The Elf on the Shelf Christmas and Elf Magic traditions are sweeping the nation — for good reason. They offer a delightful way to build excitement for the holidays, and keep children on their best behavior. Here is how they work.

The “official” Elf on the Shelf, Elf Magic Elf or a another elf, arrives at your home early in the Christmas season to spend the holidays with your family.

Each night the Elf on a Shelf returns to the North Pole, while your children are sleeping, to report to Santa regarding their behavior.

While the Elf on the Shelf Elves have a more staid reputation, the Elf Magic Elves are a mischievous bunch, and have a tendency to make a mess or pull a crazy stunt while everyone is asleep. Your kids will love to wake up each morning and see what trouble the Elf got into the night before.

Here are ten ideas found around the internet and from local families to inspire your elf:

Elves Love to Do What Your Kids Love To Do

Elves adapt quickly to a household, and many mornings are found busy with the favorite activities of the kids who live there. Reading favorite books, playing games (including the Wii or Nintendo DS), having a tea party with best-loved dolls, and riding skateboards are all favorite Elf past times.

Elves Are Into Computers and Social Media

Elves in homes with teens have been known to have email, Facebook and Twitter accounts to keep an online eye on the kids and send funny emails, status updates and tweets. Many elves also seem to surf the internet late at night, finding fun new sites for the kids to enjoy.

Elves Love to be in Pictures

Apparently, Elves are very good at self portraits. Many families have found their digital cameras full of pictures of their Elves in all kinds of crazy poses.

Elves Often Have A Driver’s License

If an Elf cannot be found in the morning, the car is the first place to look. Elves are often found in the driver’s seat, sitting on a stack of pillows or books. The car may be parked backwards or in a crazy position, and in some cases even down the street or in a neighbor’s driveway. Typically, Christmas music is blaring through the speakers and the gas tank is mysteriously closer to empty than before.

Elves Write in Journals

Elves and children often learn more about each other and build bonds by writing letters back and forth. Some Elves arrive with a festively decorated journal to keep all the correspondence in one place. It has been rumored that some Elves only write backwards, so children must hold the note up to the mirror to read it. A few are conversant in Pig Latin or other codes that older kids must decipher.

Elves Tell Potty Jokes, Too

Bathroom humor spans all languages and species. Elves love to turn the toilet water green (with food coloring), decorate Christmas trees in underwear, toilet paper kids rooms or whole houses, and write on bathroom mirrors with mom’s lipstick.

Elves Spell Their Names – Everywhere!

Each Elf has a name. Some are named by the children they watch. Others arrive with a note introducing the Elf. Either way, all Elves seem to love to leave their signature as often as possible. Maybe the Elf’s name is written in Cheerios, flour, or chocolate syrup on the counter. Other times in toothpaste on the bathroom mirror. Best of all, in food coloring on freshly fallen snow.

Elves Love Things That Remind Them of Home

Cotton ball snowball fights are a favorite past time of elves. Also, Elves often make elf sized snow angels. If real snow is not available, then Insta-Snow or flour make good substitutes. A favorite game for Elves is Candy Lane. If the house does not already have a copy, Elves have been known to bring one from the North Pole as an early Christmas gift.

Elves Do Not Always Come Alone

What could be better than an Elf on the Shelf? Several Elves, of course. That means the mischief can multiply and children awake to elaborate scenes of Elf mayhem. Maybe a poker game or baseball or football match or a play with Elves in costume (borrowed from other dolls).

Elves Play With Their Neighbor Elves

So many families have their own Elf on a Shelf during the holidays that Elves join with neighbor Elves to increase the fun. Many neighbor elves have been waiting together at the bus stop for their children to arrive. Other Elves host a Christmas party for neighborhood kids.

As you can see, the possibilities are endless for your elf tradition. Happy Holidays!

Terri Chadick invites you to introduce the Elf on the Shelf holiday tradition to your family this Christmas season. Go to http://www.lifepluskids.com/elf-on-a-shelf to find out more. (c) Copyright — Life+Kids, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.

Easily the best way to find Party Games and Ideas is to obtain a copy of the free “Gifts For Kids” Guide which describes with illustrations hundreds of specially selected gift ideas including party games.

Find the best party games, themes and decorations. See more at:

Best Party Games and Ideas

Christmas decorations should not stop with the indoor variety. If you can, you should do some outdoor decorating as well. It makes your neighborhood look nice. It gives your neighbors, as well as passer by’s something nice to look at, it gives you a reason to be proud and it is just plain fun decorating.

