How to say Goodbye on Christmas Eve to your Elf on the Shelf

So it was with sadness that we said goodbye to Elfie on Christmas Eve.  I didn't want to make too bigger deal about it, but then he deserved a pretty good send off and I wanted to end his adventures with a little something.  So we gave him cuddles and made sure he was waiting in the right place for Santa to pick him up (under the Xmas tree of course!)

And then I made a little book of his adventures and wrapped it and popped it under the tree with a card from Elfie.  I also made a Christmas Tree decoration with a photo of Elfie and Lily - this is another tradition we have that every year we make a Christmas Tree decoration with a photo of Lily and something 'Christmassy' happening.  Another Snapfish product, we chose the Snowflake Ornament this year (for obvious 'Frozen' reasons) you can see the other options here.

I made both the book and decoration through the Snapfish website and with it being a bit last minute (good ideas only come at the last minute right?) I did not in any way expect the book to turn up before Xmas.  I ordered it Saturday 20th Dec and it arrived on Tuesday 23rd December which is pretty amazing service in my book (see what I did there....)

 Here are some of the pages of the book -

Now we can read about his adventures at bedtime and talk about what he might do next Christmas, although I feel he may turn up on special occasions, will keep you posted!

16 Elf on the Shelf Ideas for Inspiration

Our Elf on the Shelf (if you haven't heard of Elf on the Shelf head here) has arrived and made himself at home. I thought I would share a little about Elfie and his adventures so far. It's been pretty fun creating a new Christmas tradition and watching (and planning) the adventures and mischief this little guy gets up to.  It also inspired friends and family to have their own Elf on the Shelf, and when I share his adventures on Facebook everyone was looking forward to the next instalment of what this little guy had been up to.

Look who just dropped in, (didn't get the memo about the fire being removed so ended up in the chimney outside)

Elfie was on breakfast duty this particular morning, he knew exactly what Lily liked for breakfast, must be a mind reader....

Seems Elfie hadn't finished his xmas shopping yet - naughty Elfie! Lily found him perusing the Kmart catalogue this one morning, lucky they are open until midnight!

Elfie coloured in some pictures for Lily one night, of course it was Sven his favourite Reindeer....

Elfie watched some of Lily's fave movies one night, and made some himself some popcorn - what a clever elf!

Elfie went on a picnic date with Mrs Potato Head one night.....

Elfie and his princesses having a tea party. Princess Lily particularly enjoyed the elf donuts....

 Elfie tried to recruit Bambi as one of the reindeer, we found him putting her through her paces one morning.....

Elfie took the school bus to the North Pole one night, hope he watched out for the flashing lights....

Elfie loves a good story, so do the Dino's apparently....

Making a Kiwi friend or two....

Silly Elfie getting tangled up in Dad's trophies and medals.....

Elfie, all aboard the Shoe Shoe Train....

Elfie trying to make us scrambled eggs, well trying to, those toy eggs can be tricky.....

Elfie was working a shift at the Supermarket one morning, Lily the Supervisor had been checking up on him to see if he's doing a good job.....

Elfie hung up my washing one night, wish he could do my housework every night *sigh*

If you are looking for more inspiration you can find more here on the official Elf on the Shelf website and my Cheats Guide to Elf on the Shelf.

A Cheat's Guide to Elf on the Shelf

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

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

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

Picklehead Soup

Stay tuned for more Elfie adventures over on the Facebook page!