25 Days of Christmas- North Pole Breakfast

Today we started our Christmas Countdown! We did this last year and it was a big hit. So many people emailed me, texted me, and messaged me on facebook last year and commented how much they loved it and encouraged me to keep up with it when I fell behind on my blog posts about it. So I have decided it is worth doing again this year. And this year, I have about a dozen friends who are going to start this tradition with their kids also and take their advent calendars to the next level. I am so glad I inspired so many to get on board and I can't wait to see the fun they have with it, and see their pics! So with that said, on to Day 1...



Today our Elf on the Shelf returned. This year thanks to a great idea I saw on Pinterest (here) we decided to do a North Pole Breakfast when our Elf came to visit us. This will be a new tradition for us every year. It was a great way to introduce them and the kids LOVED it.




We had our Elf and our book on the table.




In our house, our Elf is a new Elf every year and each year my kids revel in the fun of choosing a gender and name. They love that the 1st year our Elf was a boy named Owen and the 2nd year our Elf was a girl named Katie. This year...It's A Girl!!! ha ha. Ryen had the honor of naming her since Ella named our Elf the last two years. Her name is DAWN.



We had some Christmas dishes on the table holding our Holiday breakfast.



There was another awesome idea I found on Better Homes and Garden and decided to put my own take on it. Snowman donut milk! I got some powdered munchkins from Dunkin Donuts and poked them through a red straw. Then had them resting on top of the milk. I then decorated the milk with a scarf. The kids really liked them!




They each also got a small Christmas activity book as well as their customized cards from Santa telling them they are on the nice list and letting them know what they need to do to stay there (TinyPrints.com) .

Of course they were excited to get this card from Santa!




These cards are the most darling thing I have ever seen!




We had such a great morning with our elf and I can't wait to see the mischief Dawn gets into this year!




And actually Ella had a half day today and we were supposed to go to the zoo, but it was rainy and cold (which rarely happens here in AZ). So we went to play with friends and I had this idea of trying to use their handprints to form a Christmas tree. Then I had them use their finger tips to gently dab some different colored ornaments on the tree.



I think they came out pretty cute and the kids LOVED them! And did I mention my Bestie Trish whipped out her LAMINATOR for them. How cool is that? So today we actually had TWO Christmas activities thanks to the weather! Yay! :) See you tomorrow...