Clyde will show up on our dining room light. That's where he appeared the first year he came to our house, (last year.) At first glance, it sounds kinda boring. "Just on the light above the dining room table? They'll see it right away! Where's the fun in that?" That's what I thought when I put him up there. But they didn't notice him AT ALL! They sat down for breakfast. Ate their food. I read the Elf on the Shelf story. And they went on the hunt for their new elf. They hunted and hunted! I couldn't believe it! He was right above their heads! I had to start the hot/cold game to help them out. When they finally noticed him, they couldn't believe that they hadn't seen him either. So it's a funny memory/tradition for us. I think it also ushered in some of the magic of the elf.
Even though, he'll be hanging out in the dining room light, it will still be different. We moved this summer from Oregon to Arizona. I had lived in Oregon for 31 years. (I still write Oregon in my address sometimes!) "Wait! I thought you said you had snow?! But you're in Arizona! Land of cacti and desert! There's no snow there!" Yes, we're in Arizona. In Flagstaff. Elevation 7000ft. We get snow. We'll probably get more snow that we got in Central Oregon. Everything we be a little different this year, no matter what. So, having our elf start out in the same place as last year will be nice. Something familiar in our new place.
Besides deciding on a place for your elf to show up on Friday morning, you're going to need a few supplies for the activities. I was going to list them week by week. But when I went to Michael's yesterday, one of the items was already on clearance! So, RUN, don't walk, to Michael's and pick up a Christmas birdhouse, (or three, that's how many I'll need.) they were originally $5. Now, they're $3. They're for Day 24, Saturday, December 16th. But I know that if you don't scoop something up when you see it, you risk the chance of it disappearing!
I think they're pretty adorable. The kids will have fun painting them, (and I'll do my best to ignore that they're not doing it the way I want them to.)
In light of the fact that these are already on clearance, I decided it might be a good idea to give you a heads up on the stuff you'll need that isn't already in your house.
- Birdhouses.
- Birdseed.
- Popsicle sticks. (Okay, you probably have those somewhere. I have no idea where mine are. Time to hunt through some more boxes!)
- Embroidery floss. (Also have that. Somewhere...)
- Wreaths. (I'm buying some cute fake ones. If you're super crafty and love the smell, you could make your own real ones. Plus, they'd probably be free. I was going to get the ones at Michael's, but I saw some even better ones at Home Depot for the same price! Of course, at Michael's, I can use a coupon. Hmmmm... Decisions! Decisions!)
- Cranberries. (We always do popcorn strings for our tree. Last year, I added a cranberry between every 5th or 6th piece of popcorn. It looked amazing!)
- Gingerbread houses. (I always think it would be really cool, and quite Martha, to make our own from scratch. But, like I said before, my ideas are often quite bigger than what I can actually pull off. Either because of time restraints or my own laziness! Probably the latter. Oops! Trader Joe's has the cutest chalet style ones! The same price as the basic Wilton ones that are sold everywhere.)
- Clear spherical ornaments. (Michael's has clear plastic ones that are SUPER cheap! Less than a dollar each. And plastic! I won't have to worry about broken glass. Phew!)
Popcorn chain with cranberries. (Ignore silly child.)
I think that's it. But I still have two spots in the calendar that aren't done yet! I'll get it finished and then post a quick look guide that you can print out and refer to. I'll also post "Day ~" specific detailed descriptions. But not all at once. I do have other things to do, like feed the kids. They want to be fed EVERY day! Can you believe it?!
The Trader Joe's chalet gingerbread house. So cute!
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