Reindeer Food

Reindeer food is generally just oats and glitter. But I realized a little too late that I had no glitter. So I made my own version using regular sugar and then red and green sugar sprinkles. (Good thing I'm a Cupcake Ninja and keep those on hand!) I thought it looked a little plain so I threw in some raisins. Looks good enough that I'd try it, so why not a reindeer... or my mom's dog.... or neighborhood cat...

Chow time!

A bed time story

Jesus is the reason for the season!

TP-ing!

One roll of toilet paper + 5 minutes = done! 

Jingles the Arteest!

I came very close to forgetting to move Mr. Jingles tonight! D'oh! My mind was completely blank so I googled quickly to find an idea. This one took only a few minutes and was very fun for me to do! Just don't forget to use a dry erase marker and not a Sharpie. 

Ka-chow!

Alex absolutely loves the movie Cars. We own every car that was ever made in the first movie and most in the second movie. Except Lizzie. Cause she's been retired for years and I'm not paying $50 for a car. I mean really. So I thought I would make use of some of the gazillion cars we have laying around. Everywhere. For me to step on over and over and over....

Vroooom vroooom!

Scotch tape, and lots of it, was my necessity for this one!

Snowball Fight!!

I had a lot of fun setting this one up and it was super easy! All you need are building blocks and mini marshmallows! Let the games begin!

Sleepy time Elf

Even elves need to take a break sometimes! I didn't have much time to do anything elaborate tonight so this is what I came up with. Simple and took all of 2 minutes to do! Now I just hope Alex doesn't trip on him when he goes down the stairs in the morning!

S'mores Please!

I came across this idea on Pinterest I believe. It showed their elf roasting a marshmallow over a tea light candle. Well my child hops out of bed and immediately goes looking for Mr. Jingles and I prefer not to be up before him so real fire was not an option. And of course I had to go above and beyond. So the campfire is simply cardboard with dirt on it, an electric tea light candle, rocks stacked around it to hide the base, and some broken up twigs on top. Oh, and his scarf is a piece of an old fuzzy sock. RIP green fuzzy sock. I did however sustain an injury during the making of this adventure. I now remember why I generally use aim-a-flames instead of regular lighters. While attempting to "toast" my marshmallow, I learned the metal wheel thingy becomes hot, very fast. And if you continue to try and flick said scorching hot thingy to get your marshmallow just right, you will end up with a burn and blister on your finger tip. Just sayin'. 

Gone Fishin'

I didn't have much time to be creative tonight, so this was done quickly. I have to be up in less than six hours for work, so yeah... I got some better ones coming up. Tomorrow is Mr. Jingles XXX!

Super Elf!

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... SUPER MR. J! This is the adventure that caused me to crack open a bottle of wine. It was a logistical nightmare. I had the cape done several days before. I took my time on it because I want to last for the next several years. The cape will be packed away with Mr. Jingles! The eye mask I did last minute because I thought it would be easy. Not. To get it to look right you have to cut the nose out very close to the eye holes. I was using big adult sized scissors and I snipped several eye holes. *sigh* Then I had assumed that hanging the elf would be super easy. Again, not. I had initially planned on hanging him from the ceiling fan but the blades were not spaced properly for me to get that flying appearance. Or I was just to frustrated and gave up. So the kitchen light won, after at least 40 minutes of me tying and retying until I was mostly satisfied with the look. However, Alex's smiles, laughs, and excitement made the whole thing worth while.

Movie Night!

The TV is also paused in the middle of the Toy Story movie! This is one of my favorites so far!

The "Snow Angel"

I was conflicted on whether to to use flour or sugar. I knew that sugar would be the easiest to clean off of Mr. Jingles, but I really didn't want to wake up the next morning and find little black ants every where. So as you can see, I chose flour. It was a pain in the butt to clean off the elf, but it can be done.

The Choc-o-holic!

Mr. Jingles found my chocolate stash and appears to have over indulged himself. If you attempt this one, I would suggest not smearing to0 much chocolate on his face. Getting the chocolate out of the creases of his cheeks was not easy.

Angry Birds Anyone?

My son absolutely loves playing Angry Birds. He's also extremely good at it! So to kick off my first night of doing something creative I decided to try and build an Angry Bird themed adventure. It was not as time consuming as I thought it would be. However I quickly learned that I did not have enough of the large lego blocks to do what I really wanted. But it worked out. I even built a sling shot and luckily found a large rubber band to hold one of the birds onto the sling shot. Alex absolutely LOVED it. Winner!

