Countdown to Christmas - Christmas Treat Jars

 

As you know I moved recently.  I had been living in an apartment so I had several boxes in storage that I had not seen in awhile.  One positive side of moving is that you find things you forgot you had because you have not seen them in awhile.  

One of those things are these fun Christmas treat jars that I made.  They are an easy DIY, and can be used for many things.  

They can fill these with treats and give as gifts.  Add a battery powered tea light, and use as decor.  Another option is to use them in the kitchen or at a party and an utensil holder.  

I found these jars at Michaels a few years ago.  I am not sure if the glass version is still available, but I did find a plastic green version, and also a red version on their website online.

I had my elf Buddy pose with the elf jar. It would be a fun gift from your elf filled with treats to be eaten while watching Elf.  

I made the Santa jar, but adding a notched felt collar.  The belt is made with a strip of faux leather and two rhinestones. 

Mrs. Claus's felt collar is more rounded, and she has two white buttons. 

The elf jar has a yellow felt collar, and two yellow buttons.  

How would you use these jars? Let me know in the comments.  

**  this is an affiliate link 

Do you have more than on elf? For several years, we only had Buddy. Then one day I found some cute elves on sale, and Joy joined our family.  I am seriously thinking of adding an elf baby or two.  It would be a lot of fun having the entire elf family involved in their Christmas fun.  I found these Elf baby twins that are currently on sale for under $10.  If you have been thinking of adding to your elf family, go check them out   

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It's Time to Dare to Share!

It's Friday night, and you know what the means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

How is your December going?  This week and next week are going to be a bit busy for us.  Yesterday was my bonus son's birthday and we gave him a small birthday party.   Next week in addition to several appointments and several activities at D's work, we have a family wedding and a family Christmas Party. We will hopefully get the big tree up this weekend.  Right now I only have a small tree in the bedroom and a few decorations here and there. 

One Christmas thing that has been happening in our house is our elves Buddy and Joy have come out of retirement. I had an elf Dollar Tree reel on  TikTok go VFM (viral for me) and is at 250K and counting.  I had it get almost 30K more on Instagram, so I am back to coming up with Elf ideas. I have a really fun one I am working on that will be posted in the next few days. 

On the blog I made this Elf Surveillance Sign earlier this week, and on Wednesday I share our Elf Cookie Party we had a few years ago.  If you still need ideas for your elf or fun Christmas ideas of your family, I also added Elf Activity Cards in my shop. 

Over on the Etsy Shop, I listed some new dog Christmas Gift Tags.  I have Golden Retrievers, Dalmatians, and Siberian Huskies. 

If you have ever thought about opening your own Etsy Printable Shop I highly recommend the course by Gold City Ventures. They currently are offering a Free Ebook called Seasonal Products Secret where you can learn more about creating printables.  Full disclosure I am an affiliate for them, but I truly do think they are the best. 

That's what is new for me this week, I would like to see what is new for you.. Which means.. 

It's time to get the party started!

Link up and HAVE FUN!! 

 

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Countdown to Christmas - Elf Cookie Party

We still have a few more weeks with our elves, and you might be running out of ideas.   A few years back we had an Elf themed cookie making party with my daughter and some of my friends kids.   If you want to get your Christmas Elf involved you could have him do something with baking items. 

** this post contains affiliate links 

A Christmas elf craft you can do at your party or just because, is to make some easy ornaments.  I don't remember exactly where I found the papier mache stockings (I think Oriental Trading) but I did find a great deal on a 12 piece mitten set from Oriental Trading for 58% off which you can see below. 

I painted the papier mache ornaments and the inside of clear ornaments red, and then added white felt trim.  They turned out pretty cute! 

The ornaments  can be found at Dollar Tree, which has $4.99 flat rate shipping on their for 24 hours only.  It starts tonight at  on their website at 6 pm EST, and ends tomorrow December 8 at 6 pm EST.  

Another elf themed craft  that could also be used as a party favor, and possibly to carry candy or cookies are these Elf themed mason jars.  I found the green and red jars at Michaels a few years ago. I'm not sure if they are still available or not. I made them for a craft show.  I added some trim and yellow buttons.  I just recently found my box of craft show inventory when I moved, so I may need to use one with my elf. :) 

 While unpacking I found some of my leftover Elf Cookie party supplies, which reminded of this fun party.   Some of these items are no longer available, but I will link the things that are.  

