Elf on the Shelf Super Plan!

Last year (2012) was the first year our family celebrated the Elf on the Shelf tradition.

Ryan was 2.5 years old and while I worried that may be pushing the limits of his comprehension abilities, I'm happy he completely proved me wrong. He became totally engaged in the magic, awakening each morning to happily announce that he *must* find Jolly! As he climbed out of his bed, he'd preemptively giggle just imagining what shenanigans Jolly must have involved himself in overnight.

I spent HOURS upon HOURS last year planning out the entire month.

Luckily, like most things in life, the first time is always the most time intensive. This year's planning was MUCH easier.

I started by reviewing the note I wrote to myself after last year...... I distinctly recall that the #1 problem we had last year was not having thoroughly vetted WHERE Jolly would be placed each evening. Recall:

My notes also reminded me that Ryan seemed to really enjoy the antics whereby Jolly incorporated familiar toys into the shenanigans. The Jolly-fishing-in-the-blue-toilet-water-with-disintegrated-goldfish was cool to me, but Ryan didn't necessarily understand how creative that was. But, the morning Jolly was playing Angry Birds in the kitchen? "That was sooooo cool, mommy!!!" 

With those reminders in mind, I sat down (in September and October, per the calendar) and planned out the 24 days of EOTS for 2013.

Here's the calendar, in all of its coffee-stained glory. Because I basically use code, I've included links to most of the ideas below so you can better understand each day.

Dec 1st- North Pole Breakfast!! Jolly's first appearance!

Dec 2nd- Jolly puts up a Christmas Tree in Ryan's bedroom

Dec 3rd- Squinkie Snowball fight

Dec 4th- Spiderman Elf, makes web (I bought spiderwebbing on clearance after Halloween)

Dec 5th- Green Milk in the fridge (I made the scarf and ear muffs from a small felt stocking I got on sale for $0.59 at Michael's last year before Christmas)

Dec 6th- Jolly gives RJ EOTS PJs (from Zulily) and an invitation to gingerbread party that night! (We have 2 couples coming over that night to decorate gingerbread houses, have breakfast for dinner, and watch Prep'N'Landing. We're all planning on giving PJs to the kids, and having our elves deliver invitations to the event)

Dec 7th- Jolly puts up Christmas Tree in the hallway outside RJ's room

Dec 8th- Underwear balloons!

Dec 9th- Canned good tree

Dec 10th- Marshmallow bath

Dec 11th- Elf Garden

Dec 12th- Cookies grow (or candy canes, if you plant peppermint candies)

Dec 13th- Picnic with toys

Dec 14th- Batman Elf (Jolly will dress up as Batman and is going to leave a handmade Batman costume that a friend handed down to us from her son when he was younger)

Dec 15th- Hot Air balloon ride!!

Dec 16th- Making S'mores with friends

Dec 17th- Stealing syrup (maybe with mini-sized pancakes)

Dec 18th- Jolly leaves balloons all over Ryan's floor while he's sleeping (squinkies inside so he has to pop them?)

Dec 19th- Elf brings donut snowmen

Dec 20th- Playing the DS with toys

Dec 21st- Tee Pees the Christmas tree

Dec 22nd- Breaks into piggy bank

Dec 23rd- Hides candy canes for RJ to find (leaves a note with it)

Dec 24th- Elf sized donuts as a parting gift

We also have a few very basic back up ideas in case we forget to set up and need to get it done at the last minute:

Hide'n'seek inside a glass
Name in the cereal
Snow angel
TP roll swing in the kitchen doorway

I think we have a good combination of complex and easy ideas planned. About half of them are repeats from last year. As you can see from all of the superhero ideas, Ryan is totally into them right now! Although, his favorite is IronMan so I may need to find a way to incorporate him somehow.

As was the case last year, I'm so excited for Dec 1st to arrive! Ryan has already been asking about Jolly and even remembered that he began his visit last year with a marshmallow trail into the kitchen (that kid has the memory of an elephant.....he clearly isn't my child; most days I can't even remember how old I am). 

T-minus 8 days until the big North Pole Breakfast!!

It's Magical

"Because it's magical."

That's the response I usually give when others ask me why I go so overboard with Elf on the Shelf.

(First of all, let's agree that the word "overboard" is subjective and left up to much interpretation.)

Here's the thing. When your fertility journey takes unexpected twists and turns and babies don't just fall out of you, I can safely say that your perspective on many things changes.

