Showing posts with label decorating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label decorating. Show all posts
Thursday, December 5, 2013

Why I don't have an Elf on the Shelf

I've seen the Elf on the Shelf dudes for a couple of years now and I always thought, "That's a cute idea. Some day. But not now."

Why not now?
"Elf Hanging An Ornament" by debspoons
Christmas Elf - Not an Elf on the Shelf

Well, for starters, I have two little boys. And I mean little. Silas is 3 1/2 and Sage is 18 months. While I think Si would think an Elf was cool, I'm not sure he would remain intact for very long. My kids are hard on toys - I can't imagine that an Elf would make it through a season here intact. I would find him in the back yard covered in dirt. Count on it.

Second, I just don't feel as if I have the time. I see pictures of what people do with their Elves, and while super cute, I just don't want to add that to my plate. It's 10:52 p.m. and I'm writing a blog post for tomorrow after cooking dinner, cleaning up after dinner, making bottles and sippy cups for tomorrow, and getting myself ready for bed. I'm exhausted just thinking about what I did this evening, and I can't imagine adding in "Find a place for Unnamed Elf to hang out tomorrow."

Third, I'm not sure my kids would care (yet). Silas may think it's cool to find Random (what I would name my Elf) in different spots, but I think Sage would try to eat him. Random may become Headless Random.

Fourth, I've seen your Inappropriate Elf photos and I can tell you that Random would definitely end up on that list with my husband around. Mike's not a decoration person for holidays. He would take the opportunity to make Random drink from the toilet and build a homemade bong for Random. I know this for a fact. No question.

Finally, I think I'm just not that creative when it comes to things like this. I bet Random would start off with good hiding spots, but eventually he'd get put on the back of the stove, or in the junk pile on the counter, and he'd live there until I finally put him away in late January (or whenever I found him).

The Elf is just not for us.

Do you have an Elf on the Shelf? How do you keep up with the tradition and keep it fun for your kids and family? Comment below so you can give my uncreative self some future ideas.

Photo "Elf Hanging An Ornament" by debspoons courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

A Giveaway to Make Christmas Brighter

Growing up my (Liz's) family always had artificial Christmas trees because most of our family members were allergic to real trees. Every year it was a tradition to dig the tree box out of the porch closet (at my Grandparents') or up from the basement (at my parents') and bust out the tree and the lights. I always remember my Grandfather, Bill, having the worst time with the lights. Every year it seemed he would take them all out and lay them out flat, plug them in, and inevitably at least one string wouldn't work. So he'd cuss at that string and we'd find more. Then there were the (boxes of) ornaments that seemed to go on and on.

"Christmas Background" by jannoon028 from freedigitalphotos.net

I always thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to avoid all this light business?" Little did I know that eventually stores would sell pre-lit artificial trees.

King of Christmas, a retailer of artificial Christmas trees and other holiday decor, is giving away a 7 foot pre-lit Cypress Spruce Christmas tree this year, along with some other great prizes (including Apple gift cards). If you're an artificial tree family, this is a great giveaway for you. If you don't have one, wouldn't it be great to be able to take out the tree whenever you wanted and set it up rather than having to go out and pick your tree, bring it home, set it up, water it, clean up after it...

Interested? Enter here. Good luck and we hope your family enjoys their family tree time this year!

Photo "Christmas Background" by jannoon028 from Freedigitalphotos.net