Elf on the Shelf - Week 2

I can't believe that Elfie Pokie Nokie has been back in our home for over two weeks now. I've already shared what he got up to during the first week of December, now let's see what he got up to during the second week...

Day 8
Being an elf from the North Pole the mild climate here in Berkeley must be positively sweltering for Elfie. On day 8 we found him chilling out in the fridge where the temperature must've been more to his liking. I mean, look at that smile. He seems pretty happy there, right?

Day 9

On day 9 Elfie seems to have gotten himself into a bit of a pickle. We found him hanging upside down on the clothes line by his feet. He doesn't seem to worried by his predicament though.

Day 10
It's finally starting to look like Christmas around here after we visited a Christmas tree farm over the weekend. Elfie was pretty happy with the new addition to our living room and we found him perched in the branches with this year's photo ornament (I make an ornament each year with our holiday card photo.

Day 11 
Uh oh! Dental hygiene is important, but Elfie Pokie Nokie seems a little confused about how to keep his pearly whites pearly white. Does he even have teeth? Either way, he got himself a little tangled in the dental floss. That's not quite how you use it Elfie!

Day 12
Sometimes Elfie just finds himself a simple spot where he can sit and observe the kids for Santa. That is his job after all. Day 12 was one such day. We found Elfie Pokie Nokie sitting inside a light fitting in the hallway keeping an eye on the living room. Luckily the bulb in this particular light fitting had blown and was taken out a few days ago to be replaced, otherwise Elfie might have found himself with a burned butt when we turned the lights on!

Day 13
Elfie! You're no Banksy but I guess your graffiti is art in your eyes. Elfie found himself a can of spray on snow and decorated a living room window for us. Not quite how I would've decorated it myself. I think we'll have to get some snow flake templates and apply the fake snow a little more nicely.

Day 14
Every year without fail Elfie gets into someone's Halloween candy. This year it was Ava's Halloween bucket that we found plundered of candy. Mathilde had been worried that he would get into her Halloween bucket so she made sure to eat it all as quickly as possible! Ava, on the other hand, still has Easter Eggs from April in hers along with the Halloween candy!

Has the Elf on the Shelf been visiting your home too? I'd love to hear what he or she has been getting up to. Is your elf a trouble maker or more of a quiet observer keeping an eye on the kids for Santa?

Holiday Gifts for Travel Loving Kids

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links

Are you done with your holiday shopping?

If you're anything like me then there's a good chance that you still need to finish up those last minute gifts. Hooray for express shipping, right?

The holidays are a time that our family typically spends away on vacation (we're heading to Colorado this year) so this has had me thinking about travel related gifts for the kids. Today I'm sharing my favorite gift ideas for kids that love to travel. Most of these are items that my kids have used many times and loved. They all get my stamp of approval!

First up here are my favorite gifts for on the road...

Click the links below to shop:
1.   BCOZZY Kids' Travel Pillow
2.   Fujifilm Instax Mini 9 Camera
3.   Small Lot Backpack
4.   Melissa & Doug Water Wow! Books
5.   Polaroid Zip Mini Photo Printer
6.   Lil Gadgets Connect+ Headphones
7.   Cozyphones Headphones
8.   Petit Collage Little Travelers Magnetic Playset
9.   Kindle for Kids Bundle
10. Go! Travel Diary for kids
11. Trunki Kids' Ride on Suitcase


As well as gifts that are useful (and fun) for travel, I love to give gifts that inspire a love of travel and wonder in the world. Books, puzzles, building sets and even plush toys can teach kids about the world around them. I'm a total sucker for anything map related too! 

Click the links below to shop:
1.   All Aboard! California board book
2.   National Parks of the USA book
3.   Map of Europe Puzzle
4.   Hugg-A-Planet plush Earth
5.   Petit Collage Our World Floor Puzzle
6.   LEGO Duplo Around the World
7.   Around the World Matching Game
8.   Maps Book
9.   LEGO Architecture London
10. Everything & Everywhere Book
11. Petit Collage Petit Puzzle New York
12. Doodleworld Map Pillowcase

Pretty much everything I've listed is available on Amazon with delivery before Christmas, making for perfect last minute holiday gifts for the little travellers in your life.

Elf on the Shelf - Week 1

The Elf on the Shelf...

People either love him or hate him. We definitely fall into the "love him" category - which is good because our elf, Elfie Pokie Nokie, has been back in our home since the start of December.

Every year I share what Elfie Pokie Nokie has been getting up to in our home, and this year is no different. So let's take a look at what that crazy elf has been doing over the past few weeks...

Day 1

On his first day back in our home Elfie Pokie Nokie usually appears in the advent calendar, which also makes its appearance on the first. This year Elfie was found hanging out of the large "25" pocket of the advent calendar with a little speech bubble saying "I'm back!"

Day 2

Looks like Elfie took the time to read some of the advent calendar vouchers while he was hanging out in there earlier as he knew that on day two the kids would get the chance to play in the snow. The annual Snow in Berkeley festival happened to be this day and in keeping with the theme we found Elfie making snow angels on the dining table. Although it wasn't snow. At first the girls thought it was sugar, but after tasting it (and expecting it to be sweet!) they discovered that it was in fact salt. In the past Elfie has made snow angels with mini marshmallows and flour. The salt was definitely easier to clean up than the flour, but not quite as tasty as the marshmallows!

Day 3

Elves are pretty playful little creatures, so it should come as no surprise that Elfie Pokie Nokie likes to play with the kids' toys while he visits our home. On day three we found him riding Mathilde's Code-a-pillar after writing a message on Lola's Lite-Brite.

Day 4

Elfie Pokie Nokie sure does rack up the frequent flier miles with his trips between the North Pole and our home. Being such a well traveled elf, he decided that he needed to leave his mark on our world map. On day four we caught him placing a sticker at the north pole (or as close as he could find) on our travel map of the world. This map hangs above our bed and Mathilde, who had snuck into our room in the middle of the night, was quite surprised when she woke up in the morning and saw Elfie peering down at her. I must admit, it was a little creepy.  

Day 5

A few years back Lola had a unicorn themed birthday party and I made her a unicorn pinata. The girls couldn't bring themselves to throw away the remains on the pinata after the party, and so it hung around the apartment for quite some time. Recently I decided that the unicorn's body was looking a little worse for wear (which happens after being smashed open with a stick) so I turned the unicorn into a a bust to hang on the wall. Being a fellow magical creature Elfie took a liking to the unicorn and we found him hanging out on it on day five. 

Day 6

The girls couldn't find Elfie for quite some time on day six. I think they had almost given up hope that they'd find him when Lola announced that she found two red sticks poking out of her ugg boots. It turns out they weren't red sticks after all, but rather elf legs! I'm sure that Elfie must've been feeling very dizzy after hanging out upside down in a pair of boots all day! 

Day 7

Day seven was another day when the girls thought that Elfie was no where to be seen - until they looked up! There was Elfie hiding on the ceiling fan in the living room. This is the second year that Elfie has hidden up on the fan but this year he was a little more well hidden. If he wasn't wearing that big red hat we probably wouldn't have spotted him at all as he peered over the edge with one eye.

Week 2 of Elfie Pokie Nokie's adventures in our home is coming right up...

Cruisin' the Fossil Coastline at Oakland Museum of CA

A few weeks back the kids and I visited Oakland Museum of California to check out their latest exhibition, Cruisin' the Fossil Coastline. 

If you've got kids that love prehistoric creatures, vivid artwork with fun hidden surprises, and hands on fossil fun, then this is the exhibition for you.