For me, one of the things I vowed to do if and when we were blessed with children, was to embrace their childhood.

"They're only young once." It's SO TRUE.

Month after month of disappointment and grief and being childless only solidified my drive to wring every little drop out of my future kids' childhood.

Now that we have a child, that desire to soak it all in hasn't waned. At all.

I have a friend who spent months and months planning her son's first birthday party. She probably spent more money on that party than I did on my wedding dress. And I remember our friends questioning why she was focused on planning every little detail of a party her son will never even remember. Some were judgmental in their questioning; others were honestly just curious since they didn't share the same desire to create such a memorable event for their child.

I'm sad to admit that at the time, I was one of the judgy moms. I couldn't believe the time and energy, let alone the money, she committed to the party.

Fast forward another year and I got it. I understood why someone would devote their entire being to planning an event, even if the child will never remember it.

It's like me and the Elf on the Shelf. This silly little Elf thing that causes moms to hurl more mean spirited comments than mentioning George W. Bush at the DNC National Convention. I'm serious!

I've seen a mom become so enraged by EOTS that she actually turned and walked away from me when someone else told her I was one of "those" moms.

The gal who stayed proceeded to berate me for showing up all of the other moms and making such a ridiculous imaginary creature seem so important.

Yauzers.

But, I don't get upset when others refer to me as "that" mom You know, the Pinterest mom.

Because they probably haven't had the same experiences I've had.

Here's the thing: That desire that built up inside me to want to savor every little piece of Ryan's childhood is entirely responsible for Elf on the Shelf.

When I think about my childhood, part of what made it a childhood was that I believed in magic. I believed in things that adults don't believe in.

So when I think about how I can stir up that same belief in magic and special possibilities for Ryan, I think the EOTS fits the bill. Our Elf is special in that he only comes around once a year. His BFF is Santa. Come on, that's pretty magical, eh?

He flies to the North Pole EVERY NIGHT! He encourages good behavior while he himself is just a little mischievous. Who else can pull that off? See...magic. Pure Magic.

I have friends who won't cut their child's hair until they're at least two years old. Another friend won't use the phrase "big girl" around her daughter just yet.

Apparently, we all have our own ways of prolonging our kids' childhoods. Or at least making it distinctly childish instead of rushing them ahead into their advanced years.

So, I get it. I get that not everyone agrees with or appreciates the effort and time and money I put into EOTS.

But, as my dad says, "where you sit determines your perspective."

My perspective changed when our conception circumstances changed. And I'm eternally grateful things worked out as they did. And I'll continue to outdo myself year after year as long as Ryan believes in the magic of Santa and his Elf friend, Jolly.

Christmas planning

I start planning for the Holidays in August.

Judge me; it's OK. I can take it :)

On the 25th of each month beginning in August, I start planning for Christmas. I have a relatively complete list of things to do each month between now and December. Because I plan ahead, by the time December rolls around, I am able to *ENJOY* the month. Like, the ENTIRE month.

As a guest blogger last year for Salt & Nectar, I chronicled my planning in detail.

A reader commented and asked about philanthropy and service during the holidays since I didn't specifically mention that in my post. I generally don't advertise acts of service, so I intentionally didn't focus on that (although I did respond in the comments section with a few highlights of how we give back). One of my favorite bible verses is Matthew 6:3-4:

"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Having said that, I want to share with you something we're doing this year.

It's funny b/c even though I don't usually advertise good deeds, the reality is that much of what we do is done because we learned about it from someone else sharing their good deeds. Had others not told us about their service traditions, we wouldn't necessarily have evolved our giving into what it's become today.

During a Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) meeting last year, a friend shared with us one of her family's traditions. And I feel in love with it. Through Gospel for Asia, you can purchase items that help the poorest of families in Asia. Chickens, goats, and even water buffalo are available to purchase. Not only do the gifts provide food/milk, their eggs and milk can often be sold and become a source of income for  a family.

I had never heard of such a program and immediately became interested.

I was torn, though, because I had also just recently read an article in my Kentucky Monthly magazine about a Kentucky man, Aaron Collins, whose final wish before he died was to leave a $500 tip for a server at a restaurant. This act of service has since *exploded* and become a national movement. People all over the country are leaving large tips for servers. How cool would it be to leave such an large tip to someone waiting tables right around the holidays?