You really do not have to spend tons of money, either. You don’t have to decorate every corner of your house. If you just decorate part of your house, say your front porch and the rest of the front area, it can be enough decorating. Of course, if you have the extra money or if you find some great deals on decorations, there is nothing wrong with decorating your entire front yard and your entire house.

As with any project, as you begin thinking about decorating and forming your plans, begin with paper and pen. Make a list of what you need. You may even want to go through your decorations you all ready have. Many items will last for many years, if you take care of them properly.

After you gather your products, remember one vital thing, not all decorations are made for the outside. Look at the attached tags and make sure all lights and all other electric items are actually made for the outdoors. If the item is an indoor decoration, do not use it. Indoor decorations are not made for the outside climate. They are not made for moisture and are a fire hazard. You don’t want a fire to ruin your holiday season or anybody else’s. You also should examine all plug ins. They need to be in good shape and all wires should be in good shape, no frays or cuts in them. If you see a cut, throw away the product. You may be tempted to tape it up with electrical tape. Resist the urge. Moisture could still get inside and a fire could occur.

Be sure to add outside lights to your list. It doesn’t matter what style you use. They can be rope style, bigger, older, looking style lights or twinkling lights. Before you go to the bother of hanging them up, be sure they all actually work and that they blink, if they are suppose to blink. Do this before you start climbing that ladder. Speaking of ladders, make sure it is safe and securely positioned on the ground before climbing. Now begin placing the lights in all those wonderful places. You can buy special clips or you can make your own holders using nails and strong rope. Hang them in any way that you like best.

Finally, do not forget to decorate your porch a bit. String some garland on the porch banisters. Hang a pretty wreath from your front door. Place an outside Santa or Snowman in your yard. Then stand back and enjoy your final creation, your own festive look, with your own Outside Christmas Decorations.

Jeffrey Meier at Jam727 Enterprises at http://www.thearticlehome.com blog offers even more detailed information on a wide variety of topics.

Easily the best way to find Party Games and Ideas is to obtain a copy of the free “Gifts For Kids” Guide which describes with illustrations hundreds of specially selected gift ideas including party games.

Find the best party games, themes and decorations. See more at:

Best Party Games and Ideas

I don’t know about you, but when I think of Christmas parties, I think of warm, toasty get-togethers with family and close friends. A cozy fire complete with sentimental stories. Do we ever really let a year go by without mentioning, “You’ll shoot your eye out kid” from “A Christmas Story”?

Or maybe your idea of a Christmas party is a little more like “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”? Well, maybe not quite that eventful- but here are a few ideas to start your holiday season off right!

Christmas parties are thrown for a wide variety of guests, and each should be considered in order to be a success. Christmas parties can be for family, friends, office co-workers, or one big combined party. Here are some ideas for different guests in mind:

Activity Ideas

• Christmas caroling party. Go caroling in the neighborhood and invite the group to your house afterward for hot chocolate and desserts.
• Potluck dinners. Arrange for everyone to bring a dish to share. It not only makes it easier for you, but your guests get to try new dishes and show off their culinary skills.
• Christmas around the world potluck dinner. Have guests bring dishes that reflect their ethnicities and countries of origin.
• Volunteer at a charitable organization. Arrange for your group to gather needed items for a charity, such as a hunger center. Get the real “reason for the season” going and give back to the community. Come back to the hosts home and share your experiences over coffee.
• Holiday lights tour. Caravan through local neighborhoods and enjoy the festive lights and decorations.
• Cookie baking parties. Get a large group together and bake up a storm. Divvy up the desserts to each guest so that each has a variety to have for their own holiday guests.
• Christmas craft creations. Have each guest be responsible for one craft to make, including the purchase of supplies. Each guest will demonstrate how to do the craft, and other guests will try to make their own. If you have 15 guests, each will go home with 15 new Christmas crafts to decorate their homes.
• Kid friendly. Any Christmas party can cater to kids by having a separate area for Christmas videos, crafts, and Shirley Temples.

Games

• Pin the nose on Rudolph

• What’s in the bag? Take a bag and put in Christmas items such as a stockings, candy canes, etc. Each guest reaches her hand in the bag and must guess the item. The best guesser wins a prize.

