If you aren’t familiar with it, the Elf comes each Christmas season to hang out and watch to see if your children should be on the “naughty” or “nice” list. He flies to the North Pole at night to report to Santa how your children are doing. He comes back each morning and hides in a different place in your home.
After my boys go to bed at night, I find a place to hide our Elf. I used to have to set a reminder on my phone so I didn’t forget. Thankfully, I now have helpers named George and Clark, who love to stay up and find creative things for the Elf to do!
I am not a HUGE fan of the Elf, but my kids love it so much I can’t stop. My older boys get excited about finding creative things for the Elf to do, and my younger boys are excited to wake up in the morning and search the house to find our Elf.
If you are new to this tradition, I would recommend you start just ONE WEEK before Christmas and use the SIMPLE ideas listed below.
Our elf now comes on December 1 because I have helpers to hide him.
Here are some ideas for your Elf on the Shelf Tradition!
1. Place him in a large Mason Jar with a note that says, “Show me around!”
2. Choo Choo Train Ride
3. Or a SHOE SHOE Train Ride!
4. Playing card games
5. Leave a love note
6. Just Hangin’ Out
7. Candy Cane Hide-and-Seek
Hide candy canes around the house!
8. Make happy faces on the fruit
9. Countdown-to-Christmas Paper Chain
10. Elf is peeking out of your child’s stocking
Optional: Leave a note to your child about what the Elf has noticed: A Good Thing and Something your child could work on.
11. Put him in your Christmas tree by his favorite ornament
12. Hide him inside cups.
Children have to search the cups to find him. My kids were happy he was in a cup so they could hold the cup and walk around with him. (No touching the Elf)
13. Reading a Christmas story to his friend.
14. 3 cheers for hot chocolate!
Optional: Leave hot chocolate out for your kids!
15. Just Chillin’
Just wrap a scarf around a picture or chair and put the elf inside!
16. Army men are protecting our home and they think the Elf is an INTRUDER!
I just taped that poor Elf to the wall.
17. Zip lining
This takes a little more work, but it’s always a favorite. Tie a string across a room and attach your elf to the string. Zip Line!
These were just some simple and silly ideas for you! Do you have a fun Elf prank? Leave a comment!
Fill a small plastic container with water and pour paint inside. I purchased nail polish from the Dollar Store.
Dip ornament into paint/water and swirl around.
Hang to dry:
Place on tree or wrap for a gift!
Here is a how-to video I created for you!
You can use this technique with other items too – including SHOES! We found an old pair of converse and turned them into a one-of-a-kind MASTERPIECE! (Put tape over the parts you don’t want painted.)
“So God throws open the door of this world—and enters as a baby. As the most vulnerable imaginable. Because He wants unimaginable intimacy with you. What religion ever had a god that wanted such intimacy with us that He came with such vulnerability to us? What God ever came so tender we could touch Him? So fragile that we could break Him? So vulnerable that His bare, beating heart could be hurt? Only the One who loves you to death.” -Ann Voskamp
I have four young boys so there have been four Christmas nights that I’ve been up with a newborn. These quiet moments always give me a chance to reflect on the very first Christmas…
What was Mary thinking and feeling as she held her little one in her arms.
Luke 2:20 (NIV) tells us:
“But Mary treasured up all of these things and pondered them in her heart.”
What was she pondering? Was she scared? Excited? Curious? Wouldn’t it be nice if she wrote what she learned from others, what she learned from Jesus? (I hope to get to talk to her about it one day in heaven!)
I stare into my little boy’s face and wonder who he will become. Did Mary know who Jesus would become? Was she overwhelmed at the thought that God had entrusted her to raise His Son! A child who would bring Hope and Peace for all eternity. Was she afraid she might do something wrong?
As I hold my little one in my arms, I begin to feel afraid. Though I didn’t give birth to Jesus, I am raising a child of God! A child who has the potential to bring hope to a hurting world. A child who can bring the Good News to others! What if I mess up?
Do I have what it takes?
I stop and remember that God chose this child for me at this time.
Deutoronomy 31:6:
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Wow, just bask in those words for a minute. We don’t need to fear. He NEVER leaves us. He is always with us!
So what are some things we can do to invest in and mold these young lives so that they become Followers of Christ and make a positive difference in this world?
First of all … ask for God’s help every single day! Ask Him for wisdom because James 1:5 tells us:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should askGod, whogives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
Here are some other suggestions for raising young men and women of God:
Lead by example. Spend time reading God’s word and praying.
Stay present. Look at your children in the eye and answer their questions.
SMILE and remind them that they are LOVED – by you and by God!
Say ‘I’m sorry’ when you mess up. (We all mess up!)
Talk about the Goodness of God – sharing stories of what He has done in your life and the lives of others. Deuteronomy 6:7 – “Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Pray together – for their “owies,” for their friends, and their concerns.
Sing and/or read together.
Practice ‘self-care’ so that you aren’t running on fumes.
Go to church together.
Download the Bible App for Kids. When they want to play on your phone, encourage them to play this first. Or play together!
Love their Daddy and invest in your relationship. If you are divorced, refrain from speaking bad about their dad.
Do we have to do ALL of these things every day? No.
I think the most important thing we can do is ask God for help. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you as you lead your children.
If you feel like there is something you can tweak to become the best mama to your children, do it.
Each day is new day!
Each day is a new opportunity to ask God for help. A new day to stay present in your children’s lives. Another opportunity to watch for what God is already doing in your child’s heart and life to encourage and support that!
Let’s look into our children’s eyes and remind them that God loves them and has GREAT plans for their future – He really does!!!
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
