Elf Capades

Have you ever done and "Elf" with your kids? I found this idea and thought it would be SO FUN for Christmas this year. It starts with watching the movie "Elf." In the interest of full disclosure, Jamie and I never really liked this movie. It is the only movie in our entire lives where we actually walked out of the theater half-way through. And we're cheap so you know it was bad. We've mellowed through the years and actually laugh out loud at Spongebob on occasion. So we vowed to give it another try. Seeing it through Nicholas eyes will probably be much better.

OK, the premise of the elf is that you have him sent to the house from Santa with a note saying how busy he is this year and he sent along an elf to help him keep watch on very special boys and girls. It's a little stuffed elf of some sort. The note will explain that your elf is only "alive" at night and sleeps through the day.

Then, after a day or two, the elf starts getting into mischief at night. Snow angels in flour on the counter, TPing the living room, partying with the stuffed animals and taking pictures and leaving them scrolling on the computer, stealing the car keys and buying a happy meal and leaving it all over the counter, leaving a mess of spaghetti with syrup on the table, hiding, hanging underwear on the Christmas tree...etc.

Jamie and I sat down and came up with a ton of ideas last night. Some requiring a little bit of work, some not much at all.

It's just something a little fun for the Christmas season. We're going to start after Thanksgiving. I'll guarantee Nicholas will never in a million years believe it is me. He'll never think I would make any kind of mess like that. We'll do the "big" ones over the weekend so he can be the first one up. Things like tying up all the "bad guy" toys and shooting them with foam darts can be left in the playroom for him to find anytime during the day.

I think it sounds delightfully fun!