Having both of these service opportunities on my heart, we decided to do both. Since Christmas 2012, my little family has been saving change in a jar. This year, we'll cash in the change and use half to leave a larger than normal tip and the other half we'll use for Ryan to pick out a few things from the GFA catalog.

Although he's probably too young to truly understand the impact these acts of service will have on others, he's certainly old enough to learn how to give to those less fortunate.

We have our other traditions we'll continue this year like the North Pole Breakfast, and The Elf on the Shelf (oh yea, I'm one of THOSE moms), and of course, the Mini Express. But we're excited about our newest tradition and look forward to incorporating more service opportunities.

Do you have a favorite philanthropy or act of service idea I can steal from you too? ;)

A few traditions

Our little family tried a few new traditions this Christmas.

I've already blogged about our North Pole Breakfast a million times. I promise I'm done after this :)

The Mini Express was a huge hit! We'll definitely do that again. When I made the tickets, I intentionally didn't put dates on it so they could be reused.

We had our two nieces over and enjoyed a Prep'n'Landing movie night. We had breakfast for dinner. My 4 year old niece kept saying, "that's my favorite!" Pancakes for dinner? "That's my favorite!" Popcorn during a movie? "That's my favorite!" Even though I was fighting a horrible cough and Ryan purposely spilled his popcorn all over the couch, it was a great night.

We hosted Christmas Eve dinner for my family. Although we've done that before, this year I added Grinch Punch to the dessert menu. Um, Yummo! The recipe calls for lime sherbet, which is difficult to find at the grocery in the days leading up to Christmas, so I substituted Pineapple sherbet instead. I actually think it probably made it taste better.

My nephew, Hunter, enjoying some Grinch punch!

Even though we already enjoyed the great light display at the City park, my original plan was to drive around town to see lights on houses in our town. The local paper published the winner of the Light Up Town contest along with the 4 runners up. On Christmas Eve Eve, we drove around and admired the scene. The first couple houses were awesome. I can't believe people in our town do up their houses so much! Who knew?? I actually forgot to take a pic of the winner, but these are the top two runners up.

The winning house had a Santa projector in their living room window which made it look like Santa was coming up to the window and looking around outside (at you). It was very realistic looking-- I even commented to Craig that I was pretty sure it was a real person dressed up like Santa. After thinking how cool it was, my next thought was, "we should buy that and set it up outside someone's bedroom window to really scare the crap out of them one night."

My point: it was equal parts cool and creepy. See for yourself:

 

Oh, and I captured some really great pics.

Our Christmas Cards book from this years cards

Elf on the Shelf {Recap}

Recipe for a great Elf on the Shelf season:

- Lots of planning

- Too many dollar bin and dollar $tore trips to count

- A willing and helpful spouse 

And the critical ingredient...

Pinterest!

This was the first year of our tradition and I couldn't be happier with how things turned out. 

It started with our first ever North Pole Breakfast (inspired by the superbly talented Jessica over at Lil Pumpkin Grace- must be the name ;)  

Although Ryan was more than a little confused when he woke up on December 1st, he quickly came to accept the sugary breakfast that awaited him. This also served as the introduction to the Elf on the Shelf. After a day of thinking about it, Ryan decided to name the Elf Jolly.

Overall, I consider this a very successful EOTS experience. The genuine wonder in Ryan's eyes and the excitement with which he greeted each morning made this an absolute pleasure for me and my husband. It's not far fetched to say that we enjoyed it just as much as Ryan did (and if you believe my dad, we probably enjoyed it more). I worried if Ryan being only 2.5 years old would be problematic-- maybe he wouldn't participate as much as I had hoped; or maybe he wouldn't "get" it. I was thrilled to be proven wrong. Ryan seemed to sincerely love every minute of it.

A few thoughts on our experience (I'm documenting this mostly for my own benefit :) )--

- Planning was critical. I'm a Type A personality who dives into projects 110%, so it was important to me that I followed through each and every day. What fun would it be if Ryan awakened to find Jolly in the same spot? I'm notorious for starting a project and never finishing it. In order to commit, I HAD to plan. I printed up a blank calendar and had every day planned out by mid-October. This helped with expenses too since I was able to snag most props for $1 or less. I bought a $5 tub at Target and kept it in the dining room so when I picked up a thing or two at the store, I could easily drop it in the bin and keep everything in one place.

- Ultimately I had a good mix of complex/detailed activities and then some easy peasy no-time-to-set-up plans. The list consisted of things I knew I wanted to do (lighted tree, the Elf Garden) and then I had a list of 2 or 3 really easy go-to activities (e.g. book club). 

