A Month of Elf On The Shelf

As December draws near, it's finally time to focus on Christmas! While some people put out their Christmas decorations the day after Halloween, we tend to wait until December 1st to haul out the holly.  And one tradition we start on December 1st is our Elf on the Shelf.

Our Elf, Ralf, came to visit us for the first time last Christmas.  My husband was skeptical (as he is with most overly commercial aspects of Christmas).  But when we saw how much fun the kids had with it, it was impossible not to love this new tradition.  Here's how our first Christmas season with Ralf went:

 Day 1: Ralf made his first appearance on our fireplace mantle

Day 2: Ralf spent the day hanging out in our Christmas tree (the kids had fun trying to find him that morning!)

Day 3: Ralf got artistic!

Day 4:  Ralf made a mess trying to brush his teeth

  

Day 5:  We found out that Ralf has a bit of a sweet tooth!

Day 6: Ralf gave us all Rudolph noses

Day 7:  Ralf took Baby Doll for a romantic picnic...so sweet!

Day 8: Ralf knew how hard it was to get into the Christmas spirit when it was 75 degrees outside, so he brought us some snow! 

Day 9: We found Ralf in the fridge and he had turned the milk green

Day 10: Ralf was jealous of our craft time and decided to make some paper snowflakes of his own

Day 11: We woke up to find Ralf enjoying a little marshmallow bubble bath!

Day 12: Ralf had a little story time with the stuffed animals

Day 13: It's Super Ralf! We found Ralf hanging from the ceiling fan with a cape!

Day 14: Even elves need to unwind...Ralf likes to do so with a little Super Mario Bros.

Day 15: Ralf made himself a little hot cocoa

Day 16: Ralf really got into the decorations

Day 17: Ralf barricaded us in our bedroom 

Day 18: Ralf paid a visit to the manger...and he even brought a gift for the baby Jesus

Day 19: Looks like Ralf went for a little joy-ride while we were all asleep

Day 20:  VANDAL!! Ralf TP'd our tree!!

 

Day 21: Ralf left a note on the kid's bathroom mirror

Day 22: We found Ralf just hanging out in our son's stocking

Day 23:  Ralf was up all night knitting himself a scarf

Day 24: Ralf brought a gift for the kids to open on Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we said good-bye to our new elf friend.  The kids are so excited for him to return this holiday season! Looks like mom needs to get cracking to find new mischief for our Ralf to get into!