Our Elf on the Shelf, Skittles

I love Christmas time! Well not the holiday crowds, the cold weather or the being super busy. But all the magic of the holidays. I love watching the kids with Santa and how they truly believe. The other day we went to our city's annual tree lighting, and Santa was there to see all the kids. My 5 year old was AMAZED by him! She kept saying, "I have never seen Santa this close outside." The twinkle in her eyes brought tears to my eyes. I loved every minute of it!

Last year my Mom bought my kids The Elf on the Shelf and they love seeing the elf move around the house and leave them little messages and notes. This year they couldn't wait to get our Christmas stuff out to have "Skittles" out. Once he was out, we read the Elf on the Shelf book to remind them that they can't touch him and what he is there to do. They were excited.

 The first morning we found him at the "drive in movies" with Barbie in her car. They were watching a Christmas movie. The girls laughed so hard!

 

The second day, we caught him "fishing" for goldfish crackers.

 

The third day Skittles decided to have a little bit of fun with them. He took the brightest red lipstick he could find, and drew on their noses so they all looked like Rudolph. Then he left a note in their bathroom with the lipstick to check out their noes.

Last night Skittles made a mess.... He took a tube of toothpaste and drew on the kids bathroom mirror. He said, "Brush your teeth." The kids thought this was great. The older ones laughed at the mess he made that Mom was going to have to clean. - Yeah that elf must not have thought that one through too much ;)

 

Then this morning the girls got an extra note from Skittles at their bus stop. When they got there he was holding an envelopes, each addressed to each member of our family. Inside there was a ticket to ride the "Minivan Express"(easily made in Word, I will try and attach a printable document for you soon.)  tonight. The ticket says, they have to wear their PJ's, slippers and bring a crayon in their favorite color.The ticket also says that "The Minivan Express" is not equipped with bathrooms so to please make sure you go before boarding.  It also told them to write down 3 reasons why they are blessed and 3 more reasons why they love each other. - This was to prevent any fighting in the car. Skittles figures that they will have at least one fight, but he can remind them why they love each other to maybe prevent any other arguments.

 

While they were at school Skittles was busy, not only cleaning the mirror from last night... but also writing up a letter from Santa and a Christmas light scavenger list that he placed in "The Minivan Express" for them to find with they load. They will work together on the scavenger list to find things like a house with all white Christmas lights, a Santa on something that is not a sleigh etc. They also must sing jingle bells, name 3 Christmas songs and find someone they know to give them hot chocolate - this is where a stop at Nana and Papa's house comes into play. At the end of the night when we are done driving around seeing Christmas lights, we will arrive back home to watch the Polar Express. Then off to bed. I thought this was a pretty fun way to break up the week and have a "night off."

I hope that Skittles can continue to come up with fun actives and messages for the kids this year. 19 days left :) then he is back up to the North Pole until next year.

If you do not have The Elf on the Shelf, it is very much worth the investment. My kids have a blast trying to find him, and reading what he writes. I would like to invest in 2 more elves so they can each have their own to pass onto their families when they get older. This is just another way to take an extra minute with your kids each day, and watch the magic in their eyes as we near Christmas.

 

Here is our Christmas Light Scavenger list.... have fun with yours!!

Christmas Light Scavenger Hunt

·        Used only white lights

·        Has more than one fake Christmas tree set up in their yard

·        Santa on the roof of their house

·        More than three inflatable Christmas decorations in their yard

·        A white Christmas tree

·        At least 3 candy canes in their yard

·        Santa holding a bag of toys

·        An angel singing

·        Wrapped the trunk of more than one tree in their yard with lights

·        More than two Disney characters

·        A wreath on their front door

·        Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

·        Snowman with a top hat

·        At least two decorations that move

·        Santa riding on anything except a sleigh

·        The Grinch

·        Lights that twinkle

·        Name all of Santa's reindeer

·        Sing a couple rounds of Jingle Bells

·        The names of 3 Christmas songs

·        Find someone you know to give you hot chocolate