Elf on the CHRISTmas Shelf - Plan 2: Days 14-17

Hello!  We are about half-way through Turkey's adventures!  This was a long season this year and my boys are loving every minute of it! They love their elf so much!

DAY 14 - PAPER CHAIN - PATIENCE

It's about this time every December that my boys start wondering how close we are to Christmas Day.  So this year, Turkey decided that they needed a visual reminder so they don't keep asking mom and dad.

 Turkey also decided it was a good way to teach the boys about Patience!  Remember it was one of the Fruits of the Spirit?  It is also a GREAT reminder to little kids that they can't always have what they want right away!  Good news is that we were going to the Nutcracker that night, so they at least didn't need to wait for that bit of Holiday fun! If you don't have tickets to see anything special or don't go to the Nutcracker, use it as an opportunity to do something fun as a family!

DAY 15 - DONATE OLD TOYS - GIVING

We usually end up with toy overload this time of year.  Not only do we have Christmas, but both our boys have winter birthdays!  One right before Christmas and the other right after it! So needless to say, it's the boys' favorite time of the year. They are literally swimming in their toys and many that we currently have are not played with anymore.  In steps Turkey to save the day for mom!

Turkey asked the boys to take some of their gently used toys and put them in the bucket so that we could give them away to the Salvation Army. This worked out great because not only did we get to purge a little bit, but we also switched their brain from thinking about getting, to giving instead.  Way to go Turkey! By the end of the day, our youngest was trying to get rid of his favorite toys because he thought other children would enjoy playing with them.  He has such a sweet heart, it almost brings me to tears!

DAY 16 - PLAYING GOLF - CHILDREN COME TO JESUS

My husband's favorite sport is golf, so of course I needed to somehow allow Turkey to play a hole or two. 

Who better to caddy for Turkey than Buddy the Elf?! I purchased a doll stand from Amazon this year to help with certain poses like this one!  It was a blessing to have it and didn't cost very much at all! The greens are a piece of green felt. The ball is just a crumpled piece of paper and the flag pole is a straw that I wrapped a red string around.  Again, glue dots are my friend and allowed the flag pole to stand up! I wonder if Turkey made the put?

Turkey's letter today reminds the boys about the story when the little children tried to see Jesus, but the disciples wouldn't allow them to get close.  When Jesus saw what was happening, he insisted that the little children be brought to him.  I hope that this story teaches the boys that Jesus thinks they are important too and that He loves them just as much as He loves the adults.

DAY 17 - TURKEY IS PUMPING IRON - NO COMPLAINING

Wow!  Today's topic is a tough one! First off, it is much harder than it looks to get your elf to lift weights!!

  Apparently my toothpick wasn't long enough for my marshmallow weights! It took me a long time to get the toothpick to balance just right, but it was a hit!

Turkey's letter today touches on how we should NOT COMPLAIN about anything.  That is a tough one! Especially this season since it seams like everyone keep giving my kids candy or some kind of cookie or baked good and they turn out to be little complaining and disobeying monsters! It's hard, but I just have to stick with it.  Plus, with Turkey's help, they *hopefully* will think twice before they start to complain again!

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Check out my other Elf on the CHRISTmas Shelf posts to see everything that Turkey did and taught us this year!

Days 0-3
Days 4-6
Days 7-9
Days 10-13
Days 18-21
Days 22-25
Days 26-29
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To download my entire Plan 2 Elf on the CHRISTmas Shelf document click here.  There are 30 different ideas here and it is complete with all the needed supplies and pictures (minus letters)!
I am happy to personalize my letters for you and your child(ren) if you like. See my Etsy listing for 25 days of Kindness Letters that correspond with this plan.  You may always add more if needed for an additional cost.

Elf on the CHRISTmas Shelf - Plan 2: Days 10-13

Welcome back!  I hope you are getting some great ideas about how to use your Elf to teach Biblical Values to your kid(s).  I know that I really enjoy these small devotionals that we get to have through Turkey.  It's wonderful to see my children grow in their relationship with Christ during this season!

DAY 10 - STORM TROOPER ELF - GOOD CHOICES

Today Turkey dressed up like a storm trooper.  This was super easy to do!

 I printed off the storm trooper mask from another Pinterest Elf blog and then took toilet paper and wrapped up Turkey to make his "suit." I probably used some simple scotch tape to make sure his suit wouldn't fall off, but since he can't be moved anyway, I wasn't really worried about that.

