Quincy's Elfcapades So Far

Quincy arrived on December 1st just as planned.  He got his vacation all worked out with Santa and North Pole Industries so he is able to stay the until Christmas Eve.
He dropped in and brought some Santa Bubble Tape.

On 12/2, Quincy was found in the Christmas Tree.  It seems he was a little upset that I didn't get around to putting the decorations on the tree.  So - he went in Taft's room and got his undies.  He brought a nice book about Snowmen at Work.

On 12/3, we found Quincy in the playroom.  He used Taft's play kitchen to whip up some cookies while we were asleep. He brought Taft a nice SpongeBob Candy Cane.

I wonder what he will do next?

31 Days | Elves

Welcome to 31 Days of Christmas Traditions.  I hope that you will find other people that have some of the same traditions as your family and maybe find a new one or two to give a try.

Today we are going to talk about elves.  Those little mischievous helpers of Santa.  We all know that they make the gifts and toys and keep Santa on track.  But over the past 5 to 7 years, these little darlings have taken a vacation and have been spotted in families houses during the month of December.  

Quincy taking a bath in colored marshmallows.   And yes - there are Pringles in the bathroom. 

Our family has an Elf Magic Elf.  His name is Quincy.  You can read about his story here.  You can also see some of the things that Quincy has done at our house.  {Even though I have not done a great job of documenting everything on the blog.} Quincy gets a vacation from the North Pole and stays with us until he catches a ride back with Santa on Christmas Eve.  

I also know a lot of people that have Elf on the Shelf.  I think that the main difference is that our elf can be touched.  Most of the people I know with Elf on the Shelf refrain from touching him at all.   

Our elf comes each day during the month of December.  He brings a little gift each day and works as a type of fun advent for us.  And by little, I mean a lot of $1 gifts.  Bubbles, chapstick, Christmas CD's from Dollar General, and candy. He also shows up the craziest places and frequently makes a mess.  Taft looks forward to see him each day.  Quincy even goes on trips with us at times.  

Quincy at the Christmas Tree Farm.  

There are many ways to do this tradition.  Some people are amazingly creative.  Some are simple.  Either way, it is something that the children will remember and may try with their children.  

Here is a link to my Pinterest Board with some ideas that I love.  

Do you have an elf in your family?  Do you have a link to any ideas?  If you do, please leave a link in the comments.

This is part of a 31 day series.  Check out the other posts here.  And check out the other bloggers participating in this challenge here.  

31 Days Starts Tomorrow

31 Days starts tomorrow.  It is the brain child of The Nester.  Please go check out her page and see what it is all about.  Last year there were 1200 people that wrote about a topic of their choice for 31 days.  

I have chosen my topic as Christmas Traditions.  I will be blogging about different traditions that for the holiday season.  Some we do, some are things friends and family do, and others are some I might pick up this year.  So stop by and let us know about your traditions or 31 Days topic.

If you want to follow along, feel free to take a button.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.kyetrabelton.com" title="Sweet Tea & Lollipops" target="_blank"><img src="http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r144/kyetra/31button_zpsbba7727f.jpg" alt="Sweet Tea & Lollipops" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Coconut Butterballs

I made these for a little cookie exchange that I was invited too.  I had never made them before and I loved how they turned out.  They really were very easy and they taste better the day after.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup unsifted flour
3/4 cup flaked coconut

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla together.  Add flour all at once and blend.  Add coconut mixing well.  Shape into small balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Chill for 15 minutes in the fridge.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Roll in additional powdered sugar while warm.

**The cookie stays in a ball and doesn't spread so they can be placed very close on the cookie sheet.

What Quincy Has Been Up To

Here is a little look at what that crazy elf, Quincy, has been up to this year.
Day 4 -  Quincy showed up in Taft's room with a surf board.  He also had on a pair of shorts and a tropical shirt.  The note said that he had been in Hawaii and brought Taft back a little gift.  Hawaiian Tropic Lip Balm.

Day 5 -  Quincy was on Taft's desk in the playroom.  He had a new Elf themed coloring book and crayons.  He had already colored a picture of a reindeer.

Day 6 - He was hiding underneath the sink in Taft's bathroom.  He had a little "aftershave" for him.

 Day 7 - Quincy must have been tired.  He was resting in Taft's stocking with a snowman bubble gum gift.

Day 8 - We were getting ready to the movies to see Rise of the Guardians and Taft saw Quincy in my purse.  He had brought him his favorite movie candy, Skittles.  So we let Quincy see the movie too.

Day 9 - Quincy was taking a bubble bath in the sink in Taft's bathroom.  He had Elmo Color Tabs to use in the tub.  It looked like Quincy may have used some too since the marshmallows were different colors.

Elfcapades Day 10

Tonight, Quincy was playing school with Taft's Wonder Pet's and their school house.  He was using a new Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer notebook and pen.  Taft decided that they were really for him.

Santa's Christmas Tree Forest

On December 2nd, we went to the Christmas tree farm.  Last year we found out about

Santa's Christmas Tree Forest in Eustis, Florida, and gave it a try.  We loved it and knew we needed go back every year.  I think that it has started a great tradition for us.  

We don't us a live tree in our family room.  I fell in love with the ease of a tall, skinny, pre-lit tree.  I do love the smell of a real tree and the fun of going to get one.  One day we may go back to one but for now, just Taft has one.

