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Elf on the Shelf has become a popular Christmas tradition for several families. I was never a huge fan of it but my mother bought it for my kids a couple years ago so of coarse my family participates in the magical elf tradition.
If you don't know what Elf on the Shelf is, basically you read a story to your children that describes how the elf works, name your elf and watch as your elf magically moves around the house making messes and having fun. Each night your elf goes back to the North Pole to tell Santa if your children have been good or bad. If the elf is touched then the elf disappears back to the North Pole. You can find Elf on the Shelf at almost any retail store around Christmas time or buy it HERE on Amazon. I've also seen people use a random stuffed elf they find at the store.
My children are finally at the age where they understand what is going on or at least I think they do. My daughter (4) and son (2.5) would look around the house and try to find our elf, Luna. Almost every morning I would hear my son say, "Look bubby, Luna up there". Yes, he calls his sister bubby. Even my newly one year old would see Luna and point and yell to try to show us that he found her too. It was seriously the cutest thing.
One day Luna disappeared back to the North Pole during nap time because the boys touched her and my daughter was devastated. I never thought my toddler would be that upset about it but needless to say they didn't touch her again.
A benefit of Elf on the Shelf is you can use it as a way to reinforce good behavior - "Luna is going to tell Santa if you are bad."
A downfall to Elf on the Shelf is your elf may sometimes "forget" to move - "Maybe Luna was too tired to play last night." or "You must have been bad so Luna didn't move."
I know there are thousands of Elf on the Shelf ideas out there and some of these may even be floating around but in case anyone's elf needs help coming up with something to do for the kids that is easy, here are some ideas! These Elf on the Shelf ideas are pretty basic being that I have a one, two, and four-year-old, but Luna informed me that she will do more advanced stunts the older the kids get so I can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve.
The Adventures of Luna - December 2017
In case you missed it, our elf's name is Luna. Luna had many different adventures while the kids were sleeping this past December. Check out some of the adventures Luna went on over the twenty-four day countdown to Christmas.
Luna arrived back at our house on December 1st. She spelled out, "I'm Back - Luna" with our Leap Frog magnets.
Luna and some of her friends decided to hide in the stockings. Luna's friend's missed her.
Find out how I made the Wood Stocking Holder HERE!
Luna decided to recycle some of the plastic bags from shopping and turn them into reindeer. My daughter freaked out because Luna only made four reindeer and there are five people in our family. Now Luna knows for next time...
Luna decided to claim all the leftover Halloween candy. She wrote, "Luna's Candy" with an Expo marker on the candy jar.
Luna made Olaf from Disney's Frozen on the toilet paper. She left a note that read, "Do you want to build a snowman?" Unfortunately, since Luna was on a toddler's eye level, they touched her and she disappeared during nap time back to the North Pole.
Luna decided to join the kids for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She brought all her dinosaur friends to chill with her and watch them eat.
Luna decided to hide behind or in several of our Christmas decorations around the house.
Find out how I made the Family Snowman Decor HERE.
Luna hid in our Christmas Tree.
Luna hid in the Stuffed Animal Toy Hammock with all the kid's stuffed animals. She blended in so they had a little trouble finding her. My daughter said she thought she would hide in her room one night so I guess Luna heard her and listened.
Luna decided to climb the microwave and hang from it. I guess she thought she was a gymnast. I believe we ended up going out for dinner so we didn't accidentally touch her or chance her going swimming while our dinner was cooking.
Is it just me or does the picture remind you of Miley Cyrus' song "Wrecking Ball"?!
Is it just me or does the picture remind you of Miley Cyrus' song "Wrecking Ball"?!
The kids had trouble finding Luna the days she hid on top of the kitchen cabinets and in the refrigerator. They kept asking where she was and I kept saying, "I don't know, maybe you were bad so she didn't come back." Luna hid harder the night after the kids misbehaved so they thought she was back at the North Pole.
On my daughter's birthday, Luna decided to help with the decorations by decorating the kid's bathroom mirror using Expo markers. Her decoration was a big hit with my daughter!
Find out how I made the Rotating Christmas Character Blocks HERE.
Luna made a toilet paper hammock on the shower rod and chilled for the day.
Luna decided to take a nap under the Santa hat on top of the TV on Christmas Eve's Eve. I guess she was tired from all the long nights of playing around the house. My daughter wanted to know why she was sleeping for two days in a row...
On Christmas Eve we found Luna hiding in our van. She decided to travel with us to visit family for the holidays. She disappeared mid-ride as we were going around curves but re-appeared for the drive home!
Overall the kids had a blast trying to find out where Luna was hiding and seeing all the adventures she went on. Every time they see a picture of her or an elf friend they yell, "Luna!".
Drop your favorite Elf on the Shelf hiding place in the comments below!
I hope the adventures of our elf, Luna, helps your elf come up with some easy and simple adventures to go on and places to hide. All of these adventures are easy, fun, and toddler friendly. I hope that your kids love their elf as much as mine do. Hopefully next year Luna will return with some more fun adventures.
Drop your favorite Elf on the Shelf hiding place in the comments below!
Check out these posts for more Elf on the Shelf ideas:
2 Comments
It's such fun for the kids isn't it? I may borrow a few ideas from Luna
ReplyDeleteMy kids love it!!! Luna is here to help :)
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