What is Elf on the Shelf?

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What is the Elf on the Shelf you ask?  Have you heard of it but not, quite sure maybe?  Well let me give you the 411.  These little toy elves have been around for quite a while.  We received our own Elf on the Shelf 2 years ago.  I couldn’t resists joining in on a fun new way to create a few extra holiday memories with the kids.  Our elf, Elfie, may not make any huge messes, but the kids love to check out where they will find him next.

Elfie Throws a Dance Party #ElfontheShelf www.InTheKitchenWithKP

The Elf on the Shelf® is a special scout elf sent from the North Pole to help Santa Claus manage his naughty and nice lists. When a family adopts an elf and gives it a name, the elf receives its Christmas magic and can fly to the North Pole each night to tell Santa Claus about all of the day’s adventures. Each morning, the elf returns to its family and perches in a different place to watch the fun. Children love to wake up and race around the house looking for their elf each morning. (Read more)

There is now an entire Elf on the Shelf craze going on all over Facebook and I even created a Pinterest board for my Elf on the Shelf Ideas, plus I have gotten a little creative here and there myself.  Having your elf write a note to the kids is a super fun idea!  Jed’s birthday is in December.  I am very careful to make sure we celebrate his birthday completely separate from the Christmas holiday.  So Elfie and Buzz surprised Jed with a birthday poster and noise makers last year!

Elfie Wishes Happy Birthday #ElfontheShelf www.InTheKitchenWithKP

One morning in December, the kids came down the stairs to see an abruptly ended story time in the playroom between Dolly and Elfie.  Yes, I know what you are thinking.  My kids have crazy imaginations when it comes to naming their toys.  Dolly and Elfie.  The names still make me chuckle.

Elfie Hears a Story #ElfontheShelf www.InTheKitchenWithKP

Elfie also loves cereal.  Correction.  Elfie loves the marshmallows in the cereal.  He must have needed a little extra magic that evening so he ate all the marshmallows out of his Lucky Charms cereal.

Elfie Eats Lucky Charms #ElfontheShelf www.InTheKitchenWithKP

Need a few more ideas?

Toilet paper the Christmas tree. This one is fun because it’s not too terribly messy, but still gets a big laugh out of the kiddos! Just cover the tree in toilet paper while they’re sleeping, and leave your Elf hanging from the top.

Replace stockings with undies. Bound to get a laugh out of boys and girls alike, that sneaky little Elf replaced their Christmas stockings with their undies!

Cover the toilet in wrapping paper. I think this would take a little extra time, and perhaps you’d have to wrap the toilet in the spare bathroom so you don’t get caught by midnight-bathroom-trip-takers, but the WOW factor would definitely be there!

Chocolate Fix.  Looks like the Elf got into the jar of chocolate chips! For even more fun, let the Elf “sprinkle” chocolate chips on the kids’ pancakes that morning, too.

Colored milk. This one was a big hit – hide the Elf in the fridge, with its arms wrapped around the milk jug. Add a little food coloring to make the milk pink or green, and when your kids open the refrigerator they will be shocked!

I even used our Elf on the Shelf to my advantage last year to get the kids to clean the playroom.  I am not above bribery or a little elf magic when it comes to cleaning.

 

Do you have your Elf on a Shelf yet?   What sort of trouble has your pesky Elf gotten into?

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