• Christmas trivia. Test your knowledge about popular movies, TV, pop culture, and other trivia.

• Christmas bingo. Create a bingo card with a Christmas-related theme in the middle, such as a snowman.

• Christmas word scramble. Think of words such as reindeer, stocking, etc, and scramble them on a small cardboard page.

• Name that tune. Play a Christmas CD and the first to guess correctly, wins a prize.

I hope these Christmas party ideas helped spark some fun ideas for your upcoming celebration!

About The Author

Dee Schrock has put together hundreds of theme party tips and fun ideas for easy (and budget conscious!) party planning.

Visit her website http://www.fun-theme-party-ideas.com/christmas-idea-party.html for tons of popular theme party ideas, including decoration, costume, game, and party drink ideas, as well as printable invitations.

Easily the best way to find Party Games and Ideas is to obtain a copy of the free “Gifts For Kids” Guide which describes with illustrations hundreds of specially selected gift ideas including party games.

Find the best party games, themes and decorations. See more at:

Best Party Games and Ideas

Christmas is the moment of merry, fun and peace. It is the season full of cherry, merry, chilly and a like for all ages. Especially for children it is a high time for fun. Enjoy this party full of fun with your friends group. Check out the following lines for making the best Christmas party ever.

Since the Holiday season is a very special period of the year a party at this time is always more than welcome. The Christmas decorations which are still up save extra work and give the desired festive air. When entertainment and games have been carefully planned ahead of time the party goes off smoothly without long lapses of nothing to do. The following games have been tried out many times and are most entertaining.

A good way to start off is to hand each guest a pencil and four cards; one card with a band of brown across the top, another blue, another gray, and one of green. Each youngster is asked to list the names of the guests according to the color of their eyes. For instance if Johnny has brown eyes his name goes on the card topped with brown, etc. The youngsters greatly enjoy this game and have a lot of fun discovering the color of their friends’ eyes. It’s surprising to find how unobserving most of us are.

For a more active game divide your group into two or more teams, depending on the number of players. Line the teams up single file on one side of the room. Set a goal across the room. Mark a starting line. Give the leader of each line two smooth, medium-size buttons. One he places on the starting line, with the other he snaps the first one to the goal as soon as the signal is given. “Snapping” consists of pressing the edge of one button with the other in such a way that the under one flies ahead. As soon as the players reach goal they race back and hand the buttons to the second player in line. The line finishing first wins the relay.

After this rather hilarious game a quieter one called “Shopping” requires that all the children but one sit in a circle on the floor. The remaining one is the “shopper.” He stops before one of the seated group and says, “I’m going to Chicago. What can I buy?” He then counts to ten. Before he finishes counting the player before whom he is standing names three objects beginning with the letter “C,” as “cats, crossings, or caterpillars.” If he fails he must take the place of the shopper. Any city may be named by the shopper, but the articles to be bought must always begin with the first letter of the city named. The children are greatly amused by the weird assortment of objects they are supposed to buy.

Children always like relays. One that can be played in a small space is called “Over and Under.” The teams can be lined up as for the button snap game. The first player in each team is handed a bean bag or ball even a potato will do. When the signal is given he passes this object over his head to the second in line who passes it between his knees to the third who hands it over his head to the fourth. The object goes alternately overhead and between knees to the last one in line who then runs to the head of the line and starts it back over his head. The game proceeds until the line is back in its original order with the first player at its head. The line finishing first, of course, wins the race.

Another active game children enjoy is “Bounce,” which can be played with a rubber or tennis ball. Place a waste basket on a chair some distance from the wall. Mark a line about six feet back from the chair on which the player stands. The game is to bounce the ball on the floor so that it goes into the basket. Each one has three trials, as this is not as easy to do as it seems. A point is given for every basket made. After a given length of time points are counted to determine the winner.

After the games and before refreshments the children will enjoy singing Christmas carols, especially the old favorites, “Silent Night, Holy Night,” “The First Noel,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Sandwiches and cocoa are always popular. These can be followed with apples, Christmas candies and nuts.

Children are greatly fascinated by shining stars, colorful balls, Christmas trees, lots of candies and lots more. They also expected all these to see in party place. Decorate your house with all these stuff and see new delightment in the eyes of your young part guest.