How It All Started

It all started with my pure curiosity about this Elf on a Shelf. My little boy is four and for the most part is generally well behaved. We do the 1-2-3 thing in my house and I rarely have to get to 3. But who could pass up another discipline tool that was also fun for Mommy? So I bought the little bugger and stuck him on the Christmas tree.... and so it began!


If you're not familiar with the whole Elf on a Shelf experience, Google it. Seriously. But in case you are lazy and don't go and Google it, the basics are that this magical elf watches the kid(s) and reports back to Santa every night on if he/she was good or bad. Yes, this elf is a tattle tale. In the morning the elf reappears in a new spot and most kids will jump out of bed to find the elf. The most important rule, kids can not touch the elf or he will lose his magic. Simple idea, and it WORKS! 


Some of my friends call me "crafty". I'm not crafty. I'm a little OCD with ideas and a perfectionist in pulling them off. Big difference! I pull out the elf with his creepy little smile and give him a good once over. I pull out the book that comes with him and read the story. Super cute book! I learn my child will have to name him, God help the poor elf, and then I just stick him on the Christmas tree. I stand back, shrug my shoulders and walk away. Alex comes trotting in from pre-school that day and the VERY first thing he sees is the elf in the tree. "MOOOMMMMMY! There's a ELF IN THE TREE"! Me being totally unprepared... "Uhhh...what? Huh? A... ohhh look, an elf". Alex looks at me, I look at him, he's smiling all teethy and dimply, like I'm suppose to say something... "Ohhh Alex, a book came for you in the mail today. It said you were suppose to read it". And this conversation follows:

Alex: I'll read it later. I want to watch Spiderman.
Me: No, I think you're suppose to read it now.
Alex: I said I will later.
Me: How about now?
Alex: Will you turn on Spiderman?
Me: Well the note on the book said you needed to read it as soon as you got home.
Alex: What note?
Me: The note on the book.
Alex: I don't see a note.
Me: Well I threw it away after I read it.
Alex: Who was the note from?
Me: Santa! (light bulb moment)
Alex: Oh. Ok, lets read it.
*We read the book together*
Me: That's pretty cool, huh? So the first thing you have to do is name your Elf!
Alex: How about pootytootyfubiedoo
Me: I think that's a little long
Alex: How about Spideygarfieldpooty
Me: How about a normal name?
Alex: Poopy Pants?
Me: That's not normal. You don't want your elf to get made fun of when he goes back to see Santa do you?
Alex: No. How about.... Wyatt?
Me: Dood, you can't name your elf after your friend.
Alex: How about Mrs. Jones?
Me: That's your teacher.
Alex: Ha ha ha ha! How about Jingle Bells?
Me: Jingle Bells? Yeah thats a good name.
Alex: No wait, Mr. Jingle Bells!
Me: Ok.. what if we shorten it to Mr. Jingles?
Alex: Yeah! Mr. Jingles. *Alex sings a incomprehensible song about Mr. Jingles and does a "dance"*
Alex: Can I go watch Spiderman now?
Me: Please do.

Thanks to Google and  Pinterest, I am now armed with an arsenal of ideas for Mr. Jingles and his adventures! Some have already been tedious and made me open a bottle of wine. But they are SO worth is to see the smile on my little boys face! I initially was just sharing these photos on Facebook with my friends, when one suggested I do a public blog. I was hesitant at first because it was just something else I would have to keep up with. But then I felt bad for the parents out there who have zero creativity, and maybe just maybe this would inspire some parents to go the extra mile to make Christmas even more special.


Most of these ideas are not original. I saw pictures of other creative parents ideas and then made it my own. Also almost all of the pictures are taken with my cell phone, so sorry for the crappy quality. I guess I could actually break out my nice camera since I decided to do this blog. You will notice that there will be several nights where I do not post pictures. I am a divorced mom, and share custody with the ex, therefore Alex isn't here every single night. I have, however, thought about doing adult Mr. Jingles pictures on the nights that Alex isn't here, purely for mine and other sick and twisted friends amusement. So if you see Mr. Jingles XXX pop up anywhere...yeah.. here's your warning: Adults with a sense of humor ONLY!


Finally one last thing... I am aware there are numerous people who do not agree with the whole Elf on a Shelf thing. That is fine, to each their own! But please don't bash this blog. I don't care if you think he's a snitch or a jailhouse informant. If you don't like the premise behind the Elf on a Shelf, then get off this blog. 


Enjoy Mr. Jingles adventures!