The Elf Antic Planner
Preparations for a special little elf’s arrival are well under way in our house. The key to maintaining the Elf’s presence for such a long period of time is to be prepared!
To start our adventure, I created an Elf Antic Planner.
This planner has three columns.
The Idea or Antic
The first column is a space in which to write your idea or antic. There is room to add two lines of text so underneath I make note of anything specific to that activity. For e.g Under Train Trouble I jotted in that this needs to be on the day we have booked to go to SantaLand. An Antic can be as simple as a funny place the elf is hiding or as complicated as a whole days worth of activities planned!
The Date
This is completely optional. We do the “Elf On The Shelf” a little differently in our house. Each day his antic gives us a clue to that days’s events. For example if he has made a mess in the kitchen and is hiding in the flour tin, that day we are doing some baking! For this reason some antics are flexible with their dates and others we need to do on certain days as I have pre-booked activities. If you are looking for some great Christmas Activities, check out the following places
- Your Local Council
- The Local Library
- Shopping Centres
- Museum/Art Galleries
- Newspapers
- School Newsletter
- Hardware Stores (Bunnings/Masters/Mitre 10)
- Fabric/Craft Stores (Spotlight/Lincraft)
- Department Stores (Big W/Target/Kmart/Myer/David Jones)
This is where I tell you…..THESE ACTIVITIES ARE FREE!!!! I do not go to any activities that I have to pay for! Christmas for us is about the experience and enjoying our holidays together not paying for extravagant outings! NOTE: BOOK NOW. The best activities require bookings as the numbers in each group are limited. Although the age range of some activities excludes smaller children, if you ask they often let them participate as long as the parent stays to assist.
Props
All the ideas planned on paper is great but you will need some props to really bring out the Elf fun! This could simply be a bag of marshmallows for the elf to bathe in or things you already have at home! Use what you have first!!! Check the pantry and playroom! You will be amazed at the ideas it gives you! I do BUY a few “Christmas” themed props BUT…..My budget for each prop is $2. Yep $2. The only thing I spent more than $2 on was some advent calendars, they were $3!!!! Check out the discount stores, grocery stores and department stores for some great Christmas themed items. If all else fails buy a big packet of Christmas stickers! A christmas sticker can make anything seem Christmassy! Some great props to have on hand are;
- Marshmallows
- Cookie Cutters
- Stamps
- Pencils/Paper
- Printer Ink!!!!
- A box to keep everything in!
THE PLANNER
I personally like to print it out and write directly on it as I am constantly chopping and changing my ideas! I keep it hidden in my planner! I like to take it out and about with me as it stops from me overspending. I am a Christmas addict and I could seriously buy everything that has a reindeer on it. But if it’s not on my list, I don’t buy it. Unless of course I know that the kids will love it, and I will use it for years to come (like a cute mailbox I found!) so I chop and change ideas on my planner.
Here it is, it’s nothing fancy but it works and it’s free!
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