Elf Shenanigans - 2021 style

I had stuffed elf kits for my Etsy shop for the last three months, and thought I would be tired of our elf before he even arrived, but apparently it got me even more pumped, and Airplane the elf arrived a little earlier than usual this year. 

I didn't document every single day, and some days the kids were with Katie, but here is a little re-cap from what Airplane was up to this year.

Elf kit preparations for 2022 have been in full force since the middle of December, and my goal is to have 600 boxes ready to go by August 1st this year. Wish me luck!

Night at the Princess

Christmas at the Princess...our yearly tradition and definitely one of my favorites!

In front of the maze, Finn has all the faces lately, he is so funny.

My buddy Atticus and I on the ferris wheel, Finn came too, but of course Fox was too cool for it, and stayed down with one of my friends.

We rode a bunch of rides, looked at the decorations, took the Christmas train, and stayed up way past bedtime.

And made s'mores of course, although the boys still mostly eat the marshmallows.

Until next year!

Sugar High!

My kids love making (and eating) gingerbread houses, so one day in December we spend some time decorating one together. 

I always buy the pre-built ones from Costco, they are so easy.

They each got one side to decorate, and I was surprised by how well they shared, and that it didn't become an issue.

I wonder how long he will still enjoy this activity, he is getting so big and is already "too cool" for a lot of things.

    

While I was writing this blog, Finn saw the pictures and immediately asked if we can do this again. I said we'll do another one at Christmas time, and he inquired if it was Christmas time yet, and that he NEEDS to eat the gingerbread house. He's been talking about it ever since we took our decorations down, and I love how much he loves the holidays. Just like his Mama. 

Our Christmas Card

Our 2021 Christmas card!

Santa, he's a bad one!

I contemplated if I should spend the money this year on professional Santa pictures, because they are really expensive, but I'm so glad I did for several reasons.

From beginning to ending, it was completely magical.

We arrived with a crying toddler, who didn't want to take pictures with Santa. He kept saying "Santa is a bad one!", and looking back at previous year, it is safe to say that Finn has never been a fan of Santa. I thought I would finally get my crying Santa picture, but once we got into the waiting room, we were greeted by an elf (the photographer's daughter, who is about 12 years old or so), who started a snowball fight with the boys. It didn't take long to turn Finn's anxiety about Santa around, and he was all smiles. When it was time to see the big man, Fox ran up to him immediately, while Finn stayed back with me, watching from a distance. 

Fox told him that he wanted a Nintendo switch for Christmas, and him and Santa had a conversation about which model was the best. 

Finn agreed to get somewhat close to him once the toys came out, and the kids had to help Santa test all of them to make sure they worked.

Finn was showing his "thumps up".

I was determined to get a picture of Finn alone with Santa as well, and Santa tried to bribe him with a candy cane.

After the session, the photographer told us to go find an elf in the gift shop (her son), who would give the boys a gold coin for an ice cream cone next door. Fox and the elf (who was hiding in the gift shop) had a long conversation about Minecraft, and it was almost impossible to convince Fox to leave. 

Once we walked out, they had a snow machine set up, with Santa's sleigh in the front yard, where we could take our own pictures as well. We got our ice cream cones, and everyone was happy. But Finn still insisted on the way home, that he DOES NOT like Santa and DOES NOT want to see him again.

A few weeks after these sessions, we received the very horrible news that Santa had gotten Covid and was on a ventilator. Unfortunately he didn't make it, and I'm very heart broken about it. Santa was our photographer's dad and we had the pleasure of visiting him every year for Christmas since Fox was three years old. Christmas won't be the same without him, but I'm mostly devastated for Samantha, and her entire family, because they were all very close. Thank you Santa, for making each Christmas season in the past four years extra magical for my kids. You will be missed!