North Pole Breakfast-Elf On The Shelf

Guess who's back??? It's that joyous time of year when all the little elves make their way into our homes to help bring even more magic to this season.

We've been doing elf on the shelf for almost five years now (craziness) and have always had a lot of fun with it. Sure it can be annoying at times, like now, as I'm laying in bed typing this out and turn to my husband and say, babe we have to move the elf! Thankfully he has to head downstairs anyway so it looks like I'm off the hook for tonight. This whole experience tests parents in their abilities to be quick thinkers, because if your little ones are anything like mine, they ask a lot of questions about our elf friend.

What I think is fun about all of this, is that you can be as creative with it as you would like to be. Some people do a great job at the silly things their elves get into every night, and others keep it simple with just moving him around. If our boys are extra good our elf leaves them a little marshmallow in the morning. We've always tied it back to explaining to them that Santa, and the elves, are also God's helpers.

My strong point in all of this comes into play with his welcome back, north pole breakfast. Not for anything, I know we all love getting inspiration from each other, which is why I share this, but I do pride myself in feeling like I was kind of one of the OGs for going all out with these before the breakfast portion of it really caught on ;)

I always go with a little theme for the morning and make sure there are plenty of sweet treats along with our families favorite, pancakes. This year the boys wanted our no food coloring green pancakes and that's exactly what they got. We were between two themes this year and when I told Eric the options, it was hands down, "so be good for goodness sake", and I kind of love it. We need all the goodness around here.

Our elf, Alvin, always brings a few things for the boys and this year it was a mini gingerbread house kit and a really fun ninjabread kit.

It was so great to see the baby enjoying some of the fun this year. He was teeny tiny last year and was only a few days old. I still can't believe I pulled it off last year, but I remember making a promise to myself that I would still do everything I could to make the holidays special for my big boys. And much like I mentioned last year, C did enjoy those pancakes this year.

The boys have really been into candy canes lately so I wanted to add them into the mix. I found a box of starburst candy canes that they have been loving. I should have picked up more because they have been a big highlight for them.

What I also really enjoy about doing a welcome back breakfast is the time it brings us all together as a family. The mornings during the week can often feel really rushed with getting out of the house and getting everyone where they need to be, on time. It's nice to have a day to sit back and enjoy a slower pace.

We're excited to see all of the fun our elf gets into this season and the memories it brings for our crew.

Elf On The Shelf North Pole Breakfast

Before I knew that a north pole breakfast was a thing, we always threw a welcome back breakfast for our dear friend, Alvin. If you've been following along for a while now then you know I have a lot of fun putting this breakfast together. It might be my favorite part of the whole elf on the shelf experience.

We usually have our elf come back the weekend of Thanksgiving but with baby boy being born right before we decided to hold off for another week. I have to say, it's not so bad having him come a little later because this whole elf thing is a big commitment, and mainly for the parents.

I know some people who wait and have their elf come back the week before Christmas. The more I think about it, they might be the smart ones. Regardless of when your elf comes, I think we can all agree it adds a little extra holiday cheer and it's so fun to see our kids reactions.

We first started this tradition when A was two years old, you can see our previous breakfast here, here, and here. We might have been a little anxious to get everything going because he didn't really get it at that point. I think three might be the magic age because we even see now that this year little nugget also really gets it. He's had some great questions and logical reasons to things about our elf.

Our elf usually leaves them a little message in the morning on a small chalkboard that I have. The one morning he addressed it to just A and little nugget. They both asked about why he didn't say anything their baby brother C. I had to come up with something really quick for that one. I went with the line that until he knows right from wrong Alvin will just be focusing on the two of them. Just like he didn't come to our house until A knew right from wrong. They bought it, or at least I think they did, because they haven't asked about it since.

Our poor elf has also fallen twice from the spots where we moved him, and coaty almost got him once. Crisis adverted with a magic spatula and a new dog toy.

Let's get back to the actual breakfast. We love us some pancakes around here and spending time in the kitchen on the weekends. Anything from keeping them simple to putting together some of our green pancakes. This year I went with classic pancakes, a little frosting, and some special candy cane shaped sprinkles. I picked up some powdered donuts and these fun candy cane lollipops. I always like to give our breakfasts a theme so this year it was the jingle jangle breakfast. Our elf brought them a few small gifts and also their advent calendars.

Our littlest elf made his debut but with milk being on his menu he was more occupied with that. It will be even more special next year when he'll already be a year and will hopefully be enjoying those pancakes just as much as we all do.

Our Elf on the Shelf Welcome Breakfast

He's back! If you caught my insta stories then you probably know how much fun we had with our elf on the shelf welcome breakfast over the weekend. Thanksgiving weekend is one of my favorites because it kicks off the start of our holiday season. It's also the weekend that our favorite little elf arrives and greets the boys with a fun breakfast celebration. 