In their goody bags, they got a lot of Elf themed goodies.  Everything was so cute, especially those elf ducks. Hmm, I wonder if I still have some of those.  While I did not find the elf ducks available,  I did find  Ugly Sweater Ducks, Nutcracker,  Ducks, Reindeer Ducks and more.   They make really cute party favors! 

The elves supplied a large tray of cooking making supplies to the kids.  We made cut out sugar cookies, and decorated them with frosting and sprinkles. 

When they were done making their cookies, they were able to take them home in a foil pan that had a cover from the Dollar Tree.  They have so many great containers for cookies, treats and leftovers.  

We had a lot of fun with these North Pole Photo Props which are still available. 

The kids wore reindeer headbands from the Dollar Tree.  You can also find elf hats and supplies at the Dollar Tree as well.  Oriental trading also has these Elf Headbands that come in a pack of 12, which are very cute. 

Here are a few elf products that were not available when we did our cookie party a few years ago.  I LOVE these Elf Coffee Cups that come in a 12 pack.  I think I want some of them for my hot chocolate bar. 

These Elf Tote Bags would make great goody bags. At my parties I really like to give things that are reusable, and these bags can something that would be useful year after year.  

If you need ideas to do with your Christmas Elf, you can find my Elf Activity Cards in my Etsy Shop. You will get 40 printable cards with holiday activities that the entire family can do.  Have your Christmas Elf surprise the kids with a card with that day's activity.  

I hope I gave you some ideas on what you can do if you have an Elf  Party.   Let me know if you end up having one. 

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Countdown to Christmas - Elf Surveillance Sign DIY

 

When I saw this Elf Surveillance sign at the Dollar Tree, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. I have rolls of elf themed ribbon in my craft stash, and  I share posts about our elf shenanigans. 

I made a reel with video on how I made this sign over on Instagram.  While writing this post, I realized I only took a handful of still photos 🤦

I made the bow by folding the ribbon in an 8 inch loop several times.  I gathered it in the middle, and cinched it with a rubber band. I cut another piece of ribbon 18 inches long, and tied it around the rubber band.  I then pulled out the loops and fluffed them a bit. 

I made elf harnesses with the believe ribbon, and attached the elves to the sign. I tried to make the look like they were watching with little pieces of tape to hold their hand over their eyes, but it didn't stick too well.  I like how the sign turned out though, and the elves are going to be getting into more mischief tomorrow.  

If you are looking for fun family activities to do this Christmas I I have my Elf Advent Activity Cards live in my shop now.  There are 40 cards with different daily activities.  You can have your Christmas Elf deliver a different card each day, or if you don't have an Elf, you can still use these cards for family fun. 

I also have some Christmas Elf Gift Tags in the shop as well.  

Some other idea posts with  Elves Buddy and Joy can be find here.  Elf Ideas and Props

Elf Ideas and Dollar Tree Accessories

Elf Themed Cookie Party

** these are Amazon Affiliate Links 

If you don't have an Elf on the Shelf yet, but interested in getting one, they have them on Amazon where you can find boy and girl elves,  

If you want something a little different than the traditional elf, how about a Grinch on the Shelf.

I was so surprised by how many cute accessories are available for the elves. How cute are these Donut Be Naughty elf pjs.  You can see them and other accessories here. 

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Dare to Share Saturday

It is Friday night, and you know what that means.. 

It is time to Dare to Share! 

Happy December!  Have you decorated yet?  We have done a little bit of decorating, but still have a lot to do.  I have a mini tree up in the bedroom, and a few things here and there.  Part of the reason why things are not up yet, is I am with someone who likes to wait until December to decorate. This year I was in the spirit early, but I need his help to get out all the decorations out of the crawl space. Hopefully by this time next week, it will be a little more festive around here. 

This week I continued the Countdown to Christmas series.  A few years ago my Snow Owl Ornaments went viral. In this week's post I re-shared how to make them and shared a few gift ideas for the crafter in your life. 

 On Tuesday I shared this Christmas treat Reeses Cup Reindeer.  I also shared some gift ideas for Christmas baking.  

On Wednesday I shared a craft idea to make with your kids, a homemade Advent calendar that can be filled with daily candy or toys.   I also shared some kids advent kits filled with Marvel, Disney and fidget toys.

 

I found out yesterday morning, that December 1st is National Pie Day.  I shared an Easy Chocolate Banana Pie, that would be great for you holiday get togethers.  I also share a few travel carriers to transport your pies when going to a pot luck or party. 

