Capture a Video of Santa Claus at your House!

I originally posted about the TheSantaVideo.com in my Five Fun Ideas for Holiday Magic  post. Now, I just wanted to share it again since Santa will be arriving in a few days and you might want to make sure the elves have everything they need to record Santa's visit.  ;)

Because it only takes a few minutes to do and I'll get my video emailed to me instantly, I'm going to wait until our living room is all set up on Christmas Eve. Then, while I sleep, the elves will video Santa visiting our house. On Christmas Day, our Elf on the Shelf will leave a message showing the kids the video evidence of Santa in our living room. (It will be the last thing our Elf does before his magic ends for the year).

UPDATE: I did this last night (we get our gifts from Santa a day early so we can travel) and it was a huge hit.  Super easy to do and the kids LOVED it.   

I think this link should take you to our video. (Ignore the clutter in my living room, Santa never seems to send his cleaning elves to help me out!)

I can't wait to see the kids' reactions when they see Santa walking through our house!!

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Oh, and on the homepage for TheSantaVideo.com there's a link for you to go to their Facebook page and save $4!

Elf on the Shelf Ideas ~ Week 2

The fun with our Elf is continuing...  (see his antics earlier this month)

Day 11 ~ He put up our Christmas wreath on the door

and then kept watch over the front yard.

Day 12 ~ He made a batch of 
yummy Christmas tree cookies for 

the kids to take to school.

Day 13 ~ Going for a joy ride in the playroom!

Day 14 ~ The kids were surprised to find him in the fridge next to Mommy's coffee cream!

Day 15 ~ The Elf left us the ingredients and directions to make some yummy Christmas Tree desserts.

Busy decorating...

... and then busy enjoying their desserts!

My kids believe in the "no such thing as too many sprinkles" life theory!

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Day 16 ~ The kids thought this was hysterical!

(Mommy thinks it's good there's only 9 days until Christmas

if the elf has resorted to cross-dressing ;)  )

Hope your elves are having fun too!

Make sure to check out 

our Elf Ideas party for even more inspiration.

Sharing the fun at:

Tatertots and jello 
 I heart Nap Time
 Craft-O-Maniac
Brassy Apple 
Skip to My Lou 
Sugar Bee Crafts 
Today's Creative Blog 

Shadowbox Banks (to save for something special)

My kids don't usually write up long or detailed wish lists for Santa.  However, this year all three of them requested an iPod Touch for Christmas (after seeing several friends and cousins with them recently).  Like most of us, though, Santa is on a budget this year.  Even one iPod would be stretching it, so three iPods would be out of the question.

Luckily, Santa's elves had a very clever solution that I think will be the next best thing to an actual iPod under the tree.  The elves shared with me what they did in their workshop and I really like the way they turned out.

Look at this smart solution...

Here's what the elves did:

 (Excuse the fact that the pictures switch between the three different banks, those silly elves kept getting sidetracked during the photo-taking process)

1.  Pick up a shadowbox frame (they used a 5x7" one) and make up a picture of the special something to save for (the elves got an iPod image from the Apple website and used Picnik to design the 5x7" picture)

By the way, did you know that Santa's elves
often pick up the supplies they need

at regular stores when they're closed for the night
and all the people and employees have left?

That's how the elves picked up these frames on sale at JoAnn's!

2.  Cut out your picture to fit your shadowbox and cut a small opening for the money.

3.  Line up your picture with the backing for the shadowbox (these were made out of foam board) and then cut a money slot in that as well.

4.  The elves thought these banks might be able to used to save for other special items in the future, so they just put a little bit of glue around the money slot to adhere the picture to the backing.  This way, once they've saved for their iPods, the kids can simply replace the picture and start saving for something else.

5.  That's it!  Put it all together and your shadowbox bank is ready to go!

Just put your money in from the back...

... and with each deposit, you're one step closer to buying that something special!

 

Santa's elves told me that each frame was only $4 on sale and Santa said he would probably put $10 in change and bills in each bank to start the kids on their way.  Santa's accountants were very happy that he was spending $42 instead of $600+ and I think the kids will learn a valuable lesson about saving for the things they want most! 

Sharing Santa's cleverness at:

Gluesticks 

The Frugal Girls

Ladybird Ln 

Tatertots and Jello 

I heart Nap Time 

Flamingo Toes 

Craft-O-Maniac 

Brassy Apple 

Skip to My Lou 

Sugar Bee Crafts 

Today's Creative Blog 

Somewhat Simple

 

Unexpected Delay

I was all set to make some special gifts for my kids and just needed to print a few things that I needed.  Unfortunately, as soon as I went to print out the first sheet, I noticed that the printer was jammed and no paper would feed through.  After nearly an hour and a half of picking through the inner workings of my printer with a pair of tweezers, a long pin and a popsicle stick , this is what I uncovered stuck inside...

Yes, that's nearly 75 crumpled, printer ink-stained paper punched stars that somehow made their way into every nook and cranny of the inside of the printer.  While I certainly admire the creativity of my kids and love the projects they create with a variety of craft supplies, I was not pleased with where all these little paper stars had ended up!

Fortunately, it was not one of my own three kids, but the 4th child living in our house, "Not Me".

NOTE: When I just went searching for the "Not Me' character from the great Family Circus cartoons, I discovered that the creator Bil Keane just recently passed away in November.  :(

Elf on the Shelf Ideas ~ Week One

Last week, I shared our fun  

Elf on the Shelf Breakfast 

that our Elf planned for us to start 

the month of December.  

Here's what he's been up to since December 1st...

 Day 2 ~ Caught in the corner of the living room making Q-tip snowflakes.

 Day 3 ~ Found sitting on the shelf in my son's room.

 Day 4 ~ Sneaking chocolate chips in the pantry.

