Alfie is Back!

Our loveable yet mischievous elf Alfie, has returned for yet another year here in the Morrison household.  Alfie has been visiting our family for the festive season since 2012 and every year the kids look forward to his arrival and antics more and more! 

Its safe to say that the pressure is on to constantly come up with new ideas and situations for him (thank goodness for Pinterest!!) and as the kids get older, we have to be more sneaky about it all!

This year Alfie arrived by special mail from the North Pole (usually he comes through the Fairy door). He was packed in his own box, on a bed of snow and had written a letter to the kids ! 

We try and keep his return letter a bit about how the kids have gone throughout the year, always positive and always praising them for their efforts in school and their love for one another. We figure there is enough negativity in the world, without putting that on the kids too . But of course, each to their own, your elf , your adventures! 

I use the super easy and gorgeous template from a little delightful blog , and just use the online software Pic Monkey (as Bianca explains in her blog post) to add the text, then print in an A5 size. 

We've used this for the last few years now and definitely love the convenience and consistency. As the children get older (and much more suspicious and knowing) I really think that consistency is the key to keeping the dream and magic alive. 

The box was placed in front of the Christmas tree for the children to find on the morning on December 1st. I may have decorated early but this is one tradition I want to stick to!

Day 2 - Alfie decided on a rocketing adventure and got stuck in the Christmas tree!! 

Printable from HERE

Day 3- Alfie was bored and made himself a swing (using a tree ornament drop)

Day 4 - Alfie decided to decorate the Fairy door . 

The tree was mine from when I was a child (my sister and I used to have a small tree for our bedrooms) , and the fairy lights and letterbox were purchased from a market stall but the business has a Facebook page HERE. 

When the kids got home from school that day Alfie had moved! He had also bought the kids a decoration to put on the tree each! 

Day 5 - Alfie bought the kids some lovely elf size stationery to be able to write letters and pop into the new little letterbox! 

Printable found HERE

After school, the kids returned home to Alfie and a little note , it read;

You did such a wonderful job putting the new ornaments

 on the tree but I have hidden a special one each for you! 

Enjoy

And they all rushed to the tree and found ..... a chocolate tree ornament . It was so sweet to witness Stella helping her little brother reach his up a little too high! 

Day 6 -  Alfie was in sloth mode and needed a movie night, complete with junk food (rubbers from Kmart). He also bought a few new Christmas movies for the kids (yippee!)

Day 7 - Do you want to build a snowman? 

Perfect for Frozen fans and easy to complete for a busy afternoon/ night that we had! 

Printable found HERE

Day 8 - Worn out from his antics, Alfie needed a good nights sleep by the fire! 

Day 10 - Colouring in ! 

This cute printable found HERE, come with the kids sheets and small versions for Alfie and a little note. 

The elf sized pencils come in this CD case in the stationery section of Kmart for a couple of dollars. 

Day 11- There is no photographic evidence of this day as my husband completed the challenge (hehe)  and I went to bed with a bad headache after a market night. He painted the kids noses red and sat Alfie beside the paint container and paintbrush. Hmmm perhaps he wasn't the most careful of elf assistants as it went all over their bedding. Super funny though! 

Day 12- An elf game of poker (this was a last minute , forgotten before bedtime set up ) , I had the small card packs from a Christmas cracker last year and had put them in my scrap booking stash. 

Day 13- Alfie isn't used to the warm temperatures where we live and needed to freeze up a little so he made himself an igloo! Its just a few paper plates stapled together and cotton balls hot glued all over! So cute!! 

We seem to be onto the 'elf thing' this year, with less last minute "oh goodness , what should we do" moments. I really think its thanks to my calendar ( I printed a December calendar and have planned his adventure every night) and then pre printed all the things we have needed. I have also pre cut any that needed it and they all live in a folder up the top of my desk. This means that when we need to set him up at the end of a night, when the energy is lacking, everything is ready to go!!

It also means I have been able to donate all the items we have used to the teachers at school , as both the kids classes have resident elf and antics of their own!!

Its so much fun, are you having fun with your elf ? Or is Christmas busy enough without adding in this too? 

Alfie's Adventures

Alfie, our Christmas elf, has been having a right old time at our house since he arrived!! He is getting into all sorts of mischief and the kids are loving it!! I must admit though, so are we! 

Setting up his scene every night is so fun and we often giggle through the whole thing!

Here is what he has been up to so far;

Catching a ride in the car parade

Looking for a Christmas movie

Having a swinging good time!

Poor Alfie misses the North Pole, so he spent the night in the fridge!

Naughty Alfie, having fun with some red paint! 

Oh o!!  A stand off with Buzz!! I don't think that fort helped him too much! 

Having a night off from his antics and having a good sleep in the Maileg bunny bed

Watching some late night TV with his Buddy , Woody 

I'm off to set up tonights Naughty scene!! It has become such a gorgeous part of our (early) mornings since he arrived! The kids love going looking for him, seeing what he has done for the night!!

Do you have an Elf at your house? Do you have some good ideas for us too?

First of December

Yay!!! My most favourite time of the year!! 

Have you been busy today putting up your tree? Decorating your house? Organising your Elf?

We have been!

Over the past few years , as the kids have gotten a little older and more knowing, we have developed traditions in which we do at the start of December to mark the festive season! I used to think I would get more excited than the kids, but that just isn't the case anymore and its just wonderful!

So ... today Alfie our Christmas elf returned, ready for lots of naughty action at night time! 

