Our Elf Arrival Breakfast
These crazy elves keep me busy every December, but I love it. If I didn’t love it, I certainly wouldn’t do it - ha! (Disclaimer: If doing holiday extras like elves and other traditions stress you out, it’s totally okay to skip it! They’re extras, not mandatory. No judgement here!) Two Christmases ago, B’s Barbie gifted a wheelchair to our original elf, Pepper, and Sugar Plum, the pink elf, joined us from the magical land of Etsy. And they became the dynamic duo of our Christmas season. B asks every November when the elves are arriving, and even talks about them throughout the year. This year, Jackson is really understanding more, which made this arrival even more fun!
After the excitement of seeing donuts and eggnog had subsided, Jackson wheeled over to the elves and said “That’s a wheelchair! That’s Jackson’s wheelchair.” It melted me into a puddle. Pepper is an ornery, risk-taking elf, and his wheelchair is always an integral part of his schemes. Even when he is doing something outside of his wheelchair (like taking a marshmallow bubble bath), his wheelchair sits nearby, ready for transfer. Sugar Plum also has her own little random items that add to her personality. I’ve found that vintage Barbie’s brightly colored winter accessories work nicely for her. I have a little stockpile of Pepper and Sugar Plum accessories, and am always on the lookout for things that work with Pepper’s disability (Barbie’s products with disability representation have been so helpful with this). For example: Pepper has a sit ski from the Paralympian Barbie, and with a little floral wire, he fits nicely. Usually I can make his antics look seamless with a little wire and well-placed decor. (And frankly a touch of prayer!)
We always do donuts for the elfs’ arrival breakfast - Sugar Plum has a sweet tooth and insists on it. But this year, we watched Elf the night before, and I had to make syrup spaghetti. Neither kid liked it - shocker! It’s a North Pole traditional food, and if you’re not accustomed to the four main elf food groups then it’s probably not something your palette can handle. Plates and napkins are from Love of Character. Elf pj’s are from Hanna Andersson.
I’ve never purchased a 25 days of elf activities box, but they’re heavily advertised on my phone lately. I think frankly, that would be more stressful trying to do a set-up every single day. Most of the time, I just move them around before bed. I am up fiddling around at late hours anyways. About once or twice a week, the elves will be in a silly set-up or bring something like a Christmas craft or small treat (like a bath bomb). These are almost always things I would’ve surprised them with anyways, especially during winter break when we are looking for fun activities. Our elves have brought gingerbread house kits, painting crafts from the Target Bullseye Playground, bath bombs, North Pole cereal, and random check-in letters from Santa and/or the North Pole elves. And sometimes they just take a sleep for a few days because they’re so tired. That’s absolutely reasonable too.
I made this little door a few years ago, and it sits up high on a little ornamental cover for something that may be doorbell related? (Who knows.) Elves fly back to the North Pole at night to report to Santa, but ours can take a shortcut. If anyone asks, yes this door is ADA compliant and there’s a magical ramp that only appears after the kids go to sleep. Santa’s magic explains everything!