Turkey's letter today talked about making good choices and how important it is that we think about how we act and behave.

DAY 11 - PIN THE NOSE - OBEY YOUR PARENTS

Today's verse is one of my favorites since I've become a parent. Ha! Turkey has recruited some of his friends to play a little game.  It looks like he's having a lot of fun with his new friends too!

Turkey's letter today talks about obeying your parents! He also explains why this verse is so important and how God gave us such an important job as parents. Hopefully this will help the boys to know that we give them instructions to help grow them, not to be mean. One can hope!

 DAY 12 - TURKEY FOUND THE COPY MACHINE - PERSONAL GIFTS

Oh Turkey, you are such a funny elf! We had a lot of fun copying Turkey in different positions.  One of them, we made him Dab, another, he copied his booty and there were a couple more just to make the boys laugh. It worked.

Turkey's letter today talked about giving and sharing the gifts that God has uniquely given us.  Turkey encourages us to use our gifts to bless others and even allowed the boys to brainstorm on what their special gifts are.

 DAY 13 - TURKEY IN THE TUB - CLEAN HEARTS

There are tons of these pictures about Elfs in bathtubs with bubbles or marshmallows or something like that. My goal is to make Turkey's adventures as easy as possible, so this is what we did instead.

It was SOOOOO much easier to just wrap a couple of washcloths around him and set him up in the shower.  I like this way better.

Turkey's letter today talked about not only should we have a clean body, but also a clean heart.

It was a simple letter, but still had such an impact on the boys!

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Check out my other Elf on the CHRISTmas Shelf posts to see everything that Turkey did and taught us this year!

Days 0-3
Days 4-6
Days 7-9
Days 14-17
Days 18-21
Days 22-25
Days 26-29
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To download my entire Plan 2 Elf on the CHRISTmas Shelf document click here.  There are 30 different ideas here and it is complete with all the needed supplies and pictures (minus letters)!
I am happy to personalize my letters for you and your child(ren) if you like. See my Etsy listing for 25 days of Kindness Letters that correspond with this plan.  You may always add more if needed for an additional cost.

Elf on the CHRISTmas Shelf - Plan 2: Days 7-9

DAY 7 - SWEET TREAT/SLEDDING
Turkey got a little adventurous today and decided to use our stair railing as a sledding ramp.  It's a good thing he didn't fall off and break his head!  Glue Dots are the best!!

Turkey's letter today talked about how our words can either be sweet or not. He encouraged the boys to watch what they say today and to be aware that our words should be sweet just like the candy canes he left them!

DAY 8 - CANNED FOOD DONATION - TURKEY ON THE DRUMS
I originally meant to set up a mini drum set using canned goods and lids, but in my crazy Christmas Season life, I just didn't get around to it.  Good thing my kids have a set of drums from Rock Band that we could use!

I just used a rubber band and an old chopstick to make his drumsticks.  This was a hit with the boys for sure!

Turkey's letter expresses the importance of giving to those in need.  It also wishes our oldest a Happy Heart Day!  This was the 10th anniversary of G's Open Heart Surgery! That day literally saved his life and we are so grateful!  We celebrate this day every year to remind us how good God is and how He always watches over us.

Turkey asked us to donate some food to the food pantry or shelter, so we headed to our local grocery store and bought some canned goods to put in the donation bucket.  I do have to say, it is really nice to do all these actions with my boys in tow.  Hopefully this will instill in them a spirit of Service and a love for "even the least of these."

DAY 9 - SUPER ELF - READING GOD'S WORD

Today Turkey dressed up like Super Man and did his best to fly at the top of the doorway.  I just used a mask from an image scan and made him a cute little cape as well to wear. It was a hit!

Today, Turkey let us off the hook for any actual activities, but he did encourage us to read together and to him.  Plus it encouraged the boys not only to read their Bible, but then we got to talk about how selfless the little boy actually was by sacrificing his lunch to Jesus.

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Check out my other Elf on the CHRISTmas Shelf posts to see everything that Turkey did and taught us this year!

Days 0-3
Days 4-6
Days 10-13
Days 14-17
Days 18-21
Days 22-25
Days 26-29
------------------------------------------

To download my entire Plan 2 Elf on the CHRISTmas Shelf document click here.  There are 30 different ideas here and it is complete with all the needed supplies and pictures (minus letters)!
I am happy to personalize my letters for you and your child(ren) if you like. See my Etsy listing for 25 days of Kindness Letters that correspond with this plan.  You may always add more if needed for an additional cost.