So…I have a little confession. I’m ELF OBSESSED. Seriously. It’sone of those things that started innocently enough, as a family tradition YEARSin the making, but has now taken on a life of its own. I can’t control it, orat least I choose NOT to. But I do find comfort in the thousands of Elf-tasticpins on Pinterest {HERE is a link to my Elf Board}and the incessant Elf-related Facebook posts of my friends…it’snice to know I’m not alone!
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| We adopted Miss Bliss (left) this year. She's a vintage, 50s era elf, made in Japan. The skirt, neck and hair-flair were all courtesy of a little makeover at the North Pole :) |
Last year we added an Elfon the Shelf to our collection, the kiddos named him Mack, and our littleElf family was complete. The kids love waking up in the morning and rushing outto see what shenanigans the elves have gotten into…it’s become one of theirfavorite things (and mine too, since this is a safe place, I can be honest –right?!?)I’ve been mulling over the idea of hosting an ELF PARTY sinceLAST Christmas. SO many of our friends have Elves now too, I knew the kidswould really be into it. Also…it would give me an outlet for my party planningenergy since I have a bit of a dry spell between Halloween and Harpers birthdayin March ;) So that’s the WHY…and here is ALL the rest! I hope you enjoy!
I worked with the talented ladies of Anders Ruff CustomDesigns for the printables. They totally “GOT” my vision and their creationswere absolutely perfect!
You can see their own photo shoot featuring their Magical Elfprintable collection HERE. |
| I made several ripped-rag Christmas garlands to hang throughout the house. They doubled nicely as party decor! |
Since our guest list was very short for this party, Iplanned on hand delivering all the invites. I printed the invitations large,8x10, rolled them up and tied with a ribbon. We all know that the Number 1 Rulewhen it comes to Christmas Elves is you CANNOT touch them…or they lose theirmagic! To solve that problem, each guest also received an Elf-sized stocking.
Thisway they could come along without being touched! The stockings were created by Puddin’ Pies, and wereabsolutely DARLING! We’ll be using ours to give our Elves special notes andsurprises here and there.Cynthia also created coordinating table runners and a pennant-style garland that I used to decorate throughout the party! 
When our guests arrived they were directed to the “ElfCheck-in” area. 
Each Elf had a name tag waiting for him or her…we didn’t wantanyone going home with the wrong Elf! 
After the kiddos deposited their Elvesand went downstairs, the Elves jumped out of their stockings, put on theirnametags and had their own little Mixer. 
At our ELF ADOPTION center, we had several Elves justwaiting to find their own family! 
Some of our guests added another Elf to theirfamily, and one family got their very FIRST Elf at our party!
I also had some Elf attire available for our guests to takehome. Included were pretty skirt-sets and bows for the lady elves.
We also had some tiny Elf scarves that were a BIG hit withour guests!
The Dessert DisplayI knew the desserts for this party were going to be a LOT offun. 
With so many teeny-tiny guests, I planned on making some mini-versions ofsome of our favorite treats!
I made Elf Cake Pops and Swirl Cake Pops. I love using the striped paper straws as "sticks" for my Cake Pops...it really adds something special! Green Party Goods has an amazing line of eco-friendly paper straws that I absolutely adore!
I made some MINI Cake Pops. These are REAL Cake Popsya’ll. I rolled them super small, used a cut-off toothpick as the stick, andthen dipped them just like the full-size pops. Easy. Cute. Good.
So then, I wanted a bit of a challenge – lol! I thought itwould be fun to try to make mini versions of the Elf Cake Pops too. I used atoothpick to add-on the details, but they were pretty basic so it wasn’t toobad. Totally worth the extra effort…they were SO cute! 
I added a little bit of washi tape (also from Green Party Goods) to the toothpicks on some of the mini Cake Pops. It made them that much cuter :)
Local Cookie artist Emily of Emi’s Treats made some AMAZINGcookies for our party.
She created this “Peeking Elf” design that I just loved…itwas beyond perfect! 
She also made stockings, mittens and candy canes. Emily’scookies are equal parts delicious and adorable, I just love her work! 
Even cuter…she made MINI cookies for our Elf guests! Theywere SO sweet!
When we were all downstairs, each of the Elves helped themselvesto a cookie…they were a BIG hit with our littlest guests.
We also had some ridiculously cute miniatures on the desserttable! Little Things by Anna created the TINY layered cake and TEENSY cupcakes.
Seriously, these things are SO adorable and incredibly detailed…I can’t lie…Isquealed OUT-LOUD when I opened the box they were shipped in. 
