Hellooooo, peeps, from the flip side of Christmas!
So…like a lot of people out there, I think our crew is experiencing a bit of the letdown ennui that follows a major holiday.
Though, I’m pleased to report the letdown has been slightly diminished this year, perhaps because we missed out on the whole family hoopla? A smaller upswing with a smaller downswing?
Anywho.
This week in between Christmas and New Year’s is always an odd one, but our weather was gorgeous today, Little Man passed his quarantine period and even produced a negative test today (woohoo!), so we got out for lunch and went up to our neighborhood tennis courts/playground for some fresh air.
All good things.
And I thought a fitting bit of Christmas closure might be a post of our beloved Scout Elf, Leaf, and his 2022 shenanigans.
This was his seventh year with us (amazing how time flies!) and I’m so stinking happy to report that the magic was alive and well.
Perhaps one bonus of having young kiddos home sick during December: a lessened chance of spoilers at school, ha.
And though Chica has known the gist for several years, she’s able to suspend reality in such a fun way and still enjoy all the mischievousness. It’s fantastic. :)
So…our dear elf always arrives via hot air balloon, and it’s a riot to see where he ends up.
Naturally, the major news this year was the addition of our Elf Pet, Holly. :)
I was a bit worried for the first few nights after Leaf’s arrival, because the kiddos were writing Leaf a LOT of letters and Leaf was expected to write back. A trend that was super fun for a short while, but, blessedly, didn’t continue long term, ha.
Our elf has quite the backstory after all this time with us, and it’s always a hot mess riot to expand upon his North Pole life.
We’ve known for several years that Leaf has 14 elf siblings (7 brothers and 7 sisters; he’s the eldest of all 15). This larger family is the reason he’s only with us for two weeks, as he’s the one responsible for dropping them off and picking them up from ALL their human houses, ha.
But this year, it was hysterical when the kiddos left a note one night asking Leaf for all the siblings’ names.
In case you’re curious, they are (in birth order):
Lark
Laurel
Lavender
Lilac
Lily
Lotus
Luna
Ledger
Leighton
Lennox
Linden
Leo
Lucas
Lynx
;)
Other information we gleaned this year: Elf Pets like Holly are prone to going poo when they’re happy. And because they’re filled to the brim with Christmas spirit, their poo comes out in the form of chocolate chips. And, yes, they’re edible, bahaha.
Super fun to learn this stuff. And to bring the smiles with all sorts of ridiculousness.
Now. Without further delay…
Cereal box fun:
Toilet paper Olaf:
Leaf did some midday shifting every so often this year. Like while the kiddos were gone at school. And he’d often end up under the living room tree. :)
This one was a bit of a sticky (pun intended) situation. Apparently Leaf and the holiday gnome got into a bit of a disagreement and it didn’t end well for Leaf, ha:
The night before our (second cancelled) Flash Craft Party, Leaf donned his best festive attire and situated himself somewhere with a lovely view of the party:
Now. This one might have been one of my faves this year:
The Hubby: You know, you don’t actually have to throw them down the stairs and make all that noise.
Me: Yes. I do.
Barbie won. She’s the densest (perhaps in more ways than one; though, maybe she’s just misjudged).
That evening, when we asked Leaf to kindly pick up the toilet paper, he found someplace even more creative to put it, ha:
The scooter definitely provided a major assist with the toilet paper tree. ;)
The next night, he was making s’mores:
And since it was Fancy Headwear day at school, he kindly got out every holiday headwear item we owned (shockingly, we have a greater plethora than I realized, ha):
Next up…som tic-tac-toe:
That afternoon, he moved to the mantle, and placed chocolate elf treats in the kiddos’ stockings:
Barbie won. She’s the densest (perhaps in more ways than one; though, maybe she’s just misjudged).
That evening, when we asked Leaf to kindly pick up the toilet paper, he found someplace even more creative to put it, ha:
The scooter definitely provided a major assist with the toilet paper tree. ;)
The next night, he was making s’mores:
And since it was Fancy Headwear day at school, he kindly got out every holiday headwear item we owned (shockingly, we have a greater plethora than I realized, ha):
Next up…som tic-tac-toe:
That afternoon, he moved to the mantle, and placed chocolate elf treats in the kiddos’ stockings:
On the first day of the kiddos’ holiday break from school, he was so well hidden (in a jar, in the girls’ tub FULL of stuffed animals, ha) that it took the kiddos nearly three hours—and two clues!—to find him, ha:
A couple nights later, he suited up in his best astronaut gear for some stargazing on Chica’s telescope:
He was on the bannister a couple of times—in an adorable tree outfit he’s had for a few years, but the kiddos thought it was new…and handmade, ha:
And eventually, he left a lovely little cutout garland on the night of his departure. Knowing our illness situation and foiled travel plans, he stayed longer than usual and didn’t depart until Christmas Eve. :)
There are a few other evenings I forgot to take pics—mostly when he wound up in one of the kiddos’ bedrooms or on sick watch beside Chicklet when she had the flu. But these are the Best of 2022, and, yet again, it was a JOY to have him around.
These are the little things that (hopefully) add up to big smiles and holiday memories, and I’m grateful for another year in the books.
Happy Monday, peeps!
Over and out.
P.S. Am I the only one finding it really helpful that Christmas fell on a Sunday, so Monday kicked off the 26th???
P.P.S. If you’re interested in more silliness, here are other posts of Leaf’s past shenanigans:
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
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