 Day 5 ~ Left us a message on our dry erase calendar

 Day 6 ~ He switched our shower curtain to our Winter Snowflake one,

then took a shower himself.

 Day 7 ~ Taking a little break for an Elf mani/pedi 

in the girls' room.

Day 8 ~ He left us a cute 

Candycane Garden Planting Kit.

The kids added the North Pole dirt, sprinkled on the fertilizer and planted the candy cane seeds.

Day 9 ~ Unfortunately, he could only leave us a note and no special candy canes grew :(

Day 10 ~ Luckily the next day was better 

and some M&M-filled candy canes 

grew in the Candycane Garden.

The fun continued the following week ~ check it out HERE!

Have your elves been having fun?

Make sure to visit our Elf on the Shelf Idea party for some North Pole inspiration.

Sharing our Elf's antics at:
 
I heart Naptime 
C.R.A.F.T. 
The Girl Creative 
Keeping it Simple 
Under the Table and Dreaming 
Brassy Apple 
Skip to My Lou 
Today's Creative Blog 
Gluesticks 
Tatertots and Jello 

10 Crafts and Activities for Boys

December always seems to be the month for "Best of" lists.  

So, with my almost 8-year old son's help, 

I've compiled this collection of 10 of the best "Boy-Approved" 

crafts and activities we've done here at Come Together Kids.  

So many times crafty projects seem to appeal to girls more than boys, especially once the boys get a little older.

The following list is in no particular order, 

but each item has been given 

my son's seal of approval!

1.  Magical Playdoh Mix

I think the "magical" aspect of this mix, 
with the color and scent being revealed 
as we add the boiling water 
is what makes it so appealing every time we make it.
 

2.  Marshmallow Shooter

My son LOVED how far this contraption 

launched the marshmallows.

3.  Hot Car Crayons

Making crayons in the oven is fun,

but doing it in a hot car added

a certain coolness factor.

4.  Make-Your-Own Lava Lamp

It's such a neat principle

and he loved watching the bubbles

each time we added a tablet.

5.  Bubble Snake Maker

Again, such a simple contraption 

but it produces such cool results.

6.  Really Big Bubble Maker

For boys, I think bigger is so often better.

These big bubbles were a big hit.

7.  Glow-in-the-Dark Drinks

Everyone thinks these drinks are awesome,
boys, girls, kids and adults! 

 

8.  Spongeballs

We've made these several times
for our own family and for playdates.
They've been a blast every time. 

 

9.  GAK!

What boy wouldn't love 

this slippery, slimy substance?

10.  Fingerprint Candles

I have to admit, I was a little surprised when my son

added these candles to his Top Ten list.

However, he said he really liked when the 

"drawing melted onto the candle" and

he likes seeing them at the grandparents' houses.

I hope you get some inspiration
for your own boys from my son's list here.
(and don't get me wrong, 
these ideas are perfect for girls too!)

Footprint Penguin Wall Hanging

 I originally shared this idea as part of the Christmas Wonderful series at Design Dazzle, and now I'm excited to share it here with you in time for the holidays.

How cute is this group of penguins in their little hats and scarves?  Doesn't the shape of their bodies look familiar?  That's right, they're footprints!  I made this adorable canvas wall hanging for the grandparents last year using the footprints of all the grandchildren.

The project was pretty inexpensive and not too difficult to make at all, but even more importantly, the grandparents loved it! 

Here's what you'll need:

• plain artist's canvas ( I had a lot of footprints, so I used a 12" x 24" one)
• two pieces of blue cotton fabric for the background (mine had small prints that somewhat resembled the snow and sky)
• black cotton fabric for the footprints (mine had a subtle dot pattern)
• scraps of fleece or felt for the penguin accessories
• Heat'n Bond Ultra Hold Iron-On Adhesive 
• acrylic paint for the eyes
• snowflake buttons (optional)
• iron and hot glue gun

Here's what to do:

1.  Iron the Heat'n Bond to the wrong side of the blue fabrics.  Overlap the two fabrics slightly to form the "ground" and the "sky".  (I cut a slightly wavy line where the two colors met.)  Cut your fabric a few inches larger than the size of your canvas.  Peel off the paper backing and iron your pieces directly to the front of the canvas.  Wrap the excess fabric around the sides to the back and hot glue in place.

2.  Next, iron the Heat'n Bond to the wrong side of the black fabric. Then trace the child's footprint onto the paper-y side.  Cut out the footprints.  (For an example of how this is done, see a similar post I did with Footprint Butterflies).  Peel off the paper backing again, position your footprints where you want them on the canvas and iron them in place.

3.  Now you'll want to add your penguins' clothing!  I simply cut out pieces of leftover fleece to make little hats and scarves and hot glued them in place.  Then I cut ovals out of white fleece and hot glued them on to form the penguins bellies.

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4.  Finally, use a bit of acrylic paint to paint on your penguins' eyes  (I initially planned on using googly eyes, but I liked the look of the painted eyes much better!) and add little triangle noses ( I just glue on a small triangle of orange paper)  I also added a few snowflake buttons in the "sky".

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5.  That's it!  Whether you're making just one penguin or a whole waddle (yes, I looked up the term for a group of penguins!), this is a really cute way to use footprints to create some winter art.

I hope you enjoyed our little project (the grandparents loved them last year).  

Sharing our "Happy Feet" at:

 
The Mommy Club 
Somewhat Simple 
Created by Cori 
Gluesticks 
Tatertots and jello 
Family Ever After 
Red Ted Art 
Six Sisters' Stuff 
Be Different, Act Normal
I heart Nap Time 
C.R.A.F.T. 
The Girl Creative 
Keeping it Simple 
Under the Table and Dreaming 
Brassy Apple 
Skip to My Lou 
Today's Creative Blog 
The Frugal Girls