Five Fun Ideas for Birthdays

Today is a special day for me... 

It's the 20th Anniversary of my 21st Birthday!  

At the original celebration two decades ago, 
I spent my day surrounded by college friends 
and went out to a bar around 9 pm to start a long night of drinking .  

On this 20th Anniversary, 
I'll be spending my day surrounded by my three kids
and will go out for an early dinner at a kid-friendly restaurant 
so we can be home and in bed by 9pm! 
   
 Despite the fun (although somewhat hazy) memories of the original night, I know I'll like today's celebration just as much. Plus, I know I'll be feeling MUCH better tomorrow morning than I did the first time!

To celebrate this special day, 

here are Five Fun Ideas for Birthdays 

that I've shared here 

at Come Together Kids...

Here they are...

1.  Birthday Countdown Stand

  

How many more days until the big day?

This cute little countdown stand 

makes it much easy to know the answer!

 

2.  Birthday Pancakes

Start off the birthday person's day

with some yummy pancakes in the shape of the age they're turning!

Add some whipped cream and sprinkles for an extra special treat.

 3.  Birthday Balloon Pop

Blow up a balloon for each year of the birthday child's age,

putting a dollar bill in each one.

Let the lucky kid pop the balloon and watch the money fall out!

4.  DIY Cupcake Stand

Cupcakes can be a good alternative to a traditional birthday cake.

They're easy to make and easy to serve.

This DIY stand make them easy to display as well!

5.  Fun Way to Give Cash

Getting cash on your birthday is always good,

but this cute little trick makes it fun too!

Oh, and for more ideas for parties and celebrations, 

check out our Party Themed Collection!

There are more than 50 ideas linked up 

and it's open for you to add your own  Party Ideas!

Sharing our birthday ideas:
 

First Communion Party Ideas

This past weekend, my son made his First Holy Communion.  In keeping with some of the traditions I started last year with my oldest daughter, I made a few little things to help him (and our guests) celebrate and remember this special day.

Here's my handsome little guy all dressed up.

For the party afterwards, I made several dozen cupcakes and served them on a three-tiered cupcake stand I made myself. 

Here's another post showing how I made a similar stand last fall.  This one was the same except I made it with three tiers since I was expecting more guests.  I saved a lot of money by not buying a cake from the bakery (total cost was about $15 for about 50 cupcakes, frosting, cross picks and stand) and it was easy for the guests to serve themselves.  Plus, my nine year old daughter got the chance to frost the cupcakes herself ~ she was thrilled to have such an important role for the party and they turned out quite well.

I wanted my son to have a special keepsake from his important day, so I made this table runner that all the guests could sign. 

I made a similar version in pink and gold (full tutorial HERE) for my daughter last year and I love the way they both turned out.  It was fairly simple to make and looked nice on display during the party.  Once everyone wrote their messages, it became a great keepsake that will last forever (yet it's not bulky and can be folded up and stored away).

Finally,  I used cardstock to make these cute favor boxes that could be placed together to form a cake.

 Once again, it's very similar to the one I made last Spring for my daughter, but using blue instead of pink (post HERE).  I simply used the template I found HERE to make the boxes, added some patterned paper and little decorations, and filled with little treats and candies.

 My son really enjoyed his First Communion day and I loved being able to make a few little things to make his day even more special and memorable (plus I saved a few bucks too!)

Not sure where he came up with this pose, but he kept doing it all day long!

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!!

.  

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!

. 

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.

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.

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.

Elf on the Shelf Ideas and Party

I am seeing so many amazing ideas 

for the Elf on the Shelf

I would love to collect them here in one place!

 So, I'm going to share our own Elf's antics, 

share the great ideas I find on Pinterest,

and I'm asking you to share your own ideas 

in this Elf on Shelf link party!

Our own elf here at Come Together Kids

• Meet our Elf, Haddihat Foofer

• Join our Elf for Breakfast

• See what our Elf did for Week 1

• See how the fun continued for Week 2

Elf Ideas I've found on Pinterest

• Ideas from parenting.com
• great pictures at this photography blog, Rae of Light
• a calendar of elf ideas at The Party Dress
• 100 Ideas for Elf Mischief at Design Dazzle
• 101 Elf Ideas at Blossom Bunkhouse

Now share your elf ideas in our Link Party
(Don't have a blog?  Just share your ideas in the comments below
or post on our Facebook page)

A few guidelines for this link party:

1.  Please link to your specific blog post relating to the ELF on the SHELF ~ it can be the classic elf, a stuffed one, or your own version, as long as he or she spreads Christmas magic this time of year.

(You can link up as many posts as you'd like, as long as they relate to the theme!)  

2.  Stop by a few other links while you're here.  I'm not going to say it has to be the one right before you or after you, but take a couple minutes to be inspired by the creativity of others.  (and take few more seconds to leave a comment, it can really make a blogger's day!)

3.  Finally, the more people who link up to this party, the better it will be.  Please help me spread the word by linking back either with a text link or by grabbing a button. (coming soon)

Five Fun Ideas for Christmas Magic

As a parent, one of the best parts 

of the Holiday season 

is seeing the magic of Christmas 

through my children's eyes.  

