December 2013 flashback: trimming the tree + Tim Mark Phil Dave, our Elf

first thing on the agenda after getting home from Disneyland was GET THE TREE UP AND OUT......Let's spread this good Christmas Cheer!!! Disneyland was the perfect place to get in the holiday spirit so it was tons of fun to bring it home and spread it around real good.

last year we started the tradition of letting the girls pick their own wonky tree to decorate.... we love picking out that Charlie Brown Tree!

 

Alice got to put the star on the little tree this year while Ellie got to top the big tree. having two trees really makes spreading the star love easy. we live in the land of fair, i'll tell you what!!

my mom gave me the idea of painitng our pumpkins white and turning them into snow men....i thought they turned out really cute....especially because i usually struggle real big in the crafty department. (insert monkey hands over eyes emoticon here. the shame!)

  

lucky for us, our Elf did NOT forget to come to our house even though it was well into December when we got home. he even whipped up an amazing breakfast for us on our first morning back, announcing his arrival to our house. what an amazing Elf!

and without losing a single second, Tim-Mark-Phil got straight to work. we loved the sneakiness he came up with this year. he is such a lil twerp, that Tim Mark Phil.

 xoxo

Christmas Traditions 2012: elf on the shelf (aka 'Funny Tom')

one of my very favorite Christmas Traditions that we started last year is the elf on the shelf tradition. it has been all the rage this year, Christmas 2012! so fun to see other moms and their creative spins on the idea (especially via instagram). the possibilities are endless, i tell you what!

the first day that our Elf came, he made us a delicious breakfast (he had to earn the hearts/trust of our girls, you know!), complete with santa pancakes, chocolate chips and whipped cream. it was a totally easy sell, and Ellie immediately spouted out, "i wanna call him...FUNNY TOM!" and so it stuck. Funny Tom, it was.

honestly, there wasn't a night in December that i didn't go to bed excited and/or laughing myself to sleep-- M and i had so much fun coming up with ideas and tricks that we could play on the girls (friendly ones of course) via Funny Tom.

here's a peek into some of our ideas (the ones i photographed) this year.
such a lil sneak, that Funny Tom!

 and my personal favorite...a lil dance party, YMCA style. that Funny Tom is cray cray.

can't wait to see what this lil guy has up his sleeve for Christmas 2013!
(oh yes, you'd better believe i'm already scheming!)

xoxo