- I should have planned ahead and compiled the Elf Recovery Kit sooner. Although Ryan did really well with not touching Jolly (except for the one time), I had planned to get something like this put together before Dec 1st, but just forgot. Thank goodness he touched Jolly on a not-so-busy day :) Now that I have it printed, I saved everything to use again next year. 

- From what I can tell, Ryan seemed to enjoy things that incorporated his toys or his favorite activities. As much as I loved stealing ideas off Pinterest being creative, at his young age, Ryan didn't quite understand some of the more detailed activities. Next year, I want to make more of an effort to use things Ryan likes. 

- While I had each activity planned well in advance, I didn't do well at planning where Jolly would hide. Sometimes that's what took the most time-- planning where to set things up. I knew what I wanted to do and I had all of the props, but finding a place to set it up was challenging. Note to self for next year: be more creative with where he hides :)

- The other time consuming aspect was that Jolly was often difficult to physically set up. He doesn't sit up well on his own so even though I knew I wanted him to play angry birds, getting him to sit down and stay in place was very time consuming (and frustrating). I had seen a post on how to make Jolly flexible (and therefore, more easy to handle), but I didn't think it was that necessary. I was wrong. Truth be told, I didn't want to sew. I'm pretty intimidated by sewing needles.

- I'm really glad I didn't start EOTS on the day after Thanksgiving. Most people I know start it then, but I knew my limitations and decided to wait until Dec 1st. I'm VERY glad I waited. The 23 days we did were plenty for us. 

- For next year, I want to plan a few more service oriented activities for Jolly to do. Although I think Ryan kinda understood the Canned Good donation tree from this year, I think that next year he'll be the perfect age to start truly understanding the concept of giving to others. This has nothing to do with the comment a gal posted on guest blog I did for another website about how she doesn't think I incorporated enough service-to-others activities into my holiday planning. All I can say to that is she clearly doesn't know us :) 

Today I packed everything up from this year, make a few handwritten notes as reminders/suggestions for next year and closed up shop for this season. 

Used a cardboard photo mailer to store the notes,
 Mini Express tickets, and Elf Recovery paperwork

Even though I'm glad it's over, it really was very fun. 

As an adult, recapturing the magic that we felt as kids can be difficult. This is the first year in as many as I can remember when I actually got goosebumps thinking about how magical the Christmas season can be-- seeing the twinkle in Ryan's eyes each morning and experiencing his excitement brought that back. 

Until next year...

The Mini Express

All weekend, I told Craig I had a surprise for Ryan and him. I told him he wouldn't know when it was coming, but that he'd really enjoy it.

Saturday morning, a friend dropped off some grapefruits that we ordered to support Rotary. Craig thought that was his surprise because he loves grapefruit :) "Nope, it'll come though!"

We went ALL weekend without the big reveal. Then tonight, after we had dinner and skyped with the in-laws, Craig reminded me that I had a surprise for him and I must have forgotten about it. I acted all disappointed and put out that I had "forgotten." I apologized and said I was too tired and that I promised he'd get it tomorrow.

Then we headed up to put Ryan to bed for the evening.

After he changed into his PJs, Ryan found one of these handmade tickets on his pillow:

Turns out I had little surprise up my sleeve. It involved driving, Christmas lights, popcorn and M&Ms.

Ryan thought he was going to bed, but we were really going to drive through the City park of lights!

Buddy came too :)

Cheese! He was so excited! 

We drove to a local park which had a very nice (albeit small) display. The best part was the dancing lights that were timed to the music playing over the radio. For a small display, they did a wonderful job!

We had a great time and enjoyed supporting this community effort. Ryan really liked the lights, but I think he also liked the M&Ms and the fact that he stayed up an hour and a half past his bedtime :) You're only young once!

In the wake of the tragedy in Newton, CT, we're all hugging our kiddos more often and kissing them a little longer. It's deeply saddening and heartwrenching to think of what those affected by the shootings are faced with. I can't even imagine. I tear up thinking about a family who won't pick up their child from school anymore, or hear them laugh down the hall when they're settling down to sleep, or opening up their gifts on Christmas. Heartbreaking.