Over on my Etsy Shop, I have listed some new treat bag toppers this week. In my shop I also have Christmas Trivia, Christmas Riddles for kids, Letters from Santa, and more.  This weekend I am posting  Elf Activity Cards that your elf can give your kids with several Christmas activities that the whole family can do.  I will also be adding a Christmas Scavenger Hunt in the next few days.   

Now it is your turn to share.  I would love for you to share what you are up to.  

Link up and HAVE FUN! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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Countdown to Christmas - Easy Chocolate Banana Pie

 I heard on the news that today is National Pie Day.  Since it is a special day to celebrate pies, I thought I would share one that would work well for your upcoming holiday celebrations. 

This chocolate banana cream pie is easy to put together, and great to serve to guests. I love the blending of the chocolate and banana taste in this pie.  While I have not tried to do so yet, I'm thinking about  also trying to make it with other flavors. If I do, I will definitely be posting it. 

You will need 

Graham Cracker Crust 

1-2 bananas

small box of chocolate pudding 

small box of banana pudding 

1 3/4 cups of milk 

1 cup of sour cream 

chocolate chips (optional) 

Whipped topping 

Slice the bananas, and lay them on the bottom of the pie crust. 

In a mixing bowl, add both boxes of pudding, the milk, and the sour cream. 

Mix the ingredients well. I used a whisk to mix it. It turns into a yummy chocolate mousse. 

We wanted to up the chocolate factor in this pie, so I also added chocolate chips.  I did not measure the chips, I just poured in a good amount.  I think it was about a half of bag. 

Once it is fully mixed, add the mousse to pie crust, covering the bananas.

Cover the pie with the whipped topping and place in the fridge to chill for about an hour.  

After an hour it is  ready to eat. (if you can wait that long LOL!)  I told you it was easy to make, and it is  definitely delicious.  

** this post contains affiliate links 

Since this pie is perfect for taking to parties, you might need a good way to transport it.  I looked online to see what is out there,  and a few items caught my eye  

This Sweet Creations 10 inch pie carrier looks pretty sturdy, has a nice handle and is highly rated.

Another idea if you would like to bake several pies and give them out as gifts are these  disposable bakery boxes.  You could also use the to give cookies, and other treats. 

They also have this multipack of plastic containers with hinged lids. 

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Countdown to Christmas - Homemade Advent Calendar

 When my kids were younger, we decided to make an advent calendar.   We brainstormed a bit, and looked at our craft supplies.  We had been collecting cardboard tubes for crafting and thought they would be perfect for holding treats.

We painted the tubes in white, red and green, and numbered them with coordinating number stickers.  We stapled the bottom to make a little pouch.  If you do not have 24 tubes, you can use 12 and make them double sided.  After you add the numbers they are easy to embellish more.  We added stickers on each of ours. 

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We had an inner office door that had glass panes. We hung them on that door and then placed candy treats in each of the pouches.    Other options could be to add some ribbon and hang on the Christmas tree or garland.    An idea I had for this year it to make some that are Elf themed and have our Christmas elves Buddy and Joy bring one day. 

I am currently making Advent and Elf activity cards for my shop, which will be added this week.  The cards would fit inside the tubes with a different Christmas themed activity you could do that day.  I will be posting the link here as soon as it is up.  

If you would prefer to buy an Advent Calendar than to make one, I found some really cute ones online.  

If you love Marvel, this Marvel Pop! has a different characters in  each day of the month.  At the end of the month you would have a entire mini Marvel army to play with. 

 If you are a Disney fan, they have a  Funko Disney Character Advent Calendar

So many kids (and adults)  love fidget toys, they even have a Daily Fidget Toy Calendar, where each day you would get a new fidget toy.    They all look like fun except for the mini skateboards.  LOL I frequently had to temporarily take them away in class when my 6th graders got disruptive during the lesson.   If you make an homemade version of an advent calendar and want to add your own fidget toys, definitely check out the toy aisle at the Dollar Tree, they have lot of fidget toys. 

I wish they had this 5th generation Echo Dot for Kids when my kids were younger.  There are so many things you can do with this.  It will play songs, games and even help with their homework.  You will give a 1 year subscription to Amazon Kids Plus, and it has parental controls.  The kids can decide if they prefer this owl with owl voice, or turn it into a dragon with a dragon voice.  Definitely go check it out online, there is a lot cool features and a 2 year worry free guarantee. 

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