We’re kicking off the holiday season with our favorite little elf. Sharing more about our Elf on the Shelf North Pole welcome back breakfast.
Oh those silly little elves that make their way into our homes during this time of year. My boys get so excited when our elf, Alvin, makes his return. It’s their joy and excitement that keep me going with this tradition.
To be honest, we probably started our elf a little premature when we first made the decision to commit to this tradition. I say commit, because any parent that participates in the moving of an elf, knows that it takes a bit of commitment. We were first time parents eager to jump on the bandwagon. I really don’t think my boys fully started to understand the concept until they were more around 3-4 years old.
That’s not to scare anyone off from starting it, but more to let you know there is a bit of work involved, and if you want your kids to really get it, being a little older helps. The best part is, you can be as creative with this as you want.
Some people go all out. And when I say, all out, I mean all out. They turn it into a spousal competition and have the best time with it. And then there are others that are dashing around the house trying to move the little rascal because you forgot the night before (we’ve learned our lesson, set a cell reminder to go off every night).
I’ve fallen into both categories. Give or take on the year, and my creativity level.
The one thing I do have a lot of fun with, is his welcome back breakfast. We’ve been doing it ever since we got him back in 2015. You can check out some of my past breakfasts and how they’ve progressed over the years.
I already have some ideas for next year and some things I forgot to set out this year. Womp, womp. Ok, confession time. This year’s breakfast was kind of thrown together. There were talks that our boys might be going back to virtual learning after Thanksgiving. I thought if that was the case, we could hold out until December 1st and do the breakfast then. You know, a few extra nights of not having to move him.
Well, since the 1st fell during the week, that always makes things a little more tricky (and they never ended up going virtual anyway). My oldest son heard from some of his friends that their elf was coming back the day after Thanksgiving. You sure know kids like to talk.
We had plans to do our family tree picking event (there was a lot going on in a short amount of time), and I knew it would be cramming a lot into a few days. After my boys started praying for their elf to return the day after Thanksgiving, I didn’t have the heart to have their little prayers not be answered. I quickly made a last minute decision on Thanksgiving night to pull it all together.
And this is what we ended up with. And you know what, I loved it. It doesn’t matter to my boys if every sprinkle is in place or the best decorations are set out. They just care that their elf is back and that they feel celebrated and loved. In fact, my youngest son didn’t care about the treats at all and wanted a cheese stick instead. Haha!
That’s why I love sharing more about our breakfasts for inspiration. It doesn’t matter if you decide to get similar gingerbread plates or set out the leftover paper plates you had from summer. Just remember in doing all of this, it’s supposed to spark joy and happiness. And I think that’s exactly what this little breakfast accomplished.
Alvin usually brings the boys a little treat with him. This year it was the Home Alone book (which they read every few days and love it) and a gingerbread house village (this way we can all have one to decorate).
The best part in all of this was sitting around the table, listening to Christmas music, laughing with each other, and eating way too much. I hope this is a tradition we can stick with even when our boys figure out the secret to their elf. Which I’m getting nervous that they’re already having too many questions about.
Here’s to keeping the magic going!
