How does that phrase go? A day late and a dollar short? Well, I feel like I'm constantly 10 days late and two hundred dollars short. Nothing in my world is accomplished when it should be, and it is most certainly not accomplished to the best of my ability. This is so counter to my personality and it is eating me alive. I'm stuck in a chronic state of being behind. One day I hope to crawl out of it.
Now that we are well into the new year, let's revisit Jolly the Elf. Shawn and I enjoyed all of Jolly's antics this year, but the kids? I think apathetic is pretty apropos. I have absolutely no idea where I went wrong. All this effort and they couldn't have cared less. Perhaps next year he'll just plop himself where ever and they'll be beside themselves. Worth a shot, right?
One more thought before we get onto Jolly's adventures. Obviously I love the idea of being creative with your Elf on the Shelf. We don't do the behavior component since we don't do that part of Santa. But most others who Elf on the Shelf do. I must say that I don't understand how an Elf, who is supposedly watching and reporting on your behavior, can simultaneously engage in disobedient and defiant acts. I feel there is a line between being fun, perhaps even mischievous, and being outright defiant. Perhaps I've spent a little bit too much time thinking on all this? Taking it a little bit too serious? Probably so. : )
Day 17: Jolly felt homesick and put in Rudolph to watch
Day 18: Jolly helped the kids have red noses like Rudolph
I was SOOOO excited for this one. And it ended up being the biggest disappointment. Before I headed to bed, I put the paint on the sponge brush and headed to their rooms. I did Little Buddy first. It worked perfectly. Did Little Lady next. Flawless. (I used regular acrylic paint. I learned around Halloween that a lot of face painters just use regular acrylic paint. Dries super fast and washes right off with no staining. Just ask Shawn about that time in college when he and three other buddies painted their entire upper bodies, entire, with red tempera paint to demonstrate their loyalty to NC State for the Carolina basketball game.) Couldn't wait for them to wake up that morning. The lady was first... and the paint was gone. Apparently it comes off if you rub your face. And apparently my children rub their noses a lot. Grumble. The smallest speck of red was left on Little Buddies nose, but not even enough to try to capture with a photo. This was a huge letdown for me!!! And I honestly don't know what I could have done differently to make it work better. Bummer.
Day 19: Jolly uses the Helicopter
Jolly pulled all of these out of rotation toys out of the attic! I used some leftover ribbon to create a makeshift harness for the helicopter hook.
Day 20: Jolly takes a Marshmallow bath
We must have a huge sink, because this took a TON of marshmallows!!!
Day 21: Jolly helps the kids start getting dressed for the day
Jolly moved the stocking holders to the tv for this day and hung up their underwear! A few years ago the daughter of a friend pulled a stocking holder off the mantle and it hit her in the head. She had to have stitches. Ever since, I've never used the stocking holders. This year, they got a HUGE lecture and were told never, ever, to touch the holders. They got a nice big reminder this day. I was nervous all day!
Day 22 : Jolly plays with a leftover Lego house
This was "Kitty city". No humans are allowed in Kitty City. And apparently the kitties are the Elf's pets.
Day 23: Jolly needed some help flushing the toilet
You knew Elf pee was green, didn't you?
Day 24: Jolly trapped the Meat Eating Predators
This one was Shawn's idea. Little Buddy is fascinated with trapping creatures. This was perfect for him. We used a clothes pin at the end of the makeshift fishing pole, and attached one of Gizmo's (the dog) Greenie treats to it.
Day 25: Jolly bids farewell
At our house, Jolly hangs out in the tree to watch the festivities on Christmas morning and then disappears sometime while everyone is contentedly playing with their new things. Back to the North Pole he goes, until next year.
I truly did have so very much fun creating and shooting all of these this year. I'm planning to do a Blurb or Shutterfly book of them to have for the future, to remember all of the fun Jolly got into, the year the kids didn't care. Let's just hope than in the future, Little Buddy doesn't realize that Jolly's handwriting is eerily similar to Shawn's and mine!
Lastly, about halfway through I used this method for 'hacking' my elf. Definitely recommend. I had already sewn velcro on his hands, so I had to remove that to insert the wire, then re-sew it. But it was awesome in positioning him for those later days.