Elf on the Shelf 2013 Adventures: Days 1-8

They are coming back-

it is just around the corner!

Chester (aka Chess) and Jolly will be back with

The Fantastic Five,

spreading Christmas joy and mischief!

Now last year was a DOOZEY of a Christmas season

for my family.

I was in in a local theater production of Annie,

we went to Disney World with Nana and Papa,

three of us got the flu,

etc., etc., etc.

Needless to say,

I only kept up with Chess and Jolly's adventures

via Instagram.

BECAUSE of all the craziness of our holiday season

last year,

our elf family adventures were

NOT

always pretty and perfect.

(Honestly- their adventures are NEVER
quite how I anticipate them-
am I right?)

In fact,

our elves like to be down right CHEEKY

sometimes.

But that's how we roll.

And I am learning to love it-

every hair-pulling,

inch-thick-dusty,

laundry-mile-high

moment.

*happy tired sigh*

So I want to post about our elvish fun from last year now
over the next six days. 

Kinda like a countdown until the "official" kick-off
of the Christmas season-
ya know,
when Santa appears at the end of the
Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade!

I am NOT posting about our adventure
to show how "perfect" our Martha Stewart holidays

are around here,

but to encourage you to make time for fun
with your family

AMONGST the chaos.

It can happen-

and it is a lesson I am STILL learning.

Sit back,

relax,

LAUGH ALOUD

(please!)-

in short,

ENJOY!

***

Day 1:

Thanksgiving Morning

and the

Annual North Pole Breakfast

We spent Thanksgiving with our friends
since the play I was in opened on 
Thanksgiving night,
and their house was closer to the playhouse than ours.

It was SO MUCH FUN!

This family- the Nussbaums-

also have an elf on the shelf named

Jingle Jerry

(aka JJ).

So we coordinated out efforts to set the

Thanksgiving table with a traditional 

"Back from the North Pole" breakfast.

Each of the kiddos received a few little Christmas treats

at their table setting,

including THIS Santa Beard countdown calendar.

Here is the welcome letter the elves brought with them:

It's that time of year and we are thankful to say;

That we are back and we will be watching you

at work and at play.

JJ is here, as you can plainly see.

But Chester is on a mission with Santa...

(Shhh- Just between you and me).

He sent his assistant Harry,

so round and plump,

To get the giggles a' goin' 

And keep this day out of the dumps.

So enjoy the family, food, and friends gathered

around here today

Have fun with your new friend Harry

and laugh all the way!

Happy Thanksgiving Friends!!!

BFF's,

Chess and JJ

Remember what I said earlier about how 

imperfect our elf adventures can be?

Please note that our original elf did not even MAKE it

to the North Pole Breakfast!

(aka "Wonder Mom could not find him because 

she forgot where he was...")

But the kiddos were fine-

and enjoyed Harry.

Harry is Hallmark's Grab-N-Gabs "Tell the Elf" game.

SO-SO-SO very fun!

(And Wonder Mom was SO glad she picked him up 

at Ollie's Bargain Outlet on discount-

WHEW!)

One more "incident" I wanted to report on

from the elves' first day back.

Later in the day,

after all the other guests

arrived for Thanksgiving dinner,

our kiddos discovered some littles playing

with JJ.

This GREATLY concerned my friend's daughter-

so much so she wrote...

...note for JJ.

How ADORABLE is that?

She has such a tender, sweet spirit!

***

Day 2:

Time to Clean and Prep for Christmas

We were still at the Nussbaum House

on day two,

so the elves left a pretty clear message

on what needed to happen that day...

(See what I mean?  Cheeky little things!)

;0)

***

Day 3:

Time to Decorate the House for Christmas

Finally back in our own home,

Harry dropped off a couple of treats to get us all

in a Christmas decorating kind of mood...

...and STILL no sign of Chess.

*sigh*

***

Day 4:

Harry-

an Elf of Lies and Deception

Harry made a promise

he did NOT keep on day 4...

***

Day 5:

Harry-

an Elf with a Peppermint Problem

I think Harry felt badly about lying about Chess,

so he drowned his sorrows in our Peppermint kisses

on Day 5.

***

Day 6-8:

Jolly's Adventures at Marmee and Grandalf's House

My kiddos ended up staying with my parents'

for three days while I was doing school performances for Annie.

To their surprise...

...Harry stayed at home and a NEW elf appeared-

in the dollhouse, none the less!

I guess since Chess was still on his mission,

with no end in sight,

he sent a more "official" elf to take his place.

The kiddos named her Jolly-

and like most women,

she loves her chocolate!

;0)

The next day at the grandparents'...

...Jolly was found in Grandalf's office,

perusing his vast book collection.

(Yes- we call him Grandalf-

like Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings-

he is a college professor of English and Literature)

On the last morning the kiddos were there,

Jolly arrived with some yummy 

Dunkin' Doughnuts.

Baby Girl drew a picture of it for me since the kiddos

forgot to take a picture of it.

((love))

***

While the kiddos were enjoying their adventures

with Jolly while I was gone,

I got to see what JJ was up to.

I was staying with the Nussbaum family during those 

school performance days,

along with the star of the production,

Annie (aka Riley).

Apparently JJ was excited to have her there...

So much so that he wore a curly red ribbon

as a "wig" in Annie's honor!

***

Yes-

8 days into the Christmas season and our original elf

Chess has STILL not made an appearance!

No worries-

join me tomorrow on the blog

and I *think* he will finally be back

from his secret mission... 

;0)