This year , he was waiting outside the fairy door, with a letter for the kids saying how proud we are of them for adjusting so well to a new town and house! The kids thought it was amazing that he knew what had been happening this year and where to find them again!

I know you can buy Christmas wreaths and mini trees for fairy doors , but they all come at a pretty price, so I just use a wreath from a Christmas embellishment pack from Crazy Clarks. It looks gorgeous and no one would ever know it cost around 30c!! 

Last year, hubby and I  had so much fun planning and organising the nightly antics of our naughty elf, and seeing as though we live more remotely this year, and with less retail options , I wanted to be prepared with the planning process. In case we need a few supplies or special equipment for a night, I needed time to be able to order online or through Spotlight and have it sent (just $6.95 from Spotlight if you ever need!) So I am using this gorgeous December Calendar from the gorgeous Bianca at a little delightful. I have also printed off another to keep track of special events that we can attend (like Carols by Candlelight) and also the craft activities we plan on doing. Again, this will make it easier to have everything pre prepared so that we can do them efficiently after school and with minimal fuss and mess (that's my sort of craft!!)

This morning, I also helped each child fill in their Letter to Santa. This year I decided to go with this gorgeous free printable from Wink Designs found HERE, thanks to a tip off from Clare from The Home She Made on her facebook page. Its the perfect amount of writing and creativity from the kids without being too overwhelming for  the little ones. Some name writing practise , tick a box and draw a picture. Simple. I then colour photo copied each one, kept the original and we have posted the letters into their chair backers for Alfie to take to Santa tonight!

 

Now , last year , we used our Christmas books as a way to count down the days until Christmas, where we unwrapped a different book each night on the countdown until Christmas day, then on Christmas Eve, the kids received a new one !

You can read more about that HERE in my post from last Christmas. However this year I wanted to do something a little different , and there are only so many ways you can count down the days. Otherwise our nights and mornings would be filled with counting, cutting, glueing etc. 

So we have gone with the Santa beard Advent again, using a gorgeous printable from a little delightful again, you can find it HERE. This seems the most practical for us, great scissor practise for the younger ones, no glue involved and the kids have been enjoying the Christmas books being on display. 

Plus we also have a small festive blackboard where we cross off each number with chalk until the big day , and we can't forget our first year of using a LEGO Advent Calendar!! 

Now these are certainly NOT cheap, but we have just the one to share for the family and judging by the excitement of opening that little box this morning, it is going to be a winner!! 

They have small boxes leading up to the 25th, each with its own little package inside. It may be a tree, a figure etc and in the end it will create a Christmas scene. 

So there you have our wonderful First day of December. We have watched the Santa Claus movie, started on some gorgeous Snowman craft, read lots of Christmas books and had a wonderful day at home absorbing the spirit and excitement!! 

I can not wait for what the next 24 days bring!

An Elf Goodbye

Unfortunately , for everyone in our home, today is the last day we have Alfie to share the festivities with.

Its amazing how one little Elf and his antics have brought so much joy and laughter to our Christmas Preparation. Hubby and I have enjoyed finding new things for him to do and new mischief for him to create, and the kids have had a ball searching for him each morning and absorbing the magic of it all.

Goodbyes are never easy, especially when you are 2 and 4 years , so I knew we had to make it as easy and smooth as possible.

So in our home, Alfie our Elf, will be catching a lift to the North Pole with Father Christmas tonight, when he visits our home. As a final goodbye, thank you and as an explanation, last night we set Alfie up on the coffee table near the Christmas tree.

He had a letter , and a bag of goodies.

The letter (that I made myself but can make it available for those who wish to use it, just email me and I'll send it through)  thanks the kids for having him stay, lets them know that they have been good boys and girls and also that he has left a set of pyjamas for tonight as a token of his appreciation.

We have given the kids a set of PJ's on Christmas Eve , ever since we have been parents, but this seems like the way to go from now on.

They were all so excited to open the bag with their pyjamas and also to see they had received a letter from Alfie.

Hopefully, if they are good, he can return next year too!!

I'll be back later today with some Christmas crafts for the kiddos but for now, have you planned your Elf's exit ?? What is happening at your home?

Introducing Alfie

Yesterday I spoke about how this year, we have a new Christmas tradition starting in our family.
We have joined the craze and introduced 'Alfie' our new 'Elf On the Shelf' to join in our Christmas celebrations and create some havoc and entertainment around our home.

He has been sitting in the box at the top of our wardrobe for a while now and its so exciting to open him up and start the antics.

To introduce Alfie to our family, I found this cute letter from Santa , explaining why he has come and also a Passport that he used to get here. Of course!

These were both cute printables and found  HERE

The letter does go on to describe how Alfie will be in our home to observe the childrens behaviour and report back to Father Christmas with his discoveries. I found this a little full on when our kids are so young, and also a fair bit of pressure on them. So even though I used the letter (it was just for show) when I read it out for the kids I said how they had been good boys and girls and Santa sent Alfie because of that. We are lucky that the kids can not read!! Stella just knew that Santa had signed off on it!

They were all so excited when they discovered the letter and then Alfie, the joy on their faces was well worth it!

To begin with, he was sitting on the sideboard and just observing the family, I will am up the antics with him as the time goes on , and as time permits for me to prepare it!

Day 2 he was found in the Toy room reading corner, reading his favourite Christmas book of course!

And then day 3 he was sitting with his buddy watching the newly put up and lit Christmas tree and lights in all its festive glory!

So.... exciting time here! Do you have a special Elf visiting your home?
What did you name him?