When we arrived, the line for tickets was a little long.  Shane stayed in line while Taft and I got some cotton candy.  We then decided to go ahead and go to the petting zoo area since it doesn't need a ticket.   And who did we run into?  Santa. 

So we decided to have a photo taken and have a little chat before it got busy with other kids.

And here is Taft telling Santa about everything that he wants this year.

Once we got to the petting zoo, the first thing that Taft wanted to see was the bunny.  It was very sweet and soft.  He also got to pet and feed goats, a donkey, chickens, and ducks.  The pony wasn't really wanting to talk to anyone.

And one got a little too happy and knocked Taft over.

He also got to ride a horse and that was so much fun.  Taft said that it was "huge".

One of Taft's favorite things to do last year, and again this year, was the little Reindeer Train.  He rode it three times.

After all that fun, we all went out to find the perfect tree for Taft.  It really didn't take him very long.

And I was more than happy to cut it down for him.

Quincy went along for the day too.  He rode in the backpack and helped us collect pieces of all the types of trees at the farm.  Taft loved the way that they felt so we decided to let him take them into school for all the kids in his class to see.

We had a great time and got his perfect tree home.  Then all we had to do was get it up and decorated.

Dare I say that I am going to attempt this project again?  By attempt, I mean that I gave it a really good try two years ago and didn't make it.  This year I am sure that I will not only make it, but work on it throughout the month the way it was intended.  Mainly - I will be finishing it because my favorite scrapbook store, Scrappies in Palatka, Florida, is doing a class this week.  Time for all of us to met and work on the books together.  Get supplies and inspiration.  I can't wait!  I have been playing with it a little and I can't wait to see the new Christmas things that she has in.  So far - this is what I have finished.  A title page.  So far so good.

You can read more about it here.  

Santa Came!

Taft slept with me on Christmas Eve (he does all the time), he woke up and told me that he heard Santa the night before.  He said that he heard him say, "Ho, Ho, Ho!", and that he was outside when he said it.  I told him that I was sure it was while he was letting the reindeer have their snack.  He agreed and wanted to get up to see if Santa came and left him anything.
He walked into the family room and quickly saw that Santa did make a drop off here.  He was so excited.  It was the first year that he was old enough to know what was going on.

He got the desk and phone with an answering machine that he asked for.  He now has his office that he has wanted.  He also wanted paint and he got a lot of it and a few different kinds.  He also got clay, hand soap, bubble bath, body wash, chalk, a chalkboard/dry erase board, magnetic letters, wood building blocks, Lincoln Logs, a football, candy, and a doctors kit.

We moved the desk to his playroom and he spent hours painting us pictures.

Gran sent him a shaving kit.  He loves it.  He saved in his bath.  

Christmas Light Walk

For the past few years, we have walked with Taft around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.  The best part is the one family a few streets up that do a Griswold Christmas.  It is unbelievable. 
Shane had to work late tonight so Taft and I walked up there alone.  He was asking to go when we came home so I told him we would if he was good and ate all his dinner.  We had a great walk and talked about how we are best friends.  I love my sweet boy.

Christmas Card Challenge @ Operation Write Home

This week's card challenge at Stamps and Stars was to make a Christmas themed card and I am linking up there.  I made these two.  Very simple but I love them. 

Taft's Creations

Somehow, I forgot to blog about the two Christmas ornaments that Taft made for me this year.  So - this will be the last post about Christmas.  He made both of them at Preschool and they were sent home on the Thursday before Christmas.  Each time that he sees them on the tree, he points and says, "I did it!!".

The first one his his cute little Santa.  On the back it has a gift tag that says, "To: Mommy, From: Taft".  It is pretty big for an ornament, but I know it will stay on out tree for many years.

The second is a plastic Christmas ball.  They had the kids dip their hands in white paint and then hold the ball.  Each fingertip is a little snowman.  I love them both.

Santa Came!!!

 Santa came and brought Taft a load of new toys, goodies, and even clothes.  Taft woke up at 7:30 am and was ready to see what was here.

 He got a firetruck shirt, a dinosaur shirt, a robot shirt, sweatpants, Play-Doh, books for his Tag Junior, a Magna Doodle, a dinosaur from Dinosaur Train.....

 a Tag Junior (Toy Story Edition), crayons, paint, coloring books, Memory, Craftsmen power tools, Elmo and Wonder Pet videos, another dinosaur......

 an apron and chef hat, griddle pan, cups, plates, plastic wear, cookies and cookie sheet, pizza with pan, and cake with serving pain, and oven mits for his kitchen he got last year.....

 and Play-Doh!  Did I mention Play-Doh?  It is the only thing that Taft has asked for the last few days from Santa.  He also said that he wanted Santa to give Play-Doh to his best friend, CJ.

 His stocking had toothbrushes, sippy cups, an Elmo boo-boo pack, and dinosaur socks.

 The favorite of the Craftsman tools? The flashlight of course.

 These cute little dinos are interactive.  They have conversations and sing together.  I think that if he loves them and the cartoon, we may have to get more to add to the fun.

 The Wonder Pets School House.  Taft still loves Ming-Ming!

All in all, he loved everything but is still not sure where to start.  He is going to have a lot of new things to do this week.  He has already played with Play-Doh and cooked us pizza and cake.  Hopefully, he will take a nap soon.