What’s great about having these miniatures on-hand is thatyou can use them again and again! She also made the pennant-stylebunting on the mini dessert buffet, and the cute little stocking in the centerof the wreath!
ActivitiesMy sister "volunteered" to read The Elf on the Shelf to thekiddos while I was upstairs making sure our Elfish guests were “comfortable”. 
We had a few activity stations set-up for the kiddos. Theywere free to go from one to the other at their own pace.
First was the Jingle Bell Bracelet table. A tray of pipecleaners, a container full of jingle bells…easy…and they loved it. Even better,after they finished their bracelets they got to go jump in the trampoline tohear how they sounded!
We also had a mini tree decorating station. You know thedrill…a package of foam Christmas trees, with about a million little stickerpieces to peel and place. A little cheesy maybe, but I tell ya what…my kidsNEVER get sick of these things! Like ever…so I go with it!
There was also a table full of Elf-sizes treats. The kidsgot to pick out an assortment of goodies to “take-home” for their Elves. Thatwas the idea. In reality, most of them chowed-down on their Elves' goodies…I’msure it was from a quality control standpoint.
Each of the guests had the chance, one-by-one, to put on anapron and join me in my kitchen to make a few EXTRA special Elf treats. I hadthree melters going, one with chocolate, white chocolate and green candy melts.They got to dip a mini sugar cookie, mini Oreo and a Cheerio (to make an Elfdonut). I also had an assortment of sprinkles out so they could decorate theircreations however they chose! 
Word must have got out at the North Pole because we had aLOT of Elves show-up for this party. They were hiding ALL over the house! Thekiddos went on an ELF HUNT to find all of our Elf visitors. I used theprintable Advent Calendar Tags from Anders Ruff (1 through 5) to label our “scenes”.
That way the kids knew they had 5 different Elves (or in some cases, groups ofElves) to find. They did a great job hunting!#1 – These vintage Elves were hanging in my Sweet Cheekskitchen, ready to bake!
Notice the Elf on the right…Mmmmhmmm…that's an ELF-SIZEDapron, chef’s hat and baking mitt…cute right??? I found the set on eBay HERE.
#2 – We found this Elf hiding with some old toys. He lookedright at home!
#3 – This Elf likes to monkey around….sorry…couldn’t help it ;)
#4 – The ORIGINAL Disco Elves. Just chillin’ on one of theirfavorite shelves.
#5 – These cuties had their own Elf-sized Radio Flyer sled.It looked like they were ready for a snowball fight!
When it was time for our guests to head for home, I used apair of decorated kitchen tongs to carefully put each Elf in a basket for theride home (the stockings are a tight squeeze and we didn't want to risk an accidental touching!) 
The kids, Elves and grown-ups all had a GREAT time at ourElf Party! The Christmas season is so magical, and being able to create thesememories, to me, really is priceless.
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| My kiddos in their Christmas outfits from Lottie Da Baby, ready to PARTY! |
A SIDENOTE ABOUT OUR ELVESI’ve had several inquiries already, so thought I’d share alittle bit more about our Elf Family and how they came to us. These little ChristmasElves have been around for decades, a lot of you may have even had some decorating your house when you were younger. The original vintage Elves were made mostlyin Japan starting in the 50s. My Grandmahad some of the vintage Elves that we’ve used for years and years. We also have one Elf on the Shelf. This year, I added SEVERALmore vintage Elves to our family, through online “adoptions” (i.e. auctions). So...we have a LOT of elves around here. We have our faves...the "main" ones who make the mischief and report to Santa.
You can see some of their antics in a post I added last winter HERE.
Those of you who would like to add another Elf (or several) Elves to your family, hereare some good places to look:EBay and Etsy: search for “Knee Hugger Elf or Elves”Hobby Lobby: I found all of the Elves that were in ouradoption center at Hobby Lobby (before Halloween mind-you) in the Christmas decoration aisle. We added scarves tosome, and bows to give them a little extra personality.
Antique Shops: Hit-up your local antique shops to findvintage elves...like these guys!
Happy Elfing everyone!!!!~Audrey SOURCESSweet Cheeks Tasty Treats (that's ME) event styling, photography, dessert table treats Anders Ruff Custom Designs Magical Elf Christmas Collection, printablesPuddin' Pies custom elf stockings, table runners, pennant banner Emi's Treats custom decorated sugar cookies artLittle Things By Anna minatures, layer cake, cupcakes, pennant banner, stockingBJWildey elf-sized baking set, apron, oven mitt, chef's hatGreen Party Goods party pretties, eco-friendly striped paper straws, washi tape, baking cupsLottie Da Baby custom children's clothing, Christmas dress, applique shirt and cardigan
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