We all do what we can. Today, I made sure to spend time with Ryan as I made several dozen cookies for a cookie exchange tomorrow. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have included him in the baking pre-tragedy. Isn't that sad? I would have thought about how much he would have gotten in the way, what a mess he would have made and how I'd have to answer a million questions about what we were doing. I don't like admitting that, but this is what a tragedy does. It gives you a much needed new perspective.

He didn't get in the way, and he didn't make a big mess and he didn't ask a million questions. He did, though, laugh and smile and sing "Jinger Bells."

It was his first real time helping me out and we had a great time.Although he was very skeptical of the electric mixer, he ultimately made nice and we got some good eats to show for it.

Look at that smile! 

Did a great job mixing

"Um, ma, what's this thing?

"Pretty cool!"

Crunching the corn flakes for the cookies.

Delicious Cherry Winks (recipe compliments of my late Grandma Mac)

Bags of cookies for my first ever cookie exchange

I have a fun surprise in store for my little family tonight. It's going to be really fun. More to come on that....

A season of giving

Each year, my little family finds one or two ways to give to others during the Christmas season.

A few years ago, we adopted a soldier and mailed a package to the unnamed troop over in Iraq. I included a note thanking the soldier for his/her service and hoped they were able to speak with their loved ones on Christmas day. I know that's something they look forward to.

Then we bought Christmas presents for an entire family through the church. Can I tell you how much I love shopping for older girls (10-14)?? So. Much. Fun.

And one year, we did the same for a family that I worked with who needed more than a little extra help during that particular holiday season. 

In addition, we have a few traditions we participate in each year. We donate 2 unwrapped toys to local charities- OUSART (O'Fallon Underwater Search and Rescue - which is a toy collection site) and St. Vincent de Paul. One of the Christmas parties I attend annually collects canned food donations for the O'Fallon Food Pantry. Finally, we set out a bag of food each year for the Boy Scouts food drive (or, as my college roommate called them, the Bean Sprouts). 

With the little guy growing up, it's important to us that we work him from an early age to understand the importance of giving to others. 

At age 2.5, it's a concept that is difficult to convey. But, we're trying.

This morning, a gal shared a tradition that she and her family do each Christmas. She has 3 kids (oldest is 6 years old) and each of them get to pick out something in the Gospel For Asia Christmas Gift Catalog.  Below are a few gifts you can purchase for a family in Asia:

• For $65, you can give a family the gift of pigs. From the brochure, "Giving a pair of pigs is like providing a steady paycheck. The tiny piglets will grow to more than 200 pounds in less than 5 months. That's a lot of pork to feed a family! And each pair of pigs can produce up to 20 piglets a year. Over the average life span, this same pair of pigs can provide a family with hundreds of piglets for food and to sell in order to earn a living."  
• For $11, you can give a family the gift of rabbits. "They're furry. They're cute. And they can change someone's life. A pair of rabbits will quickly multiply, providing a steady diet of lean meat and plenty of bunnies to sell. Rabbits are easy to feed and can be raised in a small space- an important consideration in the overcrowded areas of Asia."
• For $25, you can help support the Women's Literacy Fund.
• For $60, you can give a family the gift of a pay telephone. "Yes, they are still used throughout Asia. And when a poor family installs a pay phone near their home, they can reap the benefits of its profits for years. It's a way to provide income for the entire household."

(My BFF, Martha, told me that when a cow is donated and the cow births its first calf, the family has to donate the calf to another family...as a way to keep the circle of giving going). 

The list goes on and on....bicycles, sewing machines, mosquito nets, BioSand Water Filter, etc. 

There is no doubt that the need is great anywhere you go-- here in the States there are people in great need. That's why we donate to the Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign (plus, Connie had that on our Christmas Bucket list, so you KNOW we HAVE to do it this year :) ). 

But what a cool way to help-- by giving a family a pair of chickens to use for meat, but also as income as they sell eggs to their neighbors. 

This year, we are following our usual traditions, but also took a few unwrapped gifts to the local assisted living home (hosted a toy drive) and some clothes to a local bank that was hosting a clothing and food drive. 

We also purchased items and donated them to support Operation Christmas Child. At the Mommy & Me Christmas party last week, we compiled the boxes and raised enough money to make and ship 76 boxes to children in need! 

My goal is to set aside enough change throughout the year and use that money for two things next Christmas: to leave a larger-than-usual tip for an unsuspecting waiter/waitress (inspired by Aaron Collins) and to buy a gift for an Asian family in need through Gospel for Asia. 

See how planning ahead helps us to give more? ;)