20 Easy Elf on the Shelf Ideas

So you've decided to do Elf on the Shelf and you need ideas to keep the fun going all month long, because we all know December can sometimes feel like it drags on forever when you have an Elf visitor in the house! Don't worry we've all had that panic moment of what will the Elf do tonight?!, usually mid way through December when you've just climbed into bed. I've got you covered though with 20 different easy Elf on the Shelf ideas and tips to make the Elf on the Shelf run smoothly {although if you're reading this post mid December in a state of panic you'll just want to skip ahead to the ideas list}.

The Best Black Friday 2020 Deals: Toys, Books and more

If you're looking for some awesome Black Friday deals for 2020 then you've come to the right post! I love nothing more than looking up bargains and shopping online, so naturally I've been scouring the internet for the best deals in the lead up to Black Friday. I've found quite a few stores that are already having early sales and have linked them below. If you have more Christmas shopping to do, or just love a great bargain, check them out.

Black Friday has traditionally been the biggest shopping event of the year in America, occurring after Thanksgiving Day. Since as far back as the 60's Black Friday sales have been considered the official start of the Christmas holiday shopping season, with many retailers offering huge discounts. Historically customers had to line up outside shops which drew massive crowds and huge foot traffic at shopping centers, with people often camping outside shops before opening times. 

More recently a lot of Black Friday sales are offered online as well as in store so there's no need to leave the house and fight any crowds. Black Friday sales have also gained popularity worldwide with many countries, including Australia, having widely anticipated Black Friday deals. I've put together a list of the best online Black Friday deals I've found for 2020.

The Best Christmas Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers in 2020

We love books for all occasions in our family, but we especially love Christmas books. We bring out all the Christmas books in our December 1st box and each year we add one or two new books to our collection. The kids love reading all the stories in the lead up to Christmas and it often leads to lots of bookish play. 

If you want to start a Christmas book tradition like a book advent calendar, December 1st or Christmas Eve box, or you just want to add to your collection, I've put together a list of our favourite Christmas books for kids.

21 DIY Advent Calendar Ideas for Kids

As a child the magic of Christmas isn't just about Christmas Day itself, there's also so much joy and excitement throughout December knowing Christmas Day is getting closer and closer. One of the easiest ways to build that excitement is with an advent calendar. You don't have to automatically go out and buy a chocolate filled one from the store though, there are plenty of ways to get creative and make your own unique DIY Advent Calendar that's special to your family.

I've searched the web and put together a list of 21 different DIY Advent Calendars the kids will love. There's so many different types of DIY advent calendars including tree shaped countdowns, Christmas villages, book advent calendars and printable Christmas countdowns. You don't have to be super crafty to make them either, as long as you can follow directions and know your way around scissors and glue you're set.

Top 10 Open Ended Toys Every Playroom Should Have

Wanting to add more open ended toys to your playroom, daycare or classroom, but don't know where to start? I get it, there's so many options it can be a bit overwhelming at first. To help you get started, I've put together a list of the top 10 open ended toys every playroom should have. They're also great for kindy and prep classrooms as well. No matter what age your kids are, these toys will grow with them and can be used in many different ways as they get older and develop more skills.

Elf on the Shelf Held Hostage by Dinosaurs

It's late at night you're about to drift off to sleep and you suddenly realise crap I didn't move the Elf! So, you run downstairs desperately searching through all the kids toys, trying to think of a quick elf on the shelf idea using things you have in front of you. This was the exact situation that inspired this elf held captive by toy dinosaurs idea. 

Yep we've all been there late at night, usually half way through December when elf motivation and imagination is lacking. Don't worry you don't need to have elaborate props or grand plans to pull off the magic of Elf on the Shelf. A quick rummage through the toy box late at night can often provide some last minute inspiration.

What is the Elf on the Shelf? The Ultimate 2020 Guide to Elf on the Shelf

A few years after my daughter was born this concept called the elf on the shelf seemed to start popping up. At the time I had no idea what it was until some friends started getting on board. In fact you could probably say I was team anti-elf for a while, until I realised just how magical it would be for my girls. Now we have our own special elf, Elfie, who visits us each December and many other families have their own elf too, I've even heard of some classrooms that have their own elf visitor at the end of the year.

The Elf on the Shelf is a popular Christmas tradition stemming from the children's book, The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition, by Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell. The Elf on the Shelf {a special scout elf} is sent by Santa to a child's home for the month of December. The elf watches over them and reports back to Santa at the North Pole each night, until they leave on Christmas Eve. 

Each morning the elf finds a new spot that they can watch from, making it exciting for children to wake up and look for the elf each day. During their stay the elves are also known to do funny tricks and sometimes get up to lots of mischief! You could say the Elf on the Shelf is the ultimate form of bookish play that's taken on a life of it's own, bringing magic to thousands of children and sparking creativity in adults across the globe.

DIY Elf on the Shelf Swing

Do you have a little Elf friend who comes and visits your house each year around Christmas time? My girls love it when our elf, Elfie, comes to visit each year. She doesn't get up to too much mischief, but she does like to be a little bit funny, and she's known to use objects from around the house in her antics. One her most memorable tricks was when she made her own Elf on the shelf swing from an empty toilet paper roll.

The girls loved waking up in the morning to find her swinging from the roof and then another morning she was swinging from our fan watching TV! They thought it was hilarious that she'd used a toilet paper roll to make her own swing. If you think your elf might have fun swinging from the roof as well, Elfie has let me in on her design plans so your elf can make one too.

15 Halloween Toilet Paper Roll Crafts for Kids

When the kids want to do craft at the drop of a hat and I need a simple and quick solution, I grab some empty toilet paper rolls from our stash. They're free, readily available {without leaving the house} and there's so many different crafts you can make with them. Literally hundreds, and for any theme. Today I'm going to show you how to make 15 Halloween kids crafts using toilet paper rolls {or cardboard tubes if you don't want to use toilet paper rolls}.

These Halloween toilet paper roll crafts are all really simple and can easily be done by preschoolers or school children as a classroom art project. Make these cute ghosts, monsters, black cats, bats and even a haunted house. Use them to decorate the classroom for Halloween or take them home to use in Halloween small world play.

The Perfect Teacher Gift: 7 picture books to say thank you to your teacher

In our house we love books and have been reading them to the girls since they were born. I'm a little scared to count how many we actually have in the house, but I'm sure each and every one has been a valuable addition to our home. We have a tradition of picking books for fathers day and mothers day and we use books to celebrate special holidays like Christmas and Easter. We also love to use books for bookish play activities. It should come as no surprise then that we also love to give books as gifts for special occasions and I can't think of a more perfect teacher gift idea than a special book. I've never met a teacher who doesn't love books.

Throughout the early years of schooling {prep, foundation, kindy, preschool etc} teachers impart a huge amount of knowledge, empowering our children with fundamental skills they'll take right through their schooling years and beyond, so it seems only fitting to thank them for their time and effort. These are our favourite picture books that are perfect for end of year or teacher appreciation day gifts to say thank you to kindy, primary and elementary school teachers.