Kindness Elf 2015

Evan the Elf made his appearance today! 

At our house, we don't do Santa. Very simply, I don't lie to my children. We can play games and we can pretend, but only when everyone knows we are pretending. I don't find this true for the way people do Santa, not to mention that I feel that he takes away from Jesus. So....the traditional Elf on the Shelf is out for us too. My daughter, "The Princess," asked if we could do some version of the elf though for fun. She knows that its not real, but asked if we could play a game. I did some research and found the kindness elves. Now Evan the Elf is a game we play to spread the love of Jesus throughout the month of December. Last year we only did this for a few days. This year I was a lot more organized. I printed out a blank calendar page and so that I could plan activities for kindness based on our schedule for the month. 

Today's note from Evan said: 

Hello again! I’m your Kindness Elf named Evan.  It’s my job to help you spread Jesus’s love and joy at Christmas. Make a list of all the things you can do to help your Mom this month.  

<3 Evan

Since I'm seven and a half months pregnant, I can use all the help I can get! The Princess found Evan this morning, made the list, and then made biscuits for breakfast! I want The Princess to think about how to serve others as Christ served. Today's activity was a little way to practice that. 

Get your own elf here:
<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=ss_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=erinseducatipage&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00NI04CWQ&asins=B00NI04CWQ&linkId=HNB6OMOJXQC3EYYT&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true">
</iframe>

Stay tuned for more fun....

Kindness Elves

Our kindness elf, Evan made his appearance this week. We don't do Santa at our house. I made this decision before my daughter was born because I didn't want her to be distracted from the true meaning of Christmas only. Many of her friends, our friends, still celebrate Santa and that's okay. Some of them have an Elf on the Shelf. The Princess asked if we could have one too. I struggled with this because elves are part of Santa's story. I looked for a way to do something fun with her without bringing Santa into our celebration. The kindness elf was the answer. 

DAY 1:

Evan's purpose is stated in this first letter (typed in tiny font): 

"Hello. I am a kindness elf, a special kind of elf.

It’s my job to spread Christmas love and joy. I need your help. Make a list of all the nicest words you know and post it on the refrigerator for everyone to see."

DAY 2:

"Let’s spread some kindness together.  Make a card for someone you love. Call someone and brighten up their day. Do a good job and we might do something fun tomorrow.

<3 Evan" 


DAY 3: 

"Help your mom with chores today and have a good attitude doing it. Think about the Fruits of the Spirit as you go about your day. Something fun will come later 

<3 Evan"

DAY 4:

"Let’s have a good time baking some brownies for Christmas Eve! Maybe we can even bake a cake for Jesus’s birthday! Be a good helper and get ready to celebrate Jesus!

<3 Evan"

Jesus's birthday cake is our Christmas tradition. We've been doing this since the Princess was little. To keep the focus on the true meaning of Christmas we bake a cake. On Christmas day we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus! 

DAY 5:

Evan wanted The Princess to help with Mom's workout playlist. The Princess loves YouTube so she was great at this job! 

DAY 6:

"Happy Christmas Eve!  Make something nice for Great Nana and get ready to celebrate Jesus!

<3, Evan"

(Snowman project for her great grandmother)

DAY 7:

"Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday to Jesus! Remember to think about the real reason for the season. Be thankful for everything that you are blessed with today.  See you next year!

<3, Evan"

Evan was purchased at Hobby Lobby, but here are some of the alternatives to the Elf on the Shelf I've found at Amazon: