend that has 31 different holiday sweaters, and she wears a different one every day in December.

It's a fun idea.

So I decided to do it.

I think I can manage to find 31 holiday sweaters/shirts by Thanksgiving.

And to get the ball rolling;

#1 a steal from Lord and Taylor.

And one for Bitty. She may be able to wear it at Christmas.

They're Here!

DOH! Missed the fine print;

The girl elf has a skirt *not included. So she looks like the boy, but with doe eyes.

Oh well, I can find one or make one by Christmas.

But they're here. That was quick.

I think I could get into this online shopping thing.

Admitting You Have a Problem is the First Step

right?

Well, I have a confession.

I want to be that overachieving mom.

I am creative, I work from home, and I have insomnia 5 nights out of 7 every week.

So I did it, I ordered not one, but two Elf on the Shelf dolls. A boy and a girl. Lord and Taylor, $7.92 each. Can't beat that!

I'm not guaranteeing anything elaborate, or even that I won't forget a few times.

More Tree Alternatives

Some of these are pretty clever.

 

 

 

 

I Can See the Pole

is what The Spawnling said about my white Christmas tree.

The first thing she noticed, naturally.

Brat.

I had read before to camouflage your tree's pole by wrapping garland around it. I had garland. But it was green.

So, now that Christmas is over I started looking for white garland.

Yay, Amazon.

This one even comes pre-lit!

Creche

I am going to attempt to make a creche. I actually found a few I want to make.

As gifts.

The first one is a kiddo-friendly one.

I hope to give it to my cousin's little girl for Christmas this year.

I am going to start with baby Jesus.

Christmas Quiet Book

This is super cute.

A quiet book using Christmas pot holders!

pot-holder-quiet-book-tutorial

Gingerbread Houses

You know, I have never  made one.

Well, not as an adult.

One of the coolest houses I ever saw was at Disney. It was in the lobby of The Grand Floridian.

This took 400 hours to bake, and an additional 160 hours to decorate 

Oh, goodness.

When a recipe tells you it will be no simple task, you know you're in trouble.

how_to_make_a_gingerbread_house

Kiddo-Approved. Out of graham crackers!

easy-gingerbread-house

Who am I kidding?

It'll probably end up condemned.

gingerbread-house-disasters

Maybe I should just start with felt.

how-to-make-a-gingerbread-house