It took my family a while to get into the hype of Elf on the Shelf. I thought, “Oh, no. Yet another Christmas gimmick.” But you know what? After receiving our elf, Captain, in the mail from my aunt erm… Santa, he immediately became a fixture in our house during Christmas time. The kids LOVE Captain!
I thought for sure my super-literal and practical-brained child would just laugh the whole thing off, but he seriously bought into it last year. Not just that, we (unintentionally) used our Elf on the Shelf as a learning tool for correcting Captain’s naughty behavior. Each morning we would wake up, see Captain’s mischief, and talk to him about his behavior… we also asked him to apologize.
Our elf sure did get in a lot of trouble… and we had so much fun plotting his next move! But, I gotta say, it did get a little tricky trying to come up with so many things for him to do! And we didn’t even start on December 1st! So this year, we are going to make a list, and check it twice, of what Captain will be doing each day. To help you out, I am going to share Captain’s antics from last year with you… enjoy! Oh, and each morning, the kids discovered a handwritten note from our elf (Mommy got really good at writing left-handed) 😉
20 Days til Christmas – The Rescue Bots were not pleased with our new house guest. They captured him inside a mason jar while Captain was writing a note to our kids.
19 Days til Christmas – After this, the boys made Captain and the toys call a truce. They have been friends ever since.
18 Days til Christmas – Mischievous Captain climbed down a rope that hung from the curtains to reach the pictures.
17 Days til Christmas – Captain rode the sailboat back to the North Pole that night.
16 Days til Christmas – The boys forgot to clean up their popcorn mess, so Captain took full advantage!
15 Days til Christmas – Our stuffed friends had a snowball fight with Captain! Marshmallows everywhere!
14 Days til Christmas – Captain the Elf spent the night playing on Mommy’s computer. Santa also sent the kids a personal video message too!
13 Days til Christmas – “Oh Captain! No, we are NOT allowed to play with toilet paper.”
12 Days til Christmas – before our gymnastics class…
11 Days til Christmas – “Captain didn’t put the cap back on the toothpaste…”
10 Days til Christmas – how ’bout a little education thrown in there?
9 Days til Christmas – This wasn’t the best idea because I couldn’t put the baby in her swing all day long (did I mention that if anyone touches the elf, he loses his magic???).
8 Days til Christmas – because the kids kept pressing the button on the guitar ornament. They didn’t touch it again after this.
7 Days til Christmas – following a trip to the zoo!
6 Days til Christmas – and day 437 of potty training.
5 Days til Christmas – The day of James’ Christmas play at school… riding the stocking holders.
4 Days til Christmas – with all of our Christmas cards that we received.
3 Days til Christmas – testing out the snicker doodles before we leave them out for Santa.
2 Days til Christmas – decorated the stars on top of the kids’ Christmas trees. We tied this one into reading Matthew 2:9-11 out of the Bible.
1 Day til Christmas – SANTAAAAAA! Captain the Elf headed back to the North Pole til next December.
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