Here are Five Fun Ideas 

to help spread that Christmas magic.

1.  Magic Santa Key

   { East Coast Mommy }

Don't have a chimney or fireplace for Santa to use?

No need to worry, just hang this special key 

on your front door and Santa 

will have no problems getting in to deliver his presents.

2. Personalized Video Message from Santa

{ Portable North Pole }

I've done this for my kids for the last few years 

and they absolutely LOVE it.

Remind Santa of a few facts about your child

and they'll be incorporated in a video message 

from Santa himself that is emailed to you for FREE.

 

3. Catch Santa on Video 

{ TheSantaVideo }

Here's another way the wonders of technology 

help keep the Christmas magic alive.

With a quick photo upload and a few clicks,

Santa's elves will take a video of Santa delivering presents

in your VERY OWN HOUSE!!!

(I'm definitely doing this once our living room is decorated)

* NOTE: This video is not free, but there's a link on their homepage

where you can get $4 off, making it only $10

4. The Elf on the Shelf

{ here at Come Together Kids }

I shared a post last month about the fun 

we have with our Elf on the Shelf.

We're excited for him to make his appearance 

again here after Thanksgiving.

5. Rudolph's water and the Reindeer's carrots

Here's a little bit of Christmas magic 

that happens at our house every year.

Not only do we leave out cookies and milk 

for Santa in our living room,

but we leave some carrots and a bowl of water 

on our back deck for the reindeer.

All the Christmas Eve deliveries 

must make them hungry and thirsty,

because on Christmas morning 

we see that the carrots have been nibbled on

and Rudolph's red nose has tinted the water red.

(must be that food coloring Santa puts on Rudolph's nose 
to make it extra red and shiny for his special night;) )


Sharing Christmas Magic at:

Making the World Cuter
C.R.A.F.T. 
Craft-O-Maniac 
Homemaker on a Dime
Under the Table and Dreaming 
Brassy Apple 
The Girl Creative 
Sumo's Sweet Stuff 
Sugar Bee Crafts 
Today's Creative Blog 
Blue Cricket Design 
Milk and Cuddles
I heart Naptime 
Skip to My Lou 
Sugar and Dots 
Someday Crafts 
Somewhat Simple 
Gluesticks 
Tatertots and Jello

The Elf on the Shelf

Okay, I  know it's not even Halloween yet, and I'm not usually one to rush the season, but we've really enjoyed this little guy for the past few Christmases.  In fact, just last week in a school essay about family traditions, my oldest included our Elf on The Shelf as one of her favorite things we do each year as a family.  Because the elf makes his (or her) appearance right after Thanksgiving, I wanted to share this fun little tradition with you now.  (You should be proud of me since I usually wait until the last minute or even after the holiday to write a post!)  Besides, as of Tuesday, there are only two months until Christmas!!

Anyway, here's our elf!  

The Elf on the Shelf 

 

( We have the boy elf, but I just found out 
they have a cute girl elf version too)

The elf comes with a cute book explaining the tradition ~ Each year the elf comes to your house for the holiday season.  He watches over the children each day, then flies back to the North Pole each night to report his observations to Santa.  (Let me tell you, just knowing that the elf will be telling Santa if they've been good or bad each days results in a noticeable improvement in behavior!)  The book also has a spot for you to name your elf ( ours is Haddihat Foofer ~ don't ask how the kids came up with that one!!) and write down your family's name and when you started the tradition.

Here are my kids reading the book when our elf made his appearance after Thanksgiving last year.

 

The fun part of this tradition is that early each morning when the elf returns from the North Pole, he finds a different spot to spend the next day.  One day he may be sitting on the mantle, the next day inside the china cabinet and the following day on the ceiling fan!  The kids LOVE waking up each morning and rushing to find where he decided to stay.  (as long as Mommy remembered to move him!). 

Here was our elf watching from the curtain rod!

Now, for the past three years, our elf has simply watched over the kids and moved to a different spot each morning.  However, thanks to the wonders of Pinterest, I've discovered that many people have a whole lot of fun with it and have their elves do all sorts of fun pranks and tricks. 

Here are some fun ideas I've found that you can do with your elf...

• from parenting.com 
• and this photography blog.  has some cute ideas
• a cool calendar of elf ideas at The Party Dress
• a whole collection of ideas at Design Dazzle
• Blossom Bunkhouse has another great collection of ideas
• and this elf brings magic candy cane seeds at Little Wonders Day 

I think my kids would get be thrilled if Haddihat Foofer has a little more fun with them this year.

Sharing our elf at:

Flamingo Toes 
I heart Nap Time 
C.R.A.F.T. 
Craft-O-Maniac 
Homemaker on a Dime 
Lines across my Face 
The Girl Creative 
Skip to My Lou 
Today's Creative Blog 
Sugar Bee Crafts 
Sugar and Dots 
Gluesticks 
Somewhat Simple 
It's Playtime 
Happy Hour Projects 
The Frugal Girls 
Tatertots and jello 
Ladybird Ln.
The Sunday Showcase