1. Buy Elf on the Shelf.
I'm sorry, but it's creepy. I only bought it because it was cheap on Amazon. Natalie loves it though, which is why it's even in my home. She arrived for the first time last year. We named her Meredith, after Meredith Grey from Grey's Anatomy. She's going to return today even though the Elf on the Shelf people were like, "The elf on the shelf officially begins on Thanksgiving!" No, insane people. This thing isn't going to be here longer than she has to be.
2. Buy this thing.
I'm probably going to want to break it by the end of the month. Meredith is going to bring it today as a, "Hello, I'm here to bug the crap out of you all!" gift.
3. Bake.
We always make sugar cookies with buttercream frosting. I don't go all out. I buy my baked goods for the most part. I am not a fan of being in the kitchen.
4. Do crafts.
And by crafts, I mean these things:
I don't do the elaborate more-than-five-steps stuff. I hand these to the kids, tell them to have fun, and read my book. Sometimes I hear, "Natalie put a square on the cat!" but for the most part, they're quiet.
5. Wait in line to see Santa.
We try to do this early so the lines aren't so insane. Tommy knows the truth about Santa so he's not always involved, but Natalie is all, "Hi Santa! I'd like Barbies, Minecraft stuff, and makeup!"
6. Move the Elf on the shelf again.
You're supposed to move it daily. Sometimes I just don't wanna. I explain that Meredith is exhausted, and that she really, really liked her position. If you're looking for easy ideas, check out my blog post here. Some people suggest writing letters and doing elaborate things. You don't have to, guys. Easy makes me happy and I imagine it makes a lot of you happy, too.
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Lord help me I hate that elf on the shelf.
ReplyDeleteI didn't want to waste money on EOTS so I used a toy Hippo that came in a baby gift set I got when my youngest was born and never opened. We've used him for two years now. I don't know what will happen when they figure out we're the only ones with a hippo but, whatever.
ReplyDeleteOur elf returned today as well. This is a Christmas elf people, so the 1st of December is plenty fine enough! ;) I am so with you on the moving it everywhere. I am already exhausted and it is only day one!-Ashley
ReplyDeleteThe Elf on the Shelf creeps me out too...those eyes....
ReplyDeleteI do not do the Elf. He's creepy and I'm lazy. My daughter survives. We do other stuff.
ReplyDeleteHAAHAH!!!!!!!! I love that you explain that Meridith is lazy lol and likes her position. Oh god. That's hilarious.
ReplyDeleteEasy makes me happy too. We have an elf on a shelf but I have to be honest we just got it to make it do mean things.
ReplyDeleteI can't even begin to describe how happy I am that we don't have an elf - I would suck at moving that thing and it would cause me stress!!!
ReplyDeleteThis makes the 8 days of gifts for Hanukkah seem so easy in comparison. This year, I'm planning to just take the kids to a play and maybe I'll take them to Target and let them pick out one thing in a certain price range. I'm done with the gifts each night thing. Really though, I dread doing the cards but I do them anyway because I like to let people know I'm thinking about them.
ReplyDeleteThat elf is totally creeping and if I were a little kid, I would be afraid that we have some little spy in the house every day making messes. Haha! Butttt I was a weird kid, so there is that!
ReplyDeleteYa, the elf is pretty creepy. I don't understand why kids like it so much. Maybe it goes along with the fantasy/fairytale that cartoon characters are real.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on baking and crafts. I don't bake. Don't do crafts. At least you sorta do some.
This was a great post. The things we do for our kids, right? I'm glad I found your blog today... :)
ReplyDeleteI WANT A NORTH POLE COMMUNICATOR!
ReplyDeleteI love that you named her after Meredith Grey.
ReplyDeleteAlso, what does a Northpole communicator do?? I shall research. Scarlet and I watched that Hallmark movie together. There's even going to be a sequel!
The Elf on the shelf creeps me out too! Who wants to clean up after it either. Nope!
ReplyDeleteSomeone gave us an Elf so I use it, but man it's a lot of work moving that guy around!
ReplyDeleteHa! My girls love the elf, but I don't like it enough to be super creative with it!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that my kids were too big when Elf on a Shelf made an appearance ...plus we don't have them here in Belgium. Or a Santa at the mall. We have Sinterklaas but he leaves after the 6th
ReplyDeleteOur elf showed up on Sunday, but in my defense I thought it was December first! Ours moves around, but doesn't get into elaborate situations. The easier, the better for me!
ReplyDeleteI'm fine with all that, except Elf on the Shelf. We don't have one and I don't plan to buy one. Ever. My 5 year old has asked, but it's not going to happen.
ReplyDeleteI'm probably going to be the same way with my own kids. I definitely want to do the elf thing when the kids come along. Looks like you do a good job with the Christmas spirit!
ReplyDeleteYou are SO much better at this Christmas thing than me. So much. SO MUCH.
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful you do these for your kids' enjoyment! I'm sure they'll cherish it.
ReplyDeleteReading your post completely stressed me out, although I do things that stretch me thin over the holiday season... like 5 advent calendars!!! What?! Why 5 you ask?! I don't know, we're crazy!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop)!
Wishing you a lovely weekend.
xoxo