Last week I shared how I prepare for his arrival and now I'm sharing all of the elf overloaded fun we had. This little celebration has turned into one of my favorite breakfasts of the year and I might have too much fun putting it together (I mean, Alvin puts it together). This year I decided to go bright and embrace all of the traditional Christmas colors and went with the theme, making spirits bright. I really love how this turned out and it might be my favorite one yet. The best part will always be seeing the smiles on the boys faces and how happy they get when they see he arrived.

Another tradition that Alvin has started is bringing those yummy marshmallows with him. A was anxiously awaiting them and even asked if we thought he would bring them with him again this year. It blows my mind what this kid can remember. He also leaves a marshmallow every night that he moves as a little treat when the boys wake up (I know sugar and all, but don't judge). Of course the first thing the boys did when they got to the table was eat all of them up (priorities). We also had some fun donuts and reindeer shaped pancakes with bacon or strawberry antlers. I knew there was a way I could work some fruit into this balanced breakfast.

Alvin also brings a few small gifts with him for the boys. This year we got a gingerbread house kit and the boys got a reindeer window catcher to paint and some sticky snowmen foam. It looks like Alvin also knows a thing or two about Target. My mom found these cute little elf masks that the boys colored and use their elf searching powers every morning to find out what Alvin got into or where he moved to. 

There were a few things brought up over breakfast by our inquisitive little guys that I wasn't prepared to discussed over my reindeer pancakes. I tried to come up with answers on the fly that didn't give this little secret away, but they had a lot of questions that went a little something like this...

A: How did Alvin get into the house? 

Me: He came down the chimney just like Santa

Little nugget: How'd he carry all them marshmallows?

A: He drops off a bag to mama and dada silly (smart kid)

A: Well how come he can't talk to us? 

Me: Because he's very good at listening 

A: Oh I know, he looks like a doll and dolls can't talk (I tried to change the subject after that one)

Little nugget: Can I have Alvin's Marshmallows?

Me: No you can't because I can't touch him either. A chimes in, well he leaves the bag in the cabinet so we can get a chair and get more later. 

Me: No, no, no, only he can leave the marshmallows out for good listeners.

A: Well how does he know when we are sleeping to go back to the north pole? 

Eric: He goes after you go to bed. 

A: Yeah but you and mama stay up later so he can't go yet when we go to bed. 

Me: I bet he goes when the house is all dark. Ok, who wants more pancakes?!

How To Throw an Elf on the Shelf Welcome Breakfast

If you've been reading this little space of mine (and always a huge thank you for those that take the time to visit) then you know two things about me. One, we take our breakfasts very seriously around here especially on the weekends, and two, coordinating our elf Alvin's welcome breakfast is one of my favorite holiday traditions now. 

I know not everyone does a welcome breakfast or some call it a north pole breakfast and others do a farewell send off instead, so however you decide to celebrate your elf or keep it as simple as possible is completely up to you. I am always a firm believer in doing things that work best for your family. 

I wanted to share more in detail about our welcome breakfast and how I prepare for it in case anyone else is looking for some ideas. Of course I will be sharing more over the next few weeks with how our breakfast goes this year so be sure to stop back to see all of the festive fun. 

1. PICK A DATE: for us, the weekend of Thanksgiving has always worked out perfect to do our welcome breakfast. It's the weekend we dedicate to decorating, finding our tree, and really kicking off the Christmas spirit. That also means we need to commit to figuring out places and things for our elf to get into each night, so make sure it's a time frame that works for you. 

2. PICK A THEME: this isn't necessary and it sort of just happened for us, but the past two years I have themed his welcome breakfast. The first year we did pancakes and pajamas and I loved it so much that I'm looking forward to recycling it in a few years. Last year we did a holly jolly breakfast and the verdict is still out on this year's theme. I know, I know, time is ticking, but I have my favorites narrowed down and a general idea with where we are going with this.

3. COORDINATE THE MENU:  this is a big one for me because if your kids are anything like mine they want to eat within the first 15-20 minutes of waking up. Last year we made snowmen pancakes that had bacon wrapped scarves and there was no way I was waking up at the crack of dawn to do all of that. So what did we do? We prepped. The bacon and sausage links were cooked the night before along with all of the fruit being cut up.

4. DECORATIONS: again, this isn't necessary and might be a bit over the top, but I want this silly little breakfast to be a memory my boys think about when they're older. Adding in some extra details makes it feel even more special. Majority of all of the things I pick up for this are from the dollar store, so there really isn't much being spent on this other than some time and planning. My husband and I sneak downstairs after the boys are in bed to get the table set so that we aren't running around first thing in the morning. This has also turned into some fun memories for him and I.

5. SMALL GIFTS: another thing that's become part of our breakfast tradition is having a few small gifts for the boys to open up from their elf. These are usually from the dollar store or Target's dollar spot and mainly some sort of craft project or a new Christmas book.

6. HAVE FUN: above all else have fun together! My favorite thing is seeing their faces light up when they come down the steps and seeing that their elf friend has arrived. We take a few of our obligatory pictures and some videos to share on insta stories (you can find me @beautifully_candid to see the fun this weekend) and then after that it's phones and cameras away and enjoying our special time together. It's funny how many memories this silly little elf has brought into our home.