Mitch Johnson is a regular writer for http://www.celebrex-n-vioxx-alternatives.com/. His articles have also appeared on http://www.interactivecostumes.info/ and http://www.mycostumesresource.info

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Christmas – games, parties and fun! Who can resist the joys of the holiday season all the decorations, traditions, contagious cheer and endless parties! If the holiday spirit has swayed you into hosting a Christmas party you’ve come to the right place! With a little planning you can host a memorable Holiday soiree that will be remembered long into the new year!

It’s Just Around the Corner – Plan Early!

In case you haven’t noticed (but we’re sure you have), the month of December is crazy busy and gets crazier as Christmas comes near. Best advice on this topic is to PLAN EARLY! Planning in November will assure you have time to organize the party and still tackle your own Christmas “To-do” list. You’ll also be able to get the invitations out before your guest Christmas calendars fill up.

Mind the Pocketbook – Set a Budget

The first, and most important, step is to set a budget! Determine how much you can comfortably spend. Setting a budget (and sticking to it) will not only keep some Christmas cash in your pocket but will also help guide your party planning decisions.

The Whole Crew and Aunt Sue Too – Make the Guest List

Be realistic about how many guest you can handle. Take into account the size of your place and the work involved in entertaining a group. Remember too that ’tis the season to be jolly and someone will likely bring an extra guest or two. Better to have a shorter list of closest friends and family unless you plan to have some hosting help and can afford to feed and entertain a larger crowd.

Any Day Now – Choose a Day and Time

‘Tis the season for full social calendars so choose your date early and wisely. If possible, it’s best to give guest at least three weeks notice. Saturday is usually the best day for most people to attend but Sunday can be good too. Remember to consider your schedule, make sure to give yourself plenty of time to prepare for the party and tend to your Christmas “To-do” list.

It’s All about the Food – Plan the Menu

Your budget, guest list and party time will help guide this step. You can choose a potluck event a catered affair or anything in between. Perhaps a formal dinner and invite guest to bring their favorite dessert. The only rule on party food is the time of the party. If the hours of your party include the dinner hour you should serve heavier entree foods. Evening parties can serve lighter to heavy hors d’oeuvres and desserts. Don’t forget the beverages! Alcoholic drinks are not mandatory so don’t feel obligated to serve them. Perhaps wine options are a better fit for your affair. If you do offer alcoholic drinks be sure to have alternatives for those who don’t drink and designated drivers. Keep the bar drinks simple to avoid the added work of playing bar-tender and the extra expense of stocking the bar. Should any of your guests have one-too-many be sure they do not drive home.

Get the Party Started – Plan the Fun

Above all else your Christmas party should be fun! Plan fun activities to get the party started and keep it going.

- Christmas party games. Games are a great way to get your guest talking and mingling.

- Trim the tree. Have all your tree decorations out and let your guest trim your tree.

- Christmas caroling. Take the party outside and sing carols for your neighbors.

- Decorate cookies. Prepare a table with cookie icings and sprinkles and let your guest decorate the cookies. They get to take their decorated cookies home.

- Exchange gifts. Either secret Santa or grab bag style. Be sure to include this on your invitations along with a spending limit.

Ya’ll Come – Send the Invitations

Now that the party plans are in place, it’s time to send out the invitations. Remember, three weeks notice (or more) is best so get those out ASAP!

It’s the Thought that Counts – Party Favors

This is not always necessary but it is nice to give each guest some small token of thanks for their attendance. This can be as simple as a slice of cake to-go to a beautifully wrapped party favor gift. Again the watch cry is…budget!

Count Down – Final Steps

Shop for decor and party accessory items 2 weeks before. This will give you time to find any items that prove hard to locate. If you plan to order Christmas party games or other party supplies online, shop three to four weeks before the party.

Buy Food items and beverages the night before the party. Also, prepare any food that can be prepared ahead of time the night before. This will give you time to decorate, prepare food and get ready for your guest.

There you have it, plans for a event full of Christmas party games and merriment! Have fun and remember, no matter what the budget or theme your guest will appreciate the time spent sharing the season’s joys with family and friends Above all else, keep it fun and you can’t go wrong!

Terri Hunziker founded GamesAndLetters.com. Games and Letters provides hundreds of print-and-play games — Christmas party games, bridal shower games, baby shower games and more! For immediate access to hundreds of fun games and ideas for your next party, visit, gamesandletters.com

See pictures of gift ideas for kids, along with customer comments, more details and special pricing